Homemade Sausage Making

Chuckwagon wrote:I thought about giving the dude a size 12 cowboy boot 'leather enema'

Ouch, that would hurt. I don`t know, hmmm let me see, a boot in the shorts or a needle in the eye!
I would definitely take the boot

Chuckwagon wrote:I think a cooked sausage would be a good guided project for filling the space during the finishing times for the dry sausages.

Welcome back CW
Yeah sounds good, I just put in my order for 20 lbs of pork from our local butcher yesterday. Are we talking a smoked salami? I would be interested in making salami; I have a bag of high temp "lava jack cheese" I purchased from Butcher Packer just begging to go into 10 lbs of smoked salami.

Ross way to go big guy

Topic split 7.1.11 20:50 by Chuckwagon. See: Topic - "Cured n` Cooked Sausages" in the "Sausages" Forum.

Topic split 7.1.11 21:08 by Chuckwagon. See: Topic - "Cost Of Sausagemaking Equipment" in the "Hardware" Forum

fellow sausage makers,
So far everything seems to be going well . I have resprayed with 600 mold culture and while the mold cover seems to be thin it is even. I am using a green air humidity controller. I have also purchased a hygrometer from the sausage maker . Problem being green air unit reads 80% and the sausage maker unit reads 55% . I believe I may have to reach a bit deeper into the wallet and buy a unit that can be calibrated. Is there any other way to tell if I am at the correct humidity level ? If I open the door on my aging chamber(fridge) for more than 30 seconds the ultrasonic humidifier will turn on.
What is the best way to temporarily hold extra mold culture?( temperature after it is mixed).Is it beneficial to vacuum seal any left over cultures before refreezing?
John

In order that our sausages do not dry too quickly we must have sources of water vapor (moisture)that are larger and more available than the sausage casings. A silk handkerchief
Will dry very quickly but it won't hold much water. A bath towel hold a lot of water and because of its texture has a very large surface area, A smooth sausage 3 inches in diameter and 18 inches long has a surface area of 169 square inches. That is equivliant to a 13x13 piece of paper. A couple of face towels will be about 12x15 inches with two sides each and thus will expose 720 square inches of evaporative surface. This is four times the area of the sausage presuming that they are perfectly smooth like the sausage but the towels have thousands of thread loops that increase the surface area.
All of this means that that water vapor needed to maintain the humidity will be between 4 and 10 time more likely to come from the wet towels than from the sausages.
We expect and want our sausages to lose weight as they dry but we want that to happen slowly.

Partycook wrote:

Is there any other way to tell if I am at the correct humidity level?

There is indeed. Although it is archaic, it is surprisingly accurate. It is the test of the "dew point" using what is called a "sling psychrometer", made from two thermometers fastened to a board on which the end of the mercury tubes (bulbs) are extended. One bulb is kept dry - the other, kept moistened by a little wet bag. A fan blows air on the thermometers as readings are taken. The theory is that water will evaporate from the little bag, cooling the wet bulb. The difference between the two readings is located on a pre-calculated, printed "Relative Humidity And Dew Point Table". My recommendations? Purchase a good, quality, hygrometer from a reliable supplier.

What is the best way to temporarily hold extra mold culture? (temperature after it is mixed).

If it is just a matter of hours, lowering the temperature (refrigeration) will keep the numbers down significantly, although it's not recommended for any great length of time. Toss it and make a new batch for reliability.

Is it beneficial to vacuum seal any left over cultures before refreezing?

If you have a vacuum sealer, it surely couldn`t hurt!

Best Wishes,
Chuckwagon

I am 11 days into this production with 2.4 inch sausages. One test sausage is down to 12 ounces from 15 at the start. Another 10 to 12 days and it may be time to take a slice.

This morning my chamber conditions were 59 degrees F and 85% RH. I am using 3 litre jugs of ice three jugs at a time and this is the lower limit with this combination. Later I will try five 2 litre bottles at a time. More surface area and a little more ice. I may need to seal the door better although the fit is quite good.

Hey Ross
I was also thinking of taking a weight check later today. Project A is at day 14 and project P is at day 10. Still need to get on the stick and make project S, but the weather is warm here, humidity good but temps are high.

Chow..

Chuckwagon
Once again thank you for help in answering my questions.My hygrometer was 20% off. I called them and they sent out a replacement a.s.a.p. I ordered some more parts for my second fermenter and since this unit was originally was only intended for higher temperature fermentation (no cooling) I will have to test it to see what adjustments I will have to make to maintain proper air flow and temperature .I would like to make project "P" & "S" and add them to the drying chamber as there is room available.

John

Nice goin' guys!
Now, just hang in there and check on your babies once a day to make sure they're not turning green and running down the street!

Look how far we've come already! A couple of weeks into the project and everyone's lookin' like top hands! Yeeee Hawwww!

Best Wishes,
Chuckwagon

Hey all
Just wanted to check in. Well I have taken a weight check on the salamis (project A) today, and after day 28 it looks as if my salamis are drying faster than expected! I think this must be related to the new fan I installed before starting the project As of today, the salamis average weight loss is at 30%, to fast, so back to the drawing board!
I had made Genoa salami in the past and it took about two and half months to dry, and did not dry so quickly like the project A. Maybe I will try again without the fan

Not all is at a loss. The project P seems to be ok, with a two week dry time

Try a rheostat on the fan circuit and just slow it down a bit. I have a very unscientific method of double checking my drying rate. I hang a wet paper towel up with the sausages and if it dries in one day it is too fast and I add humidity. Lately it is taking about a day and a half.

Uwanna, please refer to the SIXTH post on the following topic:

http://wedlinydomowe.pl/en/viewtopic.ph ... &start=120

I am very concerned about this premature drying. I'd like to discuss this further with you. Don't toss anything yet. My goodness, there are things we can do this early in the project.
First, lets track down the source of the excessive drying. Have you computed your "air exchange" also called "air speed".

See the following link for a variable-speed controlling rheostat:
http://www.dealextreme.com/p/3-fan-cool ... r-pc-13987

Best Wishes,
Chuck O

Just a technical note here.
When your wet bulb thermometer reads the same as the dry bulb it may mean you need to add some water to the wet bulb reservoir.
Don't ask how I know this.

Hey all
Sorry for the delay, we had a major lighting storm here yesterday and no internet service until this morning.

CW

Uwanna, please refer to the SIXTH post on the following topic:

I did go back and read the sixth post, are you implying that the fermentation time was not long enough?

Like I mentioned in the above post, I'm sure the fast drying process is related to the new fan I installed at the start of this project. I have to admit, I got caught up in the air flow, temperature, and humidity levels. I have made dry cured salamis in the past, and never had a quick drying issue like this. I think I will try another batch without the fan and just open the door once or twice a day for circulation. I have included a couple of photos below.