NUMBER ONE QUESTION I GET ON THIS VIDEO ANSWERED HERE: The wine cooler I use is a Haier model hvd036E. Got it off craigslist 5 years ago for about 150$. It has a white wine setting 38deg f and a red wine setting 45deg f. Depending on what’s going on in the fridge I switch between these two temps. Hope that helps 🙏🙏
I dig into naturally aged Lap cheong making and figured that I need a wine fridge instead of a mini fridge to make the temp / moisture ideal. glad to know I can also use it for Salami :)
@@MatttheButcher OK good news is that my Sichuan style Lap Cheong turned out to be perfect and matches exactly what I had when I was a kid. Bad news is that None of my American co-workers seems to like them lol. It's just a very niche and spicy taste and texture. Here's the recipe: for 7000g port shoulder: I added: 2.4% salt by weight 2% smoked paprika by weight green & red sichuan pepper corn 15 grams each (if you don't like the numbness heat tune down) 1% sugar by weight Chinese five spice 30g msg 20g fermented rice (available in asian markets) as culture sesame oil 30g I aged the lap cheong in wine fridge with fan circulation. temperature 10-15C, humidity 60-75. It's enjoyable starting when the lap cheong decreased to 60% weight (took 9 days)
Thanks for the suggestion, I’m a bit worried the ac unit air flow might be to intense for the drying meat so I might need some kind of defuser or something to slow it down. That’s awesome, I have a lamb breakdown video and lamb bacon video published you might like! Thanks for watching 🙏🙏❤️🥩
I’ll take out water containers if it’s too high. Also this fridge has a defrost drain which holds about 75% humidity while curing salami which is nice.
Thanks, great explanation. All wine fridges in Australia seem to have fans in back , no cold plate. Would this be detrimental in having too much air flow?
Hey there thanks for watching and commenting! The wine cooler I use is a Haier model hvd036E. Got it off craigslist 5 years ago for about 150$. It has a white wine setting 38deg f and a red wine setting 50deg f. Depending on what’s going on in the fridge I switch between these two temps. Hope that helps 🙏🙏
Hi there! You can add a 1/4 cup of salt to a quart of water. The salt will not go anywhere, depending on how long you have the salt water in there you may have to add more water only. Hope that helps 🙏
Hello, Matt, I love your channel. Here is my question. I have a small wine cooler. I'm pretty sure the maximum temp can go to 60 or 65. It's a Frigidaire it has the LED light. I currently run it between 52 and 55 degrees. It's fairly small I want to say it holds forty two bottles of wine. My direct question is how long should I run a small fan? And naturally frequency and duration combined is the other question I guess. I am making really my first batch in this atmosphere within the Frigidaire wine cooler. I really didn't know how to gauge how much I was using. So I have two batches in that were like two weeks apart. I'm noticing that my humidity is staying right around 88 and 90 RH. I am mildly concerned however, I open the door everyday and check it and there is great white mold growing no bad smells. It actually looks very good. I've heard about using dehumidifiers and things like that. But I just don't have the science or the space to do something like that. Any feedback on the relative humidity? I made have a few salamis that are fairly thick. I am using casings that are not natural in terms of animal intestines. Do I have any concerns or should I just be patient and perhaps run the fan more? Thank you in advance...
Hi there Joseph, thanks for checking out my channel and the comment. i would say your humidity is staying high because of the two batches put in at separate times. the first two weeks of humidity is high because of the massive purge of water coming from the salami. typically i only do one batch at a time because it is such a small chamber and environment. But! I keep my humidity high during those first 10ish days and slowly bring it down to about 75% RH. afterwards and for the rest of the time. I'll run the fan about 6 hours a day for the first 10ish days then typically wont run it again, because the defrost mode dips the humidity in my fridge and clears off the water molecules from the outside of the salami. The ideal situation would be start the salami or cured meat batch in the fridge with higher humidity and slowly bring it down to 75% RH and put it in an other fridge held at 45- 50 deg f and 75% RH for the rest of the time. you could hang different gauges of salami and whole muscles at the same time all started at different times with two chambers (but whose got the space for that!?) lol thats why i stick with one chamber and one batch. so im sure you'll be ok with these two batches going that started at different times. but you'll have to rotate them a-lot until they kind of catch up with each other. in fridges like this humidity tends to stick to the back if there is a cold plate that regulates the temperature. so running the fan for a few hours and rotating the salami will help equalize everything. if mold gets slimy or out of control wipe them down with white vinegar and distilled water 50/50 solution. sounds like your good to go hope this helps! let me know if you have any other questions.
can in stall a small a fan at the top of the fridge and have it aiming down so it blows on the salumi or would that obviously dry it out faster and not be the best idea for placement?
Hi there, yes you can do that. its all about figuring out your environment you're trying to create. i personally like to have a small fan at the bottom and blow the fan on the water cups. this helps defuse the hard airflow to not create case hardening. if you only have space at the top for a fan maybe consider some kind of screen to defuse the airflow a bit. hope that helps, thanks for the comment!
Hi any refrigerator that still runs will work. I got this off Craigslist 8 years ago. I only turn it in when I’m curing meats. This will produce higher quality product due to temperature and humidity regulation. I’ve cured meats in my closet too lol it works but dries very fast and the texture, if larger than 32mm, is not good due to case hardening!
Hey there thanks for watching and commenting! 🙏 I can fit about 8kilos of meat or roughly 16lbs. That is a lot, but helps keep humidity up through the drying process. The wine cooler I use is a Haier model hvd036E. Got it off craigslist 5 years ago for about 150$. It has a white wine setting 38deg f and a red wine setting 50deg f. Depending on what’s going on in the fridge I switch between these two temps. Hope that helps 🙏🙏
Hey there! Any Tupperware will do, I add more salt then can be saturated so literally nothing will grow even if salami juice drips in. Any sodium chloride will do. Kosher, table salt, Himalayan etc ..
@@MatttheButcher thanks my friend. I'm testing the humidity levels without any meat being hung, and I have the same thermometer/hygrometer as you have and the humidity fluctuates between 30%to 80 ish% within a 24 hour period. Do you have issues with that or will that level out somewhat when I load my wine cooler?
@@kennethfleming9775 yes there will always be the dip in humidity through out the day but will come right back up. The initial installment of the salami batch , there will be a large amount of water purge. I don’t typically put a Tupperware in until 7-days after especially in spring time with natural humidity. If it’s a small gauge diameter salami more humidity will be released faster like a 32mm if it’s larger format it tends to release slower. Just learning your environment is the best! Become obsessed with the details!
Hey guys be sure to check out this DARK NIGHT SALAMI recipe using the DRY CURE CHAMBER I just showed in this video cheers!! DARK NIGHT SALAMI: ua-cam.com/video/60KieJPdIHQ/v-deo.html
@@endtimeslips4660 ah! Yes you can definitely convert one into a curing cabinet. Just not exactly ideal or aesthetically please for a dinning room set up like mine. Perhaps in a basement or garage would be better for such a big unit. Hope that helps 👍👍
Hi Matt, I was wondering if I should be selective about what wine fridge I buy. I want wires to be able to go through the door and it still work. Would most wine fridges work, or do you think I should get a specific one? Thanks!
Thank you for checking it out! If you check my published videos I have three different salami recipes that details temp and humidity along with procedure. Also, this week I’ll be publishing a new video on my cure cabinet with a lot more details on how I maintain humidity and temp :) thanks again! ❤️🥩👍
Thanks Matt...just have a couple of questions 1) my fridge only reaches only on minum to 41F... should add a heater to bring to 50F? 2) How do I keep humidity at 75?
A minimum or maximum of 41 deg? What kind of cooler do you have? You can probably use an ink bird thermometer with a automatic on off switch to keep it around 50deg. Humidity in a fridge is always a game you play with the fridge. Every home situation is a bit different. I personally place Tupperware containers filled with water and salt at the bottom of the chamber to keep humidity up. My fridge will suck out a lot of moisture to a drip pan to the back of the unit so I constantly have to replace what was taken. It gets easier as the meat looses around 25%, it becomes much easier to maintain temp and humidity levels , hope that helps! 🙏🙏
Thank a again Matt I have a Danby mini fridge and it goes to 35 - 45 I also put a fan like you did and a Tupperware with water though my humidity is only at 65 and the highest I've so far achieved is 45 F. I did buy a ink bird to keep the temperature at 50 F. I am just trying to test run it right now there is no meat inside I'll be making my soppressata in a couple weeks so I like to get it ready I used to have a Cantina and it was perfect for curing so this is my first time doing a curing cabinet... Thanks for the great assistance Matt it's greatly appreciated
@@italoman very cool! You know actually my wine cooler holds about 5 -10 deg warmer when filled with meat than when it’s empty so you might just hit the mark! Keep my updated , thanks for reaching out! Cheers ❤️🥩❤️
Hi Matt. I’m looking to buy a wine cooler to cure with. What size is yours or how many bottles will it hold. Looks like the perfect size for a beginner.
Yes it is a great chamber to start curing in! I've set up many of my friends wine chambers just like this and came out great. The model I use is a Haier HVD036E with 4.2 cubic feet. Could hold around 25 wine bottles. you can email me with any questions too! Mattthebutcherdmv@ gmail.com
Hello Matt, The chamber seems to be working good but I have a question about curing process now I had a friend give me soppressata made in hog casing and then I made soppressata in collagen casing... The hog casing is drying fantastic but the collagen casing is separating from the meat this is my first time using collagen casing is it supposed to do this? It looks like the meat is drying good inside but the casing is a bit loose
Hey Mauro, I usually stay away from large format collagen casing for this reason. I've had better luck with collagen casing at 32mm. But for large format collagen I might try to spray the outside with distilled water for the first week of hanging to help prevent the casing from drying out so quickly. Also might try a fibrous casing next time that should help adhere better than the collagen. An other tip is not to hydrate the collagen casing prior to stuffing, to help stick to the meat better as well. At this point the brittle casing will most likely create small pockets of air that will trap moister in between the meat and casing which will lead to mold and yeast to develop. i personally would take the casing off now and let the salami dry naked. hope this helps! thanks for the comment .. check out Craft butchers pantry and or sausage maker website for more casing options (if you live in USA)
@@MatttheButcher thanks Matt...next time I will definitely use natural as I never had any issues before with them... Though taking off the casing when I get mold? I was also told by some of my old Italian friends to just use either wine or wine vinegar to moisten the casing I used to do the wine with the natural casing everyday or every other day I wonder whether it'll work for these type of casings? Just want to say thanks again the chamber is working fantastic though and the other two that are in natural casings that A friend gave me are looking fantastic one day we can swap recipes as being Calabrese I've got the traditional recipefor soppressata
Matt,I recently bought a packer brisket to make hamburger.I trimmed it like i was going to do a backyard cook.Then cut into strips for my at home grinder(not an attachment).I used the medium grind and ran it through twice.My wife loved the burgers(reg size& then also smash burgers)I didn't like the texture.should I have done a fine grind?should I have cut the slices across the grain/ PLEASE HELP
Stlmgnolia I’d say running through the medium die twice is good enough for particle size. I’d recommend mixing the grind together well before making patties. Once’s you make the patties I’d let them chill over night in the refrigerator to let the proteins set up for a better eating experience the next day... hope that helps!
So awesome to have a large space like that to build your cure closet! On the curing fridge, you mentioned to have 1 variety curing at one time; what if you had a longer cure item, could you rotate out shorter cure items still? I am thinking for smaller numbers since it would be for personal consumption and not market. For instance, salami and smaller sausages that wouldn't take as long. Or will the flavours mingle since it's in a small enclosed cabinet?
You can definitely have different flavors go in there at the same time no problem, the thing is as the meat drys out the humidity needs to slowly come down as well. So that’s why it’s not recommended to have something that needs 75-70% humidity to finish and adding a new batch with them that needs 85-80% humidity to start with. So I usually fill the chamber up with all types of different flavors up to about 12lbs in that fridge. If done correctly it will take around 6 weeks of very slow drying but the flavor developed will be spectacular. You could potentially add small whole muscle cures like pork tenderloin in with the salami. They would probably dry around the same time. But I’d recommend doing whole muscle cures like coppa or bresaola at 3.5-5in diameter that could take 2-3 months by themselves.. hope that helps! I’ll be doing a bunch of these how to videos on curing in the next few months :) thanks for watching!! 🙏🙏🙏❤️🥩
Wow this is nice. No need to purchase humidifier and temp/humidity controllers! Also it's compact and looks really neat.. being able to see the meat curing through glass definately is impressively and aestheticaly pleasing. What is the make and model of the unit you have? (EDIT: nvm I see you already answered the question.) I'd like to get the same one if possible since you have verified it works. I haven't dry cured my own meats yet.. but curing $1.48/lb pork butt into capicollo sounds very appealing, with how bad inflation is these days.
Yes! I love this set up because of how Much observation plays a role, like the old days! Just a little temp and humidity reader and you make the adjustments. Makes you much more skilled as a salumi maker. Before I knew anything I cured meats in my closet next to my hoodies. Found out quick hat was not a good environment lol. But yes this wine cabinet is great for an aesthetic look and you can just place wine in there after your done curing meats. Also, yes a huge benefit to curing your own meats is cost effectiveness and better flavor! Email me with any questions mattthebutcherdmv@gmail.com thanks
Pretty cool! Thanks for the info! Your video just answered my previous concerns: can I ferment salami with some small wine cabinet? Will it stink? Actually the temperature is easy to control. Humidity will have a bit fluctuation, but doesn't matter so much. And a fan provides air circulation. Anyway, even if I've just reviewed many times, I'm still worried as a freshman...
You’ll do just fine! Before I knew anything about anything I hung salami and meats in my closet and still ate it. I just went for it, not knowing what to expect and honestly figured I would throw it away. Just takes some time to get a quality product but if you follow the basics you’ll do great more often than not. Thanks for watching , cheers!
Wow you did so good! A wine cabinet and a temperature & humidity controller are in my shopping cart. ^^ And what worries me the most now is how to prevent C. botulinum during and after the fermentation, also if I should share the products with my family and friends afterwards...
@@于子涵-v2q thank you! Well if you use cure salts you’ll be fine. Make sure you have a nice clean area as well, fresh casing from a manufacturer and plastic gloves will help too!
Hi Matt, great video! You said you just add a tupperware box with water. How often do you need to top this up (in your environment)? I am looking to buy all the stuff now. I have some chorizos hanging in my basement now, but humidity is a little too low, so the casings become papery. First batch, so didn't expect them to turn out perfect, but I cook them first for safety - they were delicious - AND, I am still alive :D
Wow that’s awesome! Good for you for trying it out. As far as the Tupperware goes I usually place three containers of the size that could fit a sandwich in them at the bottom. I filled with water and and about a quarter cup of salt. I monitor the humidity , air flow and watch the surface of the meat to make sure yeasty slime isn’t forming. I typically keep the three containers in there for about a week. Then will take one out and I rotate the salami from front to back. I’m looking for a slow drop in humidity to mitigate case hardening and to give Max flavor. So from 90-85 slowly to 75% humidity , always watching the humidity and temp reader ,Hope that helps! 🙏🙏🙏
@@simenstavdal8390 sure thing, an other thing you might want to try is putting a larger bowl or container maybe even a roasting pan with water on your basement floor and angling the fan towards the water surface. This helps spread humidity and the ripples in the water caused by fan send air in different directions for a less concentrated flow, which in turn helps with mitigating case hardening. 🙏🙏
NUMBER ONE QUESTION I GET ON THIS VIDEO ANSWERED HERE: The wine cooler I use is a Haier model hvd036E. Got it off craigslist 5 years ago for about 150$. It has a white wine setting 38deg f and a red wine setting 45deg f. Depending on what’s going on in the fridge I switch between these two temps. Hope that helps 🙏🙏
I like to cure capocollo and pork loin. Will this setup work for these meats?
Absolutely, I’ve done all those in this chamber ! 👍👍🥩
I’m so excited to do this! And what’s funny is I know your process works because I’ve literally eaten your cured meats😂😂 love you man!
Thank you sir, I miss and love you brother! Hope your fam is healthy and wealthy ❤️
Wonderful breakdown by the way
Thank you so much 🙏🙌
I dig into naturally aged Lap cheong making and figured that I need a wine fridge instead of a mini fridge to make the temp / moisture ideal. glad to know I can also use it for Salami :)
Ah very cool!! I’d love a good lap cheong recipe if you’d share one 🙏
@@MatttheButcher I just started my first batch! If it goes well I'll let you know in 2 weeks : )
@@MatttheButcher OK good news is that my Sichuan style Lap Cheong turned out to be perfect and matches exactly what I had when I was a kid. Bad news is that None of my American co-workers seems to like them lol. It's just a very niche and spicy taste and texture. Here's the recipe:
for 7000g port shoulder: I added:
2.4% salt by weight
2% smoked paprika by weight
green & red sichuan pepper corn 15 grams each (if you don't like the numbness heat tune down)
1% sugar by weight
Chinese five spice 30g
msg 20g
fermented rice (available in asian markets) as culture
sesame oil 30g
I aged the lap cheong in wine fridge with fan circulation. temperature 10-15C, humidity 60-75. It's enjoyable starting when the lap cheong decreased to 60% weight (took 9 days)
Oh also apocopate amount of curing salt #1
Hi Matt , For your closet I would make it in to a cold room use a window ac unit . I'm working on a 4x8 room for hanging lamb
Thanks for the suggestion, I’m a bit worried the ac unit air flow might be to intense for the drying meat so I might need some kind of defuser or something to slow it down. That’s awesome, I have a lamb breakdown video and lamb bacon video published you might like! Thanks for watching 🙏🙏❤️🥩
@@MatttheButcher I can't wait to try your bacon looks awesome . Thanks
When you are using the wine fridge how do you lower the humidity when it’s to high
I’ll take out water containers if it’s too high. Also this fridge has a defrost drain which holds about 75% humidity while curing salami which is nice.
Can’t wait to see the cure closet
Thanks, great explanation. All wine fridges in Australia seem to have fans in back , no cold plate. Would this be detrimental in having too much air flow?
As long as it’s not too intense or direct then yes it should work 🙏
brilliant .. thanks man! really helpful knowing how much weight a wine fridge can cure.
Sure thing! Thanks for watching 🙏🙏🥩❤️
Is your wine cooler a Danby?
Hey there thanks for watching and commenting! The wine cooler I use is a Haier model hvd036E. Got it off craigslist 5 years ago for about 150$. It has a white wine setting 38deg f and a red wine setting 50deg f. Depending on what’s going on in the fridge I switch between these two temps. Hope that helps 🙏🙏
Seems like this would be a versatile enough build for Biltong to beer.
Yes, Indeed ! I know some people that even dry aged beef in wine fridges. Thanks for checking it out 🙏🥩❤️
Hi Matt are you adding salt to a water or separate how often do you change it. I got 120l vine fridge
Hi there! You can add a 1/4 cup of salt to a quart of water. The salt will not go anywhere, depending on how long you have the salt water in there you may have to add more water only. Hope that helps 🙏
@@MatttheButcher many thnaks for super quick reply really appreciated m8.
I started to make cheese when I retired and am adding charcuterie next. Keep the tips coming!
Very cool!! I have a few salami videos in the works, should be out by early to mid December ! Thanks for watching 🙏❤️🥩
Great~
This is a very intuitive tutorial
Thank you
I will make Korean style charcuterie😆
That sounds wonderful and intriguing! ❤️🙏🥩
Hello, Matt, I love your channel.
Here is my question. I have a small wine cooler. I'm pretty sure the maximum temp can go to 60 or 65. It's a Frigidaire it has the LED light. I currently run it between 52 and 55 degrees. It's fairly small I want to say it holds forty two bottles of wine. My direct question is how long should I run a small fan? And naturally frequency and duration combined is the other question I guess. I am making really my first batch in this atmosphere within the Frigidaire wine cooler. I really didn't know how to gauge how much I was using. So I have two batches in that were like two weeks apart. I'm noticing that my humidity is staying right around 88 and 90 RH. I am mildly concerned however, I open the door everyday and check it and there is great white mold growing no bad smells. It actually looks very good. I've heard about using dehumidifiers and things like that. But I just don't have the science or the space to do something like that. Any feedback on the relative humidity? I made have a few salamis that are fairly thick. I am using casings that are not natural in terms of animal intestines. Do I have any concerns or should I just be patient and perhaps run the fan more? Thank you in advance...
Hi there Joseph, thanks for checking out my channel and the comment. i would say your humidity is staying high because of the two batches put in at separate times. the first two weeks of humidity is high because of the massive purge of water coming from the salami. typically i only do one batch at a time because it is such a small chamber and environment. But! I keep my humidity high during those first 10ish days and slowly bring it down to about 75% RH. afterwards and for the rest of the time.
I'll run the fan about 6 hours a day for the first 10ish days then typically wont run it again, because the defrost mode dips the humidity in my fridge and clears off the water molecules from the outside of the salami. The ideal situation would be start the salami or cured meat batch in the fridge with higher humidity and slowly bring it down to 75% RH and put it in an other fridge held at 45- 50 deg f and 75% RH for the rest of the time. you could hang different gauges of salami and whole muscles at the same time all started at different times with two chambers (but whose got the space for that!?) lol thats why i stick with one chamber and one batch.
so im sure you'll be ok with these two batches going that started at different times. but you'll have to rotate them a-lot until they kind of catch up with each other. in fridges like this humidity tends to stick to the back if there is a cold plate that regulates the temperature. so running the fan for a few hours and rotating the salami will help equalize everything. if mold gets slimy or out of control wipe them down with white vinegar and distilled water 50/50 solution.
sounds like your good to go hope this helps! let me know if you have any other questions.
Wow this is so interesting, I honestly don't know anything about it. But you explained it all very well! Nice video!!!
Thank you so much! It’s a lot of fun and very tasty! ❤️🥩
can in stall a small a fan at the top of the fridge and have it aiming down so it blows on the salumi or would that obviously dry it out faster and not be the best idea for placement?
Hi there, yes you can do that. its all about figuring out your environment you're trying to create. i personally like to have a small fan at the bottom and blow the fan on the water cups. this helps defuse the hard airflow to not create case hardening. if you only have space at the top for a fan maybe consider some kind of screen to defuse the airflow a bit. hope that helps, thanks for the comment!
Hubby and i are new to this, hubby wants to use a closet in a room in our house. Im scared. What can we buy to achieve thus so we can cure some meat.
Hi any refrigerator that still runs will work. I got this off Craigslist 8 years ago. I only turn it in when I’m curing meats. This will produce higher quality product due to temperature and humidity regulation. I’ve cured meats in my closet too lol it works but dries very fast and the texture, if larger than 32mm, is not good due to case hardening!
I always thought make your own dry cured meats at home isn't that easy, good to know something about how to do it at your channel, thanks for sharing.
Yes it definitely can be done! I’ll be showing how in the next couple of weeks :) thanks for watching! 🙏❤️🥩
Your nearly at 1000 subscribers!! Keep up the content!!
Thanks so much for the encouragement! :) I have like 4 videos I just need to edit 😅 they’ll be out soon! 🙏🙏🙏
Hey Matt! Is this a thermoelectric fridge?
I believe so 👍
Hi Matt, thanks for sharing, can you share the wine fridge info? What is the brand and what is the capacity? Thanks.
Hey there thanks for watching and commenting! 🙏 I can fit about 8kilos of meat or roughly 16lbs. That is a lot, but helps keep humidity up through the drying process. The wine cooler I use is a Haier model hvd036E. Got it off craigslist 5 years ago for about 150$. It has a white wine setting 38deg f and a red wine setting 50deg f. Depending on what’s going on in the fridge I switch between these two temps. Hope that helps 🙏🙏
@@MatttheButcher Thanks a lot Matt.
Help! What humidifier should I get for my wine chiller?
It holds 48 bottles 1:47
What humidity does it hold without one?
35 to 90%@@MatttheButcher
When using the Tupperware with salt water, first off what kind of salt are you using for this and second is there a ratio of salt to water?
Hey there! Any Tupperware will do, I add more salt then can be saturated so literally nothing will grow even if salami juice drips in. Any sodium chloride will do. Kosher, table salt, Himalayan etc ..
@@MatttheButcher thanks my friend. I'm testing the humidity levels without any meat being hung, and I have the same thermometer/hygrometer as you have and the humidity fluctuates between 30%to 80 ish% within a 24 hour period. Do you have issues with that or will that level out somewhat when I load my wine cooler?
Also, thanks for the informative videos! I'm following how you have your wine fridge setup without all the fancy gadgets...lol. Cheers brother!
@@kennethfleming9775 yes there will always be the dip in humidity through out the day but will come right back up. The initial installment of the salami batch , there will be a large amount of water purge. I don’t typically put a Tupperware in until 7-days after especially in spring time with natural humidity. If it’s a small gauge diameter salami more humidity will be released faster like a 32mm if it’s larger format it tends to release slower. Just learning your environment is the best! Become obsessed with the details!
@@MatttheButcher once again...Thanks!
Hey guys be sure to check out this DARK NIGHT SALAMI recipe using the DRY CURE CHAMBER I just showed in this video cheers!!
DARK NIGHT SALAMI: ua-cam.com/video/60KieJPdIHQ/v-deo.html
how about use Commercial Show case matt?.
@@endtimeslips4660 hey there, sorry I don’t understand what your question is.. ❤️🥩
@@MatttheButcher
i mean regular showcase chiller use for soda drink like in 7eleven store.
@@endtimeslips4660 ah! Yes you can definitely convert one into a curing cabinet. Just not exactly ideal or aesthetically please for a dinning room set up like mine. Perhaps in a basement or garage would be better for such a big unit. Hope that helps 👍👍
@@MatttheButcher
great.
Dude you are awsome. Thank you so much.
I appreciate the compliment :) thanks for watching 🙏🙏
Hi Matt, I was wondering if I should be selective about what wine fridge I buy. I want wires to be able to go through the door and it still work. Would most wine fridges work, or do you think I should get a specific one? Thanks!
Great video!! Thank you
What is the proper temperature and humidity for medium dry chorizo?
Thank you for checking it out! If you check my published videos I have three different salami recipes that details temp and humidity along with procedure. Also, this week I’ll be publishing a new video on my cure cabinet with a lot more details on how I maintain humidity and temp :) thanks again! ❤️🥩👍
@@MatttheButcherThank you Matt! Looking forward to watching it
@@lunatica444 thanks for the support and interest 🙏
great Video!
Eric @2 Guys & A Cooler sends his regards
Thanks so much for checking me out!
You should have a cooking class! Please come to Korea with me and opens up the deli shop!
That’s would be awesome!! Thanks for checking out the channel ❤️🥩🙏
Matt great video was wondering what is the best curing temperature and humidity temperature
Thanks so much, if you can only hold one temp and humidity I’d recommend 75% humidity and 50f deg. 🙏🙏🙏
Thanks Matt...just have a couple of questions
1) my fridge only reaches only on minum to 41F... should add a heater to bring to 50F?
2) How do I keep humidity at 75?
A minimum or maximum of 41 deg?
What kind of cooler do you have? You can probably use an ink bird thermometer with a automatic on off switch to keep it around 50deg. Humidity in a fridge is always a game you play with the fridge. Every home situation is a bit different. I personally place Tupperware containers filled with water and salt at the bottom of the chamber to keep humidity up. My fridge will suck out a lot of moisture to a drip pan to the back of the unit so I constantly have to replace what was taken. It gets easier as the meat looses around 25%, it becomes much easier to maintain temp and humidity levels , hope that helps! 🙏🙏
Thank a again Matt
I have a Danby mini fridge and it goes to 35 - 45 I also put a fan like you did and a Tupperware with water though my humidity is only at 65 and the highest I've so far achieved is 45 F. I did buy a ink bird to keep the temperature at 50 F. I am just trying to test run it right now there is no meat inside I'll be making my soppressata in a couple weeks so I like to get it ready I used to have a Cantina and it was perfect for curing so this is my first time doing a curing cabinet... Thanks for the great assistance Matt it's greatly appreciated
@@italoman very cool! You know actually my wine cooler holds about 5 -10 deg warmer when filled with meat than when it’s empty so you might just hit the mark! Keep my updated , thanks for reaching out! Cheers ❤️🥩❤️
Why at 2:08 was your left hand really shaky
probably going through salami withdrawals ...
@@MatttheButcher 🤔
Hi Matt. I’m looking to buy a wine cooler to cure with. What size is yours or how many bottles will it hold. Looks like the perfect size for a beginner.
Yes it is a great chamber to start curing in! I've set up many of my friends wine chambers just like this and came out great. The model I use is a Haier HVD036E with 4.2 cubic feet. Could hold around 25 wine bottles. you can email me with any questions too! Mattthebutcherdmv@ gmail.com
Hello Matt,
The chamber seems to be working good but I have a question about curing process now I had a friend give me soppressata made in hog casing and then I made soppressata in collagen casing... The hog casing is drying fantastic but the collagen casing is separating from the meat this is my first time using collagen casing is it supposed to do this? It looks like the meat is drying good inside but the casing is a bit loose
Hey Mauro, I usually stay away from large format collagen casing for this reason. I've had better luck with collagen casing at 32mm. But for large format collagen I might try to spray the outside with distilled water for the first week of hanging to help prevent the casing from drying out so quickly. Also might try a fibrous casing next time that should help adhere better than the collagen. An other tip is not to hydrate the collagen casing prior to stuffing, to help stick to the meat better as well.
At this point the brittle casing will most likely create small pockets of air that will trap moister in between the meat and casing which will lead to mold and yeast to develop. i personally would take the casing off now and let the salami dry naked. hope this helps! thanks for the comment ..
check out Craft butchers pantry and or sausage maker website for more casing options (if you live in USA)
@@MatttheButcher thanks Matt...next time I will definitely use natural as I never had any issues before with them... Though taking off the casing when I get mold? I was also told by some of my old Italian friends to just use either wine or wine vinegar to moisten the casing I used to do the wine with the natural casing everyday or every other day I wonder whether it'll work for these type of casings? Just want to say thanks again the chamber is working fantastic though and the other two that are in natural casings that A friend gave me are looking fantastic one day we can swap recipes as being Calabrese I've got the traditional recipefor soppressata
Matt,I recently bought a packer brisket to make hamburger.I trimmed it like i was going to do a backyard cook.Then cut into strips for my at home grinder(not an attachment).I used the medium grind and ran it through twice.My wife loved the burgers(reg size& then also smash burgers)I didn't like the texture.should I have done a fine grind?should I have cut the slices across the grain/ PLEASE HELP
Hello! Thanks for the comment, why didn’t you like the texture? To tender? To tough? Dry? Moist?
mainly grainy I guess,the last time I ground chuck roasts(2) they were ok
Stlmgnolia I’d say running through the medium die twice is good enough for particle size. I’d recommend mixing the grind together well before making patties. Once’s you make the patties I’d let them chill over night in the refrigerator to let the proteins set up for a better eating experience the next day... hope that helps!
thks BTW they were all frozen into 1/2 pound balls with a vacuum sealer
So awesome to have a large space like that to build your cure closet! On the curing fridge, you mentioned to have 1 variety curing at one time; what if you had a longer cure item, could you rotate out shorter cure items still? I am thinking for smaller numbers since it would be for personal consumption and not market. For instance, salami and smaller sausages that wouldn't take as long. Or will the flavours mingle since it's in a small enclosed cabinet?
You can definitely have different flavors go in there at the same time no problem, the thing is as the meat drys out the humidity needs to slowly come down as well. So that’s why it’s not recommended to have something that needs 75-70% humidity to finish and adding a new batch with them that needs 85-80% humidity to start with. So I usually fill the chamber up with all types of different flavors up to about 12lbs in that fridge. If done correctly it will take around 6 weeks of very slow drying but the flavor developed will be spectacular.
You could potentially add small whole muscle cures like pork tenderloin in with the salami. They would probably dry around the same time. But I’d recommend doing whole muscle cures like coppa or bresaola at 3.5-5in diameter that could take 2-3 months by themselves.. hope that helps! I’ll be doing a bunch of these how to videos on curing in the next few months :) thanks for watching!! 🙏🙏🙏❤️🥩
If I want to decrease the humidity, I just put in a salt block inside
Very cool! Can you explain the mechanics of using a salt block ??
@@MatttheButcher well its simple, when the humidity is ok, you can remove the salt block, or you can leave s smaller piece
Does the salt block ever get to saturated ??
@@MatttheButcher to be honest with you, im going to try this method these days, I have not tested it yet
Wow this is nice. No need to purchase humidifier and temp/humidity controllers! Also it's compact and looks really neat.. being able to see the meat curing through glass definately is impressively and aestheticaly pleasing.
What is the make and model of the unit you have? (EDIT: nvm I see you already answered the question.) I'd like to get the same one if possible since you have verified it works. I haven't dry cured my own meats yet.. but curing $1.48/lb pork butt into capicollo sounds very appealing, with how bad inflation is these days.
Yes! I love this set up because of how Much observation plays a role, like the old days! Just a little temp and humidity reader and you make the adjustments. Makes you much more skilled as a salumi maker. Before I knew anything I cured meats in my closet next to my hoodies. Found out quick hat was not a good environment lol. But yes this wine cabinet is great for an aesthetic look and you can just place wine in there after your done curing meats. Also, yes a huge benefit to curing your own meats is cost effectiveness and better flavor! Email me with any questions mattthebutcherdmv@gmail.com thanks
Cure closet in Italian = CANTINA :) essential in every Italian home.
Ah yess the good life!!!
@@MatttheButcher how is your cantina working out?
mo word about celsius or Fahrenheit
All fahrenheit , hope that helps
Pretty cool! Thanks for the info!
Your video just answered my previous concerns: can I ferment salami with some small wine cabinet? Will it stink?
Actually the temperature is easy to control. Humidity will have a bit fluctuation, but doesn't matter so much. And a fan provides air circulation.
Anyway, even if I've just reviewed many times, I'm still worried as a freshman...
You’ll do just fine! Before I knew anything about anything I hung salami and meats in my closet and still ate it. I just went for it, not knowing what to expect and honestly figured I would throw it away. Just takes some time to get a quality product but if you follow the basics you’ll do great more often than not. Thanks for watching , cheers!
Wow you did so good! A wine cabinet and a temperature & humidity controller are in my shopping cart. ^^
And what worries me the most now is how to prevent C. botulinum during and after the fermentation, also if I should share the products with my family and friends afterwards...
@@于子涵-v2q thank you! Well if you use cure salts you’ll be fine. Make sure you have a nice clean area as well, fresh casing from a manufacturer and plastic gloves will help too!
Thanks! Good to know! I'm thinking about using the traditional way, only sea salt and some wine. Will see. Looking forward to your new release!
Hi Matt, great video! You said you just add a tupperware box with water. How often do you need to top this up (in your environment)? I am looking to buy all the stuff now. I have some chorizos hanging in my basement now, but humidity is a little too low, so the casings become papery. First batch, so didn't expect them to turn out perfect, but I cook them first for safety - they were delicious - AND, I am still alive :D
Wow that’s awesome! Good for you for trying it out. As far as the Tupperware goes I usually place three containers of the size that could fit a sandwich in them at the bottom. I filled with water and and about a quarter cup of salt. I monitor the humidity , air flow and watch the surface of the meat to make sure yeasty slime isn’t forming. I typically keep the three containers in there for about a week. Then will take one out and I rotate the salami from front to back. I’m looking for a slow drop in humidity to mitigate case hardening and to give Max flavor. So from 90-85 slowly to 75% humidity , always watching the humidity and temp reader ,Hope that helps! 🙏🙏🙏
@@MatttheButcher - that helps enormously - thanks again!
@@simenstavdal8390 sure thing, an other thing you might want to try is putting a larger bowl or container maybe even a roasting pan with water on your basement floor and angling the fan towards the water surface. This helps spread humidity and the ripples in the water caused by fan send air in different directions for a less concentrated flow, which in turn helps with mitigating case hardening. 🙏🙏