I was thinking the fridge wasn't "frost free" and didn't dehydrate like a new fridge.. Soooo, I think you will be happy with the results, when the % weight loss gets to target... It is not losing weight too fast.... It should not have any case hardening and will be awesome.... I would wait for the % weight loss to get to target.....
Below is from Evan Brady's threads... 70-75 days to % weight loss is desirable... I love looking at the meat he produces..... It's the % weight loss that is important..... The slower the better....
Prosciutto d'Agnello is done! Pulled it tonight after about 70 days of aging, losing about 33% its green weight. Lamb from Heather Ridge Farms in the Hudson Valley, NY. Boned out diligently as to not allow too much gaps in the center after drying. The leg was still on the smaller side boned out, so I only cured for 10 days. Cured with 2.5% salt, 0.25% Cure #2 and a small handful of crushed Juniper Berries, Smoked Peppercorns, Fresh Garlic, dried Mint and Italian dried Rosemary. After curing I lightly scraped the coarse spices off, and then I cased in a Hog Bladder. As I was putting the Prosciutto into the drying chamber I remembered I did not prepare a mold solution, but I had some product I was going to package on the table. When I vacuum seal I remove the casing to prevent moisture migrating to the surface, and making the surface slime. What I did was take my mold brush and the salami, aimed the salami at the Prosciutto in the chamber, and then brushed the mold and yeast off the surface of the salami onto the Prosciutto. After I week the mold obviously grew, and propagated around the whole Prosciutto. Thought it was cool, so I thought I'd share... Flavor is phenomenal! I have never dried Lamb before, so this was very new flavor-wise. Lamb is one of my favorites, so some here have described Lamb as being very gamey in flavor, but to me it was super clean and not game forward at all. The spices come through subtly, which was the goal. The juniper first with a slight smoke from the peppercorns, and on the finish the herbs and garlic. Super happy with this, and plan to do a lot more with Lamb from now on!
Pretty straight forward here... Local Berkshire Pork (not sure what farm, but was from my towns local version of a "whole foods") cured in 2.50% Trapani Sea Salt, 0.04% Food Grade Potassium Nitrate, 0.05% Texel DCM-1, orange zest, hot Calabrian pepper powder and flakes, and lastly Calabrian wild fennel seed.
Cured for 14 days, and then re-rubbed with spices only, and then stuffed into a 5.5"+ beef bung cap. Aged for roughly 75 days here now, and final water activity of core 0.83.
Below is from Evan Brady's threads... 70-75 days to % weight loss is desirable... I love looking at the meat he produces..... It's the % weight loss that is important..... The slower the better....
Prosciutto d'Agnello is done! Pulled it tonight after about 70 days of aging, losing about 33% its green weight. Lamb from Heather Ridge Farms in the Hudson Valley, NY. Boned out diligently as to not allow too much gaps in the center after drying. The leg was still on the smaller side boned out, so I only cured for 10 days. Cured with 2.5% salt, 0.25% Cure #2 and a small handful of crushed Juniper Berries, Smoked Peppercorns, Fresh Garlic, dried Mint and Italian dried Rosemary. After curing I lightly scraped the coarse spices off, and then I cased in a Hog Bladder. As I was putting the Prosciutto into the drying chamber I remembered I did not prepare a mold solution, but I had some product I was going to package on the table. When I vacuum seal I remove the casing to prevent moisture migrating to the surface, and making the surface slime. What I did was take my mold brush and the salami, aimed the salami at the Prosciutto in the chamber, and then brushed the mold and yeast off the surface of the salami onto the Prosciutto. After I week the mold obviously grew, and propagated around the whole Prosciutto. Thought it was cool, so I thought I'd share... Flavor is phenomenal! I have never dried Lamb before, so this was very new flavor-wise. Lamb is one of my favorites, so some here have described Lamb as being very gamey in flavor, but to me it was super clean and not game forward at all. The spices come through subtly, which was the goal. The juniper first with a slight smoke from the peppercorns, and on the finish the herbs and garlic. Super happy with this, and plan to do a lot more with Lamb from now on!
Pretty straight forward here... Local Berkshire Pork (not sure what farm, but was from my towns local version of a "whole foods") cured in 2.50% Trapani Sea Salt, 0.04% Food Grade Potassium Nitrate, 0.05% Texel DCM-1, orange zest, hot Calabrian pepper powder and flakes, and lastly Calabrian wild fennel seed.
Cured for 14 days, and then re-rubbed with spices only, and then stuffed into a 5.5"+ beef bung cap. Aged for roughly 75 days here now, and final water activity of core 0.83.
