Dry Curing Through The Eyes Of A Newbie (Updated 2/20/12)

[chef jimmyj]

I am glad you asked that Dan. The Lebanon bologna was the same size. The major difference between it and the others is that it was cold smoked for two days and had no mold on it. I am not sure if it was the smoke or the lack of mold.

Joel, If you are taking all of them to 30%+/- the rest are 4-7% behind...It is very possible that the RH in the Smoker was a lot lower and 16 hours may very well have been plenty of time to lose 5% of the Leb Bologna's weight...What do you think?...JJ
 

 

[solaryellow]

I am glad you asked that Dan. The Lebanon bologna was the same size. The major difference between it and the others is that it was cold smoked for two days and had no mold on it. I am not sure if it was the smoke or the lack of mold.

Joel, If you are taking all of them to 30%+/- the rest are 4-7% behind...It is very possible that the RH in the Smoker was a lot lower and 16 hours may very well have been plenty of time to lose 5% of the Leb Bologna's weight...What do you think?...JJ
 

I think that is very possible JJ. Unfortunately I didn't have an extra hygrometer to monitor the smoker but I know I was concerned at the time that the casing for the Lebanon bologna might dry out too much during smoking.

 

[solaryellow]

Here is the sliced up lebanon bologna.

And of course, Dan-View.

 

[boykjo]

Looks great Joel........... I got to build me one here soon........   I need to get into this........

Joe

 

[DanMcG]

Wow that looks spot on Joel, nice work. I bet it tastes great too

Dan-view?  LOL  Look's more like Mr Bill view to me.

 

[solaryellow]

Looks great Joel........... I got to build me one here soon........   I need to get into this........

Joe

Go for it Joe! You won't be disappointed.

Wow that looks spot on Joel, nice work. I bet it tastes great too

Dan-view?  LOL  Look's more like Mr Bill view to me.

It is very good except the Marianski recipe called for cinnamon. I think I will omit it next time.

It does look like Mr. Bill doesn't it? lol

 

[venture]

Super job!

This one is a classic.

Good luck and good smoking.

 

[alelover]

Looks great Joel. Just like the real thing.

 

[chef jimmyj]

Looks like the Seltzer Lebanon Bologna Coming out of the factory in this area...Good Job...JJ

 

[solaryellow]

Super job!

This one is a classic.

Good luck and good smoking.

Thanks Merv!

Looks great Joel. Just like the real thing.

Thanks Scott! Yes, just like the real thing.

 

Looks like the Seltzer Lebanon Bologna Coming out of the factory in this area...Good Job...JJ

Thanks JJ!

 

[roller]

Thats a great job !!!!!! I really want to do that...

 

[solaryellow]

This week's weigh in.

The hot salami was 8.46lbs originally and has lost 2.16 lbs or 25.53%. Still got a ways to go.

The milano salami had been 8.44lbs and has lost 2.32 lbs or 27.48%. It also has a bit more to go.

The Len Poli salami was originally 8.48 and has shed 2.4 lbs or 28.3%. Not quite there yet.

And the pepperoni started out life at a robust 8.64 lbs and has lost 2.36 lbs or 27.31%. This one also has a ways to go.

We are getting closer.

 

[big casino]

this waiting sux Joel, I can't take the suspense!

 

[solaryellow]

It is a long time to wait to see if I made something great or something I hate.

 

[solaryellow]

Weighing in at 5.42 lbs the first finisher is Len Poli's recipe with 36% loss. I loved the flavor of it until I hit that first coriander seed. It seems out of place to me. There are two mistakes that I made. I thought I had used protein lined casings but I must have grabbed the wrong ones when we stuffed them. Also, I had read about lowering the humidity incrementally as it dries and I don't think I will be doing that again. The interior was too soft while the outside inch was a little firmer than I would have liked.

 

[smokinhusker]

Oh wow! This is such an interesting and informative post! The waiting would definitely kill me. The Lebanon Bologna looked wonderfully delicious 

 

[solaryellow]

Pepperoni is done! This one was worth the 3 month wait. Final weight loss was 35.23% or 3.04lbs.

 

[bluebombersfan]

WOW!!!  What a great job!!!

 

[BGKYSmoker]

That is very nice.

 

[boykjo]

Oh my joel..........Looks as awesome as I bet it tastes..................

Joe