new to curing, questions about safety

[eichhoma]

I have heard that humidity is as crucial as temperature.
while I have good temp control in my rigged up curing chamber, I am really struggling with humidity... getting enough RH that is. My first go at doing some home curing was with a sopressata recipe I found on youtube that looked really good.... used #2 cure and stuffed in natural hog casings 38-42mm... i got my temps locked in right where I need to be but my humidity is WAY too low! its been in for a week so its very young still but do I need to be concerned about safety if I cant get much over about 25% RH consistently? Thanks.

 

[daveomak]

Yes be concerned... the outside will dry and case harden... when that happens, the interior can't dry... stays moist and allows bacteria to grow... You need humidity up close to 80% RH... Put a large pan of water in the chamber.....

 

[eichhoma]

case hardening, meaning the casings will dry and stop the curing process? OK well, I probably have this batch ruined and need to go back to the drawing board

 

[eichhoma]

Thank you very much, this is helpful

 

[daveomak]

Holly, Yes on the bacterial growth, also as a humidity control... Different salts will control the humidity level...
Personally, I have Ammonium Sulphate I use on my farm..
Sodium Chloride, rock salt per se, works very well... in a sealed environment.. not so well in a chamber situation...
Although, the saturated salt solutions are VERY SLOW to react to the humidity level...