Schinkenspec w/ Qview

I am humbled by all of the response, I am only too glad that I could help with the passing on what little amount of knowledge that I have  -- again thanks

ok so i have come back from butchering my pig today and i have a few prized ham chunks that are intended for this. I only worry at this point is that i dont have the exact same curring salt as you. I think i can just do the math and figure it out in order to have the right amount of nitrite in it. Mine is 92.5% salt and 6.4% sodium nitrite. essentially cure number one but sold under the prague powder name.

A couple questions for ya. How "well ventilated" does this drying room have to be?

You need a good circulation of air, think of a cooling fan you might have in the house set on the lowest speed so that the air moves

I will be doing all of this in my shop/garage/meat smoking area ;) so it is quite dry but i dont really want to just have the meat hanging in the free air as there is a fair bit of dust in there.

How much dust are we talking about – the dust bowl of the thirties??

You should see my place 

 Could i just hang it in my smoker and leave the air intake open and the chimney flu open?

Yes you could BUT remember to leave the door(s) open as temperature goes up ah humidity will make the product sweat which you do not want

 it may get a little cold in there but shouldn't be too bad cuz my garage is heated. I could set the air temp in the gargage to whatever you recommend.

Temperature to start the drying process --- I do 10 - 15 degrees C with 65% humidity and this is for two to three days. The meat needs to feel dry and starting to get firm. There is a fine line as you do not want it to get too dry or it will what is commonly termed as case harden(ing).

Second part is the hardest --- you have to transfer it to a colder place where you can have the temperature at 4 – 5 degrees C and humidity 80 – 85% What you are doing is drying the product out slowly (4 – 5 degrees C) while at the same time preventing case hardening (humidity 80 – 85%)

This is how I do all my dried sausage – hams and salamis

As said this is the hardest part – the waiting – good things cannot be rushed

I aim for a weight loss of 30% of when you start the drying process

also what kind of wood are you using for smoking it? i have the amazin pellet smoker so i'm limited to the pellets i currently have wich i think is hickory, maple, oak and misquite. I think can't remember.

 Use a combination of hard woods as well as soft woods in a dust form, think of the stuff you get from a table saw for the soft woods and the hard woods are a lot courser. It is put down in layers soft – hard – soft this gives us an eight hour burn (smoulder is the right word). I would probably go with the hickory and oak as a combination (if possable)

I'm also going to be making bacon. would it be a big deal if i smoke them at the same time? i don't think it would matter but figured i would ask.

No it’s no big deal the more you can get in should be ok just do not overcrowd as you need air movement

hope to start the curing process as soon as i get home from work. can't wait.

Hope I have answered to you satisfaction, by all means give me a shout if I can help more

Robert