Dry curing the old fashioned way without electricity??

[expat smoker]

I'd like to try dry curing coppa and other dry cured meats and have seen a lot of DIY curing cabinets, but they all require refridgeration, fans, meters= electricity.  How did our [great?]grandfathers do it??

 

[chef jimmyj]

Lots of Salt and only started the process in the colder months. In PA, Grandpa slaughtered the Hogs the end of October when the outside temps were no higher than mid 40's and then did all the curing and smoking in a 8' X 10' Block Building behind the house. Coppa and Prosciutto is made all over Italy but those made in the South are much Saltier than those made in the North...JJ

 

[expat smoker]

Well JJ, I guess that's another bad idea of mine as here in northern Thailand it drops down to the 60's for a month in the winter, if we're lucky.  There are some higher mountains that do remain cool up at 3,000 to 4,000ft elevation, but too far away.  

Thanks for popping my bubble............

Jack

 

[bama bbq]

If you have a small space in a fridge you can use umai dry bags and do a lonzino or lomo (dry cured pork tenderloin). (I am sure you can do it without the bags as well but it makes it simple to do in a tight space) Of course, if you have more room you can do pancetta, capicola, prosciutto, or bresaola as well.  Unfortunately, the process calls for refrigeration.