Beginner might have a PH problem

LOUSANTELLO
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Post by LOUSANTELLO » Sun Jan 01, 2017 00:31

At least yours stands a chance. The first time I wanted to cure something, I made soppressata and I decided to make 60 pounds. The recipe I had was for 5 pound batches. My mixing boxes would only handle 15 pounds at a time. So, I made 4 seperate batches, 15 pounds each,,,cleaning all the equipment between each cycle and it made for a long day. 12 hours after I finished everything, the lightbulb went on and I realized I forgot to triple the SALT for each of the 15 pound batches, when the recipe was for 5 pounds. Basically I had 1/3 the total amount of salt required in 60 pounds of meat. Tossed it all. I am sure you will be fine.
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Post by redzed » Sun Jan 01, 2017 00:41

Not that difficult to calculate and working with percentages is always best because you never have an even number of kilograms. Simply convert your total weight to grams and then, using a calculator multiply your meat X the amount and then punch the % button. i.e. 4638 grams x .2% = 9.28g

Of course .2 is a decimal, so it is not the same as .2%, because we need to know the number from which we want to calculate the .2% of.
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Post by LOUSANTELLO » Sun Jan 01, 2017 01:05

As long as you press the equals sign especially on an iphone, otherwise your answer will always end up .002. Lol
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Post by muxmun » Sun Jan 01, 2017 20:35

Happy new year to all
Lou..What a bummer to loose that. I may loose mine also but only a 11 pound loss.
I checked the ph again this morning and its going the wrong direction. It stands at 6.5 now. It all looks good. The white mold is working good.
When I first made this and put it in the chamber it smelled real good!! These last couple of days it smells kind of off, like sour or stale or something. Can't smell the fennel or any other of the ingredients that went into this. Hard to describe. I'll try to attach a pic or 2

The learning curve for Charcuterie seems to be straight UP.

So is it time to start over? The dumpster is begging to get this!

Thanks all for the help and guidance. :smile:
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Post by Butterbean » Sun Jan 01, 2017 20:46

Does it smell like cheese?

I don't know what you should do. Never had anything like this happen. But what I'd do is look for an error in my process. If I couldn't identify this I'd forget the meat sample you are testing and test the salami itself especially if its smells somewhat like cheese. Who knows, you may have some residual contaminate in your container you are using to hold the test mince. I'd do this before I tossed anything.
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Post by muxmun » Sun Jan 01, 2017 21:11

Good idea Butterbean. I'm a little slow on the uptake as well. I'll give that a shot rand let everyone know.
Just thinking that maybe my heat source is screwing things up. I am using a small ceramic heater that has a fan that runs very low speed until the correct temp is achieved. It runs maybe 35 seconds every 5 to 10 minutes. Its cold out in the shop where this is, about 38 degrees or so.
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Post by Butterbean » Sun Jan 01, 2017 21:19

I'm wondering why the pH is so high. Even without a culture I would expect it to drop some.

I think I read where you calibrated it before using but did you also rinse the calibration solution off the tip after calibrating? It just sounds like something is throwing the pH out of whack like a contaminant and I don't think it would take much calibration solution to do that.

Do you have any pH strips you could also check things with?
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Post by muxmun » Sun Jan 01, 2017 21:31

No ph strips. Yes, I always rinsed with distilled water before I made the tests. I did get a reading once after the first couple of days I think of 5.3. Your are probably right. My procedures may be suspect. So when I bring this chub in to open and test, I propose to just stick the probe and temperature probe right in and read it, waiting of course to let it settle and tell me when its ready.
Sound OK?
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Post by redzed » Sun Jan 01, 2017 21:52

Don't toss it. If it has firmed up, turned a nice pink colours and has that funky, sweaty, cheesy odour, it will be OK. I really think there is an issue with your meter. Hang in your curing chamber and se what happens after three weeks.
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Post by LOUSANTELLO » Sun Jan 01, 2017 22:20

A sour funky smell is very typical. When you are plunging the meat, are you cupping the meat around the probe? You will get false reading with that probe if the meat is not surroundeing the probe.
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Post by muxmun » Sun Jan 01, 2017 22:36

Good info everyone. Thanks.
I opened a chub and took a reading and it comes out as PH= 5.23.
I'm feeling better now about the PH and the smell.

Is it time to lower my temp and start the drying or should I wait until the ph goes lower??

Feeling a lot better about this now! I would be up the creek without this forum and help from all of you.. Thanks

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Post by redzed » Mon Jan 02, 2017 00:55

Move into the drying/maturing stage. The pH will probably drop a littele more and then start rising, but that is something not to worry about. How about some pics?
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Post by Butterbean » Mon Jan 02, 2017 01:05

What to do now is really up to you I think. I think salami tastes better when its not too tart. I'd probably pull it myself and start drying.

Not saying to do this but I tend to taste small samples along and along after I hit the initial pH hurdle. A bite along about now will yield some pretty interesting flavors and its interesting how the flavors transform as it matures. Probably not the smartest thing to do but so far my curiosity has not gotten me in trouble but they do say it did kill a cat. :lol:
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Post by muxmun » Mon Jan 02, 2017 02:15

Hey..thx guys.

I've started to bring the temp and humidity down according to the recipe. I've looked at how to post pics and just as soon as I figure it out I'll do it.
I'm finding it hard to wring my hands and roll up my sleeves at the same time. I thing I'm a worry wart. :grin:

Thanks for the support to all of you. I'll keep you up to date

charlie
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Post by muxmun » Mon Jan 02, 2017 02:57

http://imageshack.com/a/img922/7255/mOmlJa.jpg

http://imageshack.com/a/img921/2464/5ksEMI.jpg

Probably not the right way to do this. I need to figure how you guys imbed these in the post.
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