Charcuterie

[LDennis24]

Do those pellet pans work fairly consistently as far as staying lot and time frame for replacing pellets etc... Assuming your pellets are the same density and you use the same ones throughout?

[Bigshooter]

Hopefully somebody can answer this for me.  I started 2 pancetta's last Monday and have been turning them every other day.  I figured that I would see some liquid in the bag by now but there is no liquid in the bag at all.  Is this normal?  The belly is pretty fatty.  It's from a home grown heritage breed.  Not sure if that makes a difference.

[Angry Perch]

Do those pellet pans work fairly consistently as far as staying lot and time frame for replacing pellets etc... Assuming your pellets are the same density and you use the same ones throughout?

I've never timed a pan, but it stays lit, and burns for at least 9-10 hours.

[Angry Perch]

Hopefully somebody can answer this for me.  I started 2 pancetta's last Monday and have been turning them every other day.  I figured that I would see some liquid in the bag by now but there is no liquid in the bag at all.  Is this normal?  The belly is pretty fatty.  It's from a home grown heritage breed.  Not sure if that makes a difference.

The more fat, the less liquid. I would not be concerned.

[Bigshooter]

Hopefully somebody can answer this for me.  I started 2 pancetta's last Monday and have been turning them every other day.  I figured that I would see some liquid in the bag by now but there is no liquid in the bag at all.  Is this normal?  The belly is pretty fatty.  It's from a home grown heritage breed.  Not sure if that makes a difference.

The more fat, the less liquid. I would not be concerned.

Thanks

[Buckmark]

I need to find a supply of duck eggs.

Might check the Metropolitan market near you, or Goose and Gander farm in carnation

[Angry Perch]

I need to find a supply of duck eggs.

Might check the Metropolitan market near you, or Goose and Gander farm in carnation

Thought about Met Market. I'm sure they'll be pretty proud of them!

[Stein]

My order from Sausage Maker finally arrived, so I calibrated the sensors and slung the lonzas.  Man, it smells good.

Once I'm convinced I have all the settings right and the chamber is doing it's thing I'll do some type of beef, those two look lonely.

[Angry Perch]

Cool stuff, man!

[Blacktail135]

My order from Sausage Maker finally arrived, so I calibrated the sensors and slung the lonzas.  Man, it smells good.

Once I'm convinced I have all the settings right and the chamber is doing it's thing I'll do some type of beef, those two look lonely.

Some day I hope to advance this far! Looking good!

[Stein]

Project # 3 is curing, pancetta arrotolata, 2 Guys & a Cooler recipe.  Costco must only stock prime eye round and the pork belly was the same price and sounded better so I went with that.

I had a bit of a hiccup in the chamber, the dehumidifier wasn't making much progress, so I picked up a bigger one and that seems to be doing the trick.  There is also a curious thing, when the refrigerator kicks on, the gauge humidity drops 20-30% very quickly, then back up after it kicks off.  I'm not sure why, but it makes adjusting the controller parameters a trick.  I ended up unplugging the heater and humidifier as they would just kick on at the bottom and fight each other.

I also noticed the dehumidifer seems to be adding heat when it runs which is why the refrigerator runs about once an hour even though the chamber temp is about the same as the garage ambient.

So, right now, I just have the dehumidifier and refrigerator plugged in and the heat/humidifier unplugged.  It's averaging 57 degrees and maybe 78%, so I'm fine with that.  From what I read, one camp says 55-60 degrees and 60-70% and another camp says 80-85%, so I'm shooting in the middle, 75% or so.

[Angry Perch]

Project # 3 is curing, pancetta arrotolata, 2 Guys & a Cooler recipe.  Costco must only stock prime eye round and the pork belly was the same price and sounded better so I went with that.

I had a bit of a hiccup in the chamber, the dehumidifier wasn't making much progress, so I picked up a bigger one and that seems to be doing the trick.  There is also a curious thing, when the refrigerator kicks on, the gauge humidity drops 20-30% very quickly, then back up after it kicks off.  I'm not sure why, but it makes adjusting the controller parameters a trick.  I ended up unplugging the heater and humidifier as they would just kick on at the bottom and fight each other.

I also noticed the dehumidifer seems to be adding heat when it runs which is why the refrigerator runs about once an hour even though the chamber temp is about the same as the garage ambient.

So, right now, I just have the dehumidifier and refrigerator plugged in and the heat/humidifier unplugged.  It's averaging 57 degrees and maybe 78%, so I'm fine with that.  From what I read, one camp says 55-60 degrees and 60-70% and another camp says 80-85%, so I'm shooting in the middle, 75% or so.

Fridge cycling is always going to drop humidity quickly and significantly, but it corrects darn near as quickly. Nothing to worry about. I monkeyed around quite a bit with the low/ high triggers on the humidifier as well as the output of the humidifier. My goal setting is 75-80%, and 45-50 F. Better too wet than too dry, and too cold than too warm in my book.

[Stein]

Thanks, that confirms what I was thinking.  I have a bluetooth puck in there that sends data to an app so I can track min, max and average which helps a bunch.

I did sanitize 3 one gallon water jugs and put them in there for a bit more thermal mass to hopefully smooth out the temps a bit.  The compressor is now cycling about once an hour for a few minutes so that seems reasonable.

Right now, temp averages 56.8, min 55.2, max 58.8.

Humidity max is 79.5, min is 74.5.

I think I'll stop pushing buttons for now.

[Angry Perch]

Thanks, that confirms what I was thinking.  I have a bluetooth puck in there that sends data to an app so I can track min, max and average which helps a bunch.

I did sanitize 3 one gallon water jugs and put them in there for a bit more thermal mass to hopefully smooth out the temps a bit.  The compressor is now cycling about once an hour for a few minutes so that seems reasonable.

Right now, temp averages 56.8, min 55.2, max 58.8.

Humidity max is 79.5, min is 74.5.

I think I'll stop pushing buttons for now.

Lot's of different forces at work (and at odds) in there. You can drive yourself nuts watching everything cycle on and off, and levels all over the place. 

[Stein]

Project #4 is curing, bresaola.  Costco Business in Lynwood had whole eye rounds for a good price, so I picked one up.  I forgot to take a picture before I vac packed it.