Best products from r/Charcuterie

Hi there

I can only illuminate as to where i gathered my inspirations. There is a book by Steve Lamb called the curing and smoking handbook, which may not be the bible to most* but it holds all the fundamentals and left me with a decent understanding of the process.

​

I would start with making some unsmoked Bacon. its pretty quick, doesn't require much time or equipment and is delicious, Steve Lamb has a nitrate free recipe that is decent to learn whats happening, it does come out rather salty i would add, but its delicious still and learning what is happening during the cure is an invaluable part of the recipe in my opinion

​

for the shortcut there is a bunch of premade cures on the market, normally as easy as chucking 30/35g (depending on the product) to the kilo in a ziploc with a piece of pork, leaving for 7-10 days with the odd massage and hey presto, its bacon!

​

https://www.amazon.co.uk/300g-Traditional-Easicure-Bacon-Produce/dp/B00CTO59G0

​

My personal advice would be to take no shortcuts and learn what curing is fundamentally, which you can learn from that book in an afternoon. then, when you understand the process (I made a few batches of bacon), pancetta/lonzino are a good next step if you want to try air drying, Pastrami is good if you want to try cold smoking. Honestly once the principles lock into place there is a world of recipes you can try, I'm still working through that book!

​

as an addendum, curing salmon for gravlax is a very easy process and an absolute joy, there is a dill and beetroot recipe in Steve Lamb's book that i follow to the letter and its the best i've ever eaten. Gravlax can be cold smoked too to turn it into smoked salmon.

​

When you find your way eventually to smoking, and I hope you will, let me direct your attention to this product

https://www.amazon.com/Realcook-Generator-Smoker-Smoking-Salmon/dp/B071DGYLCR/ref=sr_1_6?keywords=cold+smoking&qid=1565024270&s=lawn-garden&sr=1-6

It's easy to setup and does the job remarkably well, highly recommended as a foundation to the art.

​

Also, I wouldn't think about mould just yet, its a part of the air drying process and it took me a good while of practise and trial and error before i started to understand what is happening with moulds, this sub is a great sounding board when you need some practical advice. Take it slow and enjoy yourself one recipe at a time, you don't need to know how to make a salami if you are making a Bresaola!

​

Good luck and i hope you find some of this illuminating!

​

* Charcuterie: The Craft of Salting, Smoking and Curing by Brian Polcyn and Michael Ruhlman is the book a lot of people swear by, but i personally only took to it after i knew what i was doing a little.

Just thought I'd update -- I went with the Weston and made my first batch yesterday -- about 5 pounds totaling about 18 links. This was the first time I was able to one man a stuffing operation. Small learning curve for coordination, but manageable. Didn't use the fast speed gear!

I actually had the Weston in my "maybe" list before you mentioned it but one of the reasons I was turned off of it was because Amazon's thumbnail shows it in Orange and Stainless. I wanted something that's impressive to look at; not something that looks like it came from a hunter's garage in the back country. But I got it and was pleased to see they're shipping them as Black and Chrome/stainless. Much better and exactly what I had hoped for.

One of the reviews said there was a film inside the canister that had to be scrubbed vigorously. I was met witht he same stuff. I assume it was some sort of lubricant that dried out while it sat on a shelf, but so far, cleaning that thing for half an hour, vigorously, is my only con. Well, that, and the fact that's it's much larger than I anticipated. But that's also a good thing!

Anyways, thanks for the recommendation. It worked out great.

And one last thing -- Ruhlman's recipe for Sweet Italian sausage is fantastic (found in Charcuterie). I do recommend!

So I did a similar size cooler that's working fairly well. I'm using two controllers similar to the Inkbird, one for temp and one for RH, but DARNIT (pardon the language :-), mine is only either humidifier or dehumidifier mode; I can't run both! Usually that's not a problem, as the meat's usually giving up water and I want to run the dehumidifier, but the thing can overshoot as it's not an autotuning/learning PID. Also, you get a "dueling temp/RH" thing where the fridge cooling kicks on, temp drops, the RH changes, so the humidity sensor triggers, etc. That usually converges to a stable state, but requires some fiddling with your high/low set points on both temp and RH controllers, plus the other params. Sorry for going on, but even with the dual controller Inkbird (which I'm now going to buy - thanks for the info!), this is something you'll be dealing with a bit. Note that your unit has a water tray (I looked up the manual - it's a CWC-3200 right?), "to receive condensation drained from the interior", so when your cooling kicks in it'll be dehumidifying too. AND if it's bringing in outside air, it'll be mixing that RH in. So, good thing you'll be running both 'sides' of RH control.

I can suggest a dehumidifier that I like just fine. Everybody seems to get the odd teardroppy thing; I got this one about a month ago, which is more compact (I think) for $40 and love it. Suddenly now there're a ton like it for $35 or so, and now I see this one for $30. For a humidifier, I got one of these ultrasonic/wick things, and opened it up and am modifying the switch with a dab of solder to be "always on" (it's momentary and goes auto-off when it runs out of water), but again my controller is either/or, so I've not been using it yet. However, apparently the little $10 ultrasonic things like this just set in a reservoir of your choice are a no-brainer.

You'll want a set of S-hooks. I find the smaller the better as you've got limited vertical space. You'll want to think about how you're going to hang them in the cooler - those wine racks are going to be a bit of a PITA as you're limited to the bottom center of each bottle-holding wire and then the crossbars.

Best of luck! Andrew

As far as I know, there aren't any mini-fridges specifically designed for curing meats. The closest I have found is a digitally controllable wine fridge. The downside is that it only goes up to 65ºF, but I ferment my salami at 70ºF. I've written a blog post about modifying my fridge for curing.

As for meat grinding, if you already have a kitchen-aid, the best thing to start with is the meat grinder attachment. Don't bother getting the stuffer attachment because it's terrible. It's really worth the money to buy a dedicated stuffer. I use this one, but I'm considering upgrading to the 15lb stuffer.

As for books, I like The Art of Making Fermented Sausages and Charcuterie. But note that The Art of Making Fermented Sausages uses T-SPX bacteria in it's recipes where Charcuterie uses F-RM-52. Curing with T-SPX takes around 30 days, where F-RM-52 is around 2 weeks (IIRC). I haven't tried curing with F-RM-52 yet. The Art of Making Fermented Sausages is very "food science" based, so it contains charts and graphs about pH levels and how they related to humidity and temp, etc. Charcuterie has more recipes than just Salami, and is more similar to a recipe book.

Good luck!

This. Is. Awesome.

I currently have a Monster cooler like this that is set up as a curing chamber with a simple temperature and humidity controller.

I would love to be able to integrate something like what you made into my setup. The data logging and interface are super nifty! Definitely let us know when/if you pull something together.

This is the recipe that i ended up with, most of the info i obtained from the book

'Great Sausage Recipes and Meat Curing' https://www.amazon.com/Great-Sausage-Recipes-Meat-Curing/dp/0025668609. I honestly would recommend reading the book before making any sausages it gives you all the info you need.

1.5kg pork trim

1.5kg pork butt

Curing salts according to weight

2 tablespoons salt

1 tablespoon ground pepper

1.5 tablespoons white sugar

1 chicken stock cube

1.5 cups milk powder

Hog casings

Grind pork initially through the biggest plate and then again through smallest plate.

mix in seasoning( not milk powder) mixed with cold water( helps distribution).

Chill mix and then emulsify in food processor with milk powder and ice cold water to help the processer and keep the mixture cold, best to do this in small amounts

Stuff into the casing and allow to dry for a few hours and smoke at low temp until nicely browned and dry. We used simple low tech barrel smoker.

Since no one's commented in a day, I just wanted to say this book just came out a couple months ago, so likely not many have looked at it yet. But he's chef of a couple excellent restaurants, and looking through the recipes, he has a decidedly world-wide cuisine, taking inspiration from Europe, Southeast Asia, Mexico and many other places. He even has a recipe for New Jersey style pork roll (Taylor ham), beloved breakfast sandwich meat. So there's plenty in there to delight even an experienced cook.

The indispensable book remains Ruhlman's Charcuterie. If your friend already has that, I recommend Fatted Calf's In the Charcuterie.

Are those inside dimensions or outside dimensions? Assuming the former, 5.5 cu ft isn't really going to comfortably fit 4 fresh hams I think. My DIY chamber is 3.3 cu ft and would probably only fit a single ham, if it could fit one at all. Honestly, if all I can do is fit 4 hams into this fridge, and not have more room to cure anything else, I wouldn't get a $1200 mini fridge. I'd be looking for a 6' sliding door fridge where I can hang some sausages, whole muscles and maybe a few hams if I squeeze in everything real tight.

Butchering I don't know much about, but is crucial for the final product. I'd hire someone to walk you through it the first time, regardless of how much you have read by then. To produce charcuterie, you'll need a curing chamber that can handle volume, and have it tuned in to handle the fluctuationsin humidity that will occur when adding so much product. You could freeze some and do it in batches, as processing a whole hog into charcuterie is a massive endeavor all at once.

I'd start looking for a butcher or abattoir that will give you a hand with the butchering and teach you, and start reading. And start building a curing chamber of appropriate size for your needs.

You could get the chamber built and start with making a smaller run out of a portion of one hog, sell the rest and scale up next slaughtering time.

Marianski is a reference for production of cured meats, I'd read it a few times before starting.

Charcuteria is also excellent, about Spanish style cured meats, but has a lot of valuable info.

​

edit - spelling

i normally start with like 75%-80% for the first week or so then drop it down to 70% for the rest of the aging. This allows the meat to dry out slowly at first so the casing doesn't harden and trap in moisture which can lead to spoilage. I think it is important to get an adjustable hydrometer and calibrate it so you know your actual humidity and not assumed. However, if your meat didn't spoil but just hardened around the edges, you can vacuum seal the end result for a couple weeks and it will even it out and improve the mouthfeel.
this is a good hydrometer and this is a good calibration kit

Ruhlman is ok but not the best by far. If you want a good comprehensive book then grab Home Production of Quality Meats and Sausages by the Marianskis. It's not a flashy overproduced book so will cost less then Ruhlman, and it's a lot of theory with few full recipes but that's the point, if you understand the theory the recipes don't matter. Following a recipe blind is a great way to screw up since there's so many horrible and inconsistent recipes available with the internet, it's better imo to learn what you are doing and devise your own recipes, or at very least have the ability to proofread recipes you find online and be able to correct them if need be.

This is the dehumidifier I was thinking about. It doesn't have a compressor and I've read others post about using ones like this with the Peltier technology with success. Hopefully it'll work out.

If I upgrade to a larger chamber I'll probably spend a little extra and get a better controller too. But for a first one I'm hoping this works out.

frankfurters are usually sheep, yes.

That westin will be way better than stuffing with the kitchen aid, and I have one but no longer use it because I upgraded to this which super awesome but not lower in price.

Recipe appears to have worked out great! Mixed the sausage well so the texture is far better than the last batch, and I used a new stuffer that was way better than a kitchenaid attachment.

http://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/B000SQDTRC/ref=mp_s_a_1_2?qid=1381381881&sr=8-2&pi=AC_SX110_SY165_QL70

I bought the STX turbo force and love it! Great quality and wonderful customer service. We used it last week to grind about 60 lb of meat and it didn't skip a beat...wonderful consistent grind. http://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/B0012KJBR0/ref=mp_s_a_1_2?qid=1371999994&sr=8-2&pi=SL75

That looks wonderful. A charcuterie trip to Spain is definitely on my bucket list. What got me thinking about it was reading this book Charcuteria: The Soul of Spain. It's a truly wonderful read if you're into this kind of thing.

Sure!

The River Cottage Curing and Smoking Handbook is what I used as a reference. It's great.

I'm going to have it in my basement for the winter where it is cold and dry. I'm the spring I'll probably move it to my in-laws basement which doesn't get humid in the summer. I'm just going to source meat hooks on Amazon, there are a bunch.

As to sourcing the leg, I'm lucky in that living on the Vermont/NH border there E many organic farmers around. And I'm lucky enough to have one that will do this stuff with me. I would probably start with farms in your area and then move to butcher shops. Ask for rear leg with the trotter attached.

I've not tried dry-cured meats, but here's a stuffer for $40US. I just use my grinder to stuff the sausages I make (bratwurst, andouille, boudin) and it works just fine. The piston press stuffer really shines for emulsified sausages like bologna and franks.

As for recipes, I have this book and this one and they are fairly comprehensive. Read the Ruhlman first for the broad strokes, then the Marianski for some more in-depth theory and practice, along with what seems like a thousand recipes.

Do yourself a favor and buy this book. The first half of the book is all about food science related to meat drying and curing. The recipes are based on mass of ingredients and is really the only way to go. I have several books on charcuterie, but the Marianski brothers' books are the absolute best.

Also, get a decent scale that will measure to 0.1 gram and you will be fine.

Start with a whole muscle cure, like a Coppa. The tricky part is finding the right environment to dry it properly. We have drying chambers that have humidity and temperature conditions that are ideal for slowly air drying cured products.
The best book for really learning the how's and why's is...
https://www.amazon.com/Home-Production-Quality-Meats-Sausages/dp/0982426739

If you are smart and what to learn the reason why you do everything you do - https://www.amazon.com/Home-Production-Quality-Meats-Sausages/dp/0982426739/ref=sr_1_1?s=lawn-garden&ie=UTF8&qid=1487389744&sr=8-1&keywords=Marianski


Maybe my Favorite Sausage Recipe - http://honest-food.net/sweet-italian-sausage-recipe/

If you want a good recipe book - https://www.amazon.com/Great-Sausage-Recipes-Meat-Curing/dp/0025668609/ref=pd_sim_14_3?_encoding=UTF8&psc=1&refRID=N71RD112GDYKRZQMXN9G

Well, your questions are all valid and I can only provide you with what I did in Northern New York, near Lake Placid (Winter Olympics 1932 & 1980).

​

Firstly, review this website, which has numerous recipes, and I have have tried three of them. http://lpoli.50webs.com/Sausage%20recipes.htm#DRY

Then to answer your questions:

1. The temperatures where I live range from -30F - 95F. So, I do my sausages, dried and/or smoked during the cooler months. You can optionally use a refrigerator that should be set at 45-48F degrees, for the curing process. Or find a dark, cool place like a basement.
   
2. Use Cure #2, which is recommended for long curing sausages and meats
   
3. My first attempt to make dried sausage was this recipe:
   
4. SAUCISSON SEC RECIPE
   
   📷
   
   PREP: 30 MINS. COOK: 30 MINS. YIELD: 7 SAUSAGES (70 SERVINGS)
   
   This classic French sausage is a great entry point for the novice to charcuterie. The technique is straightforward, the seasonings simple, and the curing can be done in a relatively forgiving environment, like a basement or garage, not requiring specialized equipment.
   
   As with all cured meats, though, some specialized ingredients are involved, like dextrose, curing salt (also known as Insta Cure or Prague powder), and casings. Curing salt contains sodium nitrite and sodium nitrate, which stave off the development of the bacteria that cause botulism, and is therefore essential to the safety of this recipe.
   
   A stand mixer with a meat grinding attachment will work fine for this recipe. Remember to keep everything very cold at all times. The meat should always be cold enough that it hurts your hands to handle too long. If it begins to warm, get everything in the coldest part of the refrigerator or even the freezer for a few minutes, repeating as necessary.
   
   As the sausage hangs, the meat ferments. White mold will form on the outside of the casing. This is normal, and desirable. After about three weeks, you'll have a firm salami-like sausage with balanced flavor and a sour tang from fermentation. Simply slice and enjoy with some crisp French bread and cornichon pickles. The French also enjoy it with very sharp Dijon mustard.
   
   

   What You'll Need
   

   
   

• 4 1/2 pounds/2 kg pork meat
  
• 1/2 pounds/225 g fatback
  
• 2.7 Table Spoons/1 1/2 ounces/40 g kosher salt
  
• 1 Table Spoon/1/4 to 1/2 ounces/10 g black pepper (coarsely ground)
  
• 1 Table Spoon/ ounces/15 g ​dextrose
  
• .4 Table Spoon/1/4 ounces/6 g curing salt no. 2
  
• 1.2 Table Spoon/2/3 ounces/18 g garlic (minced to a paste)
  
• 1/4 cup/59 ml white wine (dry)
  
• 8 feet hog casing (or sheep casing, soaked in tepid water for 2 hours before use)
  
  
  

  How to Make It
  

  
  

1. Set up the meat grinder, all metal parts from the freezer. Grind the pork meat and fatback on a large (¾” [1.9 cm]) plate into a bowl sitting on ice. Use a paddle to mix in all other ingredients.
   
2. Keep the casing wet while you work with it. Slide the casing onto the funnel but don’t make a knot. Put the mixture in the stuffer and pack it down. Begin extruding. As the mixture comes out, pull the casing back over the nozzle and tie a knot.
   
3. Extrude one full coil, about 48 inches (1.3 m) long, and tie it off. Crimp with fingers to separate sausages into 12-inch (30-cm) lengths. Twist the casing once one way, then the other between each sausage link. Repeat along the entire coil. Once the sausage is cased, use a sterile needle to prick any air pockets. Prick each sausage 4 or 5 times. Repeat the casing process to use remaining sausage.
   
4. Hang the sausages to cure 18 to 20 days at 60°F–75°F (18°C–21°C). These can be refrigerated, wrapped, for up to 6 months.

Like most members here, I started out with a KA grinder and sausage stuffer. The sausage stuffer was the first to go. One batch, and I saw how absolutely terrible this was. I got a LEM 5lb stuffer and have never been happier. Trust me, it's worth every cent.

In terms of grinder, the KA worked fine...it got the job done, didn't take too long, and was reliable. The problem for me was that I felt like I was burning out the KA motor. It always sounded really stressed when I sent the meat through, and it's my girlfriend's KA, so I didn't want to burn the motor out. So, after much research, I got this: http://www.amazon.com/STX-TURBOFORCE-3000-SERIES-ATTACHEMENT/dp/B0012KJBR0

Awful, cheap sounding name? Yes. Amazing grinder? Absolutely. This thing tears through 5lb of meat in about 2 minutes. I'm sure that the LEM grinder is better, but it's twice the price, and I really don't think it's twice the value. I have had this grinder for about 6 months, and I have had no problems. Even with almost completely thawed meat, it grinds it right up. It also has metal parts instead of plastic, so cleanup is MUCH easier and more satisfying than the KA.

I just ordered this one, it's pretty well-reviewed, hopefully it will make bacon day a lot easier.

So this is what I'm doing:

My wife picked out a wine fridge (similar to this) for me as a Christmas present. The racks in mine were stainless steel, so I kept one on the very top shelf and have the rest on hold for future uses.

I also picked out an Inkbird temperature controller and humidity controller. The fridge is plugged into the temperature controller as well as a carboy wrap heater. The heater is taped to reflectix that I cut to size and taped to the door (blocking light) with aluminium tape. This way when the chamber needs to be warmed up, there is even gentle heat radiating from across the whole door AND the light from the exterior is blocked.

I need to pick up a better humidifier, as the one I choose doesn't like it when the power cuts off using the Inkbird Humidity controller. So I need to get one that will start back up when the sensor kicks power back on to the outlet. Something small will work. The wine fridge I have has a fan built in and that kicks on when the fridge cools itself off from the heater (also, checking the meat on a semi-regular basis with opening the door keeps the airflow moving). I'll be buying some stainless S hooks to hang my curing meat on. Until that time, I'm just using binder clips and excess string from the trussing.

I can upload pictures later this evening.

Hard to give advice without knowing more details (e.g., size of fridge).

Normally I'd say don't bother fixing your rig, just go to craiglist and get a used fridge or upright freezer, but I don't know if you can do that.

Problem with a non frost-free fridge is condensation, which will make humidity hard to control.

Some people gauge humidity with a pan of salted water. A better way would be a saturated solution like these.

I use this dehumidifier, not 100% happy but it works for me. The ones I'd like to use are more for room-sized curing chambers.

You can also use it for ageing cheese, that requires high humidity :)

Temp Controller
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B011296704/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_dYnVAb99AN5JX

Humidity Controller
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B01FQKXRXA/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_3YnVAbW8V1DHG

DeHumidifier
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B000H0ZDD2/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_SZnVAbTSHMSQT

Humidifier
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B01D0POS7W/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_m0nVAbD00AGKP

Small Fan (on a timer, runs for 30 minutes every 2 hours or so)
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00WM7TRTY/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_V0nVAb8XD3K7Q

Heater
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00P7U259C/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_E1nVAbC6R49Z3

I got an old fridge on Craigslist for $25 that I thought was a small personal fridge but turned out to be about 6 cubic feet (perfect for hanging). I’m not sure of the brand actually (maybe Kenmore). So far I’ve done a Bresaola and a Copa, both have turned out great!

You will need a meat thermometer. Something like that. Your task will be twofold: first - to bring the internal temperature to 155F and second - to give your meat some smoke. Normal smoker temperature range is between 150F and 275F. You will have to decide what temperature to use depending on thickness of your meat. If sausages are too thin you will reach 155F internal very fast (you don't want to go over 160F as it will overcook your meat). That would be a problem as you need 2-3 hours of reasonably heavy smoke to give your meat smoky flavor. In this case you will need to keep your smoker temperature as low as you can (150F for example). Smoke your sausages for 2.5 hours, than raise temp to 175F and finish the cooking. If you are smoking the whole ham, it can take 6 to 7 hours to cook it through in a 250F smoker. I would recommend to smoke it for 3-4 hours max and then finish cooking without smoking. You can smoke it for 7 hours but it can be too much. Depends on your preferences.

Edit: The book I'd recommend to anybody who wants to cure and smoke meats. It's like the sausage making bible.

this is the mister but they're a real POS, i'm currently on my third one in a year, but the latest one is holding out pretty well

Getting a dedicated stuffer makes a world of difference in the quality of your product, and the ease of making the product.

This meat grinder is on sale right now, and while it runs a bit loud, it is a quality product.

Lem 5lb stuffer is a little on sale as well.

Get both, and you're sitting around the 300$ budget mark!

I do not have experience with the two books you mentioned, however I own “Charcuterie” which does go in depth with sausage making, and has some great recipes. I highly recommend it.
Charcuterie: The Craft of Salting, Smoking, and Curing (Revised and Updated) https://www.amazon.com/dp/0393240053/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_i_QevPDbWDMND63

I was where you were about 2 years ago.

​

1. I found a free refrigerator and spent around $90 to buy all of the stuff to build my own Frankencurebox. I suggest buying a Mist Maker Fogger instead of a humidifier (less money and less space) and I use a tiny ceramic heater instead of a dehumidifier which kicks on the refrigerator to cool and dehumidifier. I eventually plan on building my own dehumidifier. Only time I've had a problem was when I loaded my box and the meat was giving off more humidity that my dehumidification could handle.
   
2. I would start with dry cured sausages. Most people here trust the Ruhlman recipes/books when starting. They are faster to finish and less money if you mess up. Go to a butcher and ask for pork or beef grind. It's the scraps they eventually turn into ground. A whole muscle cure like loma is going to take you 50+ days to finish. A dry cured sausage like pepperoni is only going to take 15-20. Much faster cycles to practice and test.
   
3. Nitrites/Nitrates are necessary and not dangerous if used properly. The big Nitrates scare of the 1980s was caused by a bacon shortage. Bacon producers over nitrated to speed up bacon production. Nitrates cooked at high temperatures release carcinogens. So because bacon producers were using too much nitrate to cure, there was some left over when the bacon was cooked which released carcinogens.

I did a pancetta in a wine fridge. Turned out great. I recommend you invest in one of these so you know what's going on in the fridge. I used a small of water with a sponge in it to regulate the humidity.

I meant Charcuteria, by Jeffrey Weiss, concerning the Spanish tradition, not the more popular ruhlman book. The Spanish panceta in it is not that far off the Italian mark, but it includes garlic and a pimenton rub-down before casing.

It's recipes are far less safety-oriented than Ruhlman's, too. It's a great cookbook.

By which I mean they won't make salt-lick.

Stick with it, I have found that my humidifier and humidistat has not been necessary. Whether dry aging beef or curing 10# of chorizo, high RH has been my battle. I let the wine fridge do the temp regulation and have a CPU fan pushing through a filter with a filter on the other side providing pass through. Things that have proven necessary: Timer for fan- a real PITA to figure out how to program but great: http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00H4XP7QS?psc=1&redirect=true&ref_=oh_aui_search_detailpage
RH meters that can be calibrated: http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B000H6CZQE?psc=1&redirect=true&ref_=oh_aui_detailpage_o04_s00

LEM makes a great 5 lb stuffer. I use it for relatively small runs, and it cleans up really easily. Some people use it without mounting it to the counter, but I like the extra stability, so I mounted mine to an extra cutting board so I can still move it around.

You can't go wrong with Michael Ruhlman, here's a revised version that has excellent recipes and everything you need to know.

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0393240053/ref=as_li_tl?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=9325&creativeASIN=0393240053&linkCode=as2&tag=primalcajun-20&linkId=36e3d3f53527c4493068a33f323534a0

I use an inkbird hygrostat and a small dehumidifier in my curing chambers. I know you are using a mini fridge, but that dehumidifier is really small and holds the humidity level at 75% pretty consistently.

The Rulman book is great. You should check out the Kutas book. It is pretty much the sausage bible. It is more technical and less grocery store/kitchen friendly, but very, very informative.

http://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/0025668609

constant air flow + pork + salt

​

I think this book is great

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1607747871/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_search_asin_title?ie=UTF8&psc=1

https://www.amazon.com/Charcuterie-Salting-Smoking-Revised-Updated/dp/0393240053

I really enjoyed this book and learned enough from it to adjust recipes more to my taste. I hear it recommended all the time and my chef buddy said every chef he worked for owned this book.

By the way, in the end i bought a very small dehumidifier, and it works pretty well.
http://www.amazon.com/Eva-Dry-Edv-1100-Eva-dry-Electric-Dehumidifier/dp/B000H0ZDD2/ref=sr_1_sc_3?ie=UTF8&qid=1415902924&sr=8-3-spell&keywords=defhumidifier
Although, in hindsight, i probably should have gotten a slightly larger model.

Check out this blog:

http://curedmeats.blogspot.com/ - especially the posts about setting up a curing chamber.

Buy these books:

http://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/0982426712/ref=redir_mdp_mobile/175-9483040-3085932

http://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/0393058298/ref=redir_mdp_mobile

Buy supplies from this site:

http://www.sausagemaker.com/


This should get you started. The two books have plenty of recipes and knowledge to keep you busy for a lifetime. Learn about the process and practice. Ask specific questions you may have. The recipes are the easy part and widely available, figuring out how to adjust the recipe to your liking is the hard part.

Michael Ruhlman's books are the best I know of: Charcuterie and Salumi

Definitely not. Get #2. Dry curing meat is not something you should mess around with unless you have a solid understanding of what exactly is going on. I highly recommend you read this book before attempting to make your own:

https://www.amazon.com/Art-Making-Fermented-Sausages/dp/0982426712/ref=sr_1_2?crid=CVNVBNWTJHH3&keywords=fermented+sausage+book&qid=1573243675&sprefix=fermented+saus%2Caps%2C157&sr=8-2

This seems like a solid choice without breaking the bank. If its approved by Asians making hot pot foods, its gotta be pretty legit. Thst shit is taken seriously.

This is a solid start, I highly recommend!

Charcuterie

"Eva-Dry Dehumidifier" on Amazon. You can also try "Gurin Dehumidifier"
http://www.amazon.com/s/ref=nb_sb_noss?url=search-alias%3Daps&field-keywords=eva-dry+humidifier

 

I have this one (it's not too big: 6.8 x 8.5 x 14)
http://www.amazon.com/Eva-Dry-Edv-2200-Eva-dry-Dehumidifier-Mid-Size/dp/B001QTW6KQ

 

Smaller one (which probably means it's takes longer to lower humidity)
http://www.amazon.com/Eva-Dry-Edv-1100-Eva-dry-Electric-Dehumidifier/dp/B000H0ZDD2

 

To give you an idea what to expect when the dehumidifier turns on, here is a chart -- I have a bunch of temp/humidity sensors connected to an Arduino that uploads to the cloud and keeps history :)

• http://imgur.com/DLmhnrv
  
• The lines in the 76-80 range are humidity.
  
• The lines in the 52-57 range are temperature.
  
• When humidity reaches ~80, the dehumidifier turns on and pulls it down to ~77. Though the dehumidifier turns on @ 80, you can see there's a slight lag in moisture reduction because humidity climbs to 82.
  
• It takes 5 minutes to lower the humidity from 80 to 77.
  
• When the dehumidifier kicks on, it's generating heat so the fridge gets warmer which you can see in the temperature stair-stepping. Implying that your fridge will cycle slightly more often (in my case hourly).
  
• The really big dips down in humidity are when the fridge cycles (cools). It temporarily sucks all that moisture but it quickly returns :)

Thanks, i'll end up picking that up. What are your thoughts about... Charcuterie: The Craft of Salting, Smoking, and Curing (Revised and Updated) ?

http://www.amazon.com/Charcuterie-Salting-Smoking-Revised-Updated/dp/0393240053/ref=pd_bxgy_14_img_2?ie=UTF8&refRID=0SX7GN8QX81S3J2HTGE1

Others on here will tell you, Ruhlman is more of a coffee table book.
This is the true meat bible.

I'm a fan of [this] (http://www.amazon.com/Charcuterie-Salting-Smoking-Revised-Updated/dp/0393240053/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1420214600&sr=8-1&keywords=Charcuterie) and this

1.) You'll most likely need to modify a fridge, there are plenty of resources to do that in this subreddit. 2.) Buy some books and understand the process first. Start with a whole muscle cure before salami. 3.) Nitrates are not dangerous if you are using the recommended amount, and you should be using them.

This mofo has never steered me wrong, and is great for both grinding and stuffing.

http://www.amazon.com/STX-INTERNATIONAL-STX-3000-TF-Turboforce-Attachment/dp/B0012KJBR0

Straight outta the Charcuterie book

Books. You need them.

http://www.amazon.com/Charcuterie-Salting-Smoking-Revised-Updated/dp/0393240053

http://www.amazon.com/Salumi-The-Craft-Italian-Curing/dp/0393068595

http://www.amazon.com/In-The-Charcuterie-Sausage-Confits/dp/1607743434

http://www.amazon.com/Great-Sausage-Recipes-Meat-Curing/dp/0025668609

Why not the River Cottage Curing book instead of just the meat one?

no worries - hit up Hank Shaw at http://honest-food.net for tons of info

Also the book Charcuterie: The Craft of Salting, Smoking, and Curing

https://www.amazon.com/Charcuterie-Salting-Smoking-Revised-Updated/dp/0393240053/ref=sr_1_1

Well worth your money and time to read!

I use this small dehumidifier because it works in low temps.

https://www.amazon.com/Eva-dry-Edv-1100-Electric-Petite-Dehumidifier/dp/B000H0ZDD2/ref=mp_s_a_1_4?crid=1WGBGEK5JUV0P&keywords=eva+dry+dehumidifier&qid=1551123603&s=gateway&sprefix=eva+dr&sr=8-4

And I have that on a humidity controller set to turn it on above 75 Rh.

https://www.amazon.com/Humidity-Controller-Inkbird-Humidistat-Pre-wired/dp/B01J1E5LWM/ref=mp_s_a_1_5?crid=2RVTXNZLC15DS&keywords=humidity+controller&qid=1551123716&s=gateway&sprefix=humidty+&sr=8-5

The fridge is on a temp controller that turns it on above 57 and shuts it off at 55degrees

https://www.amazon.com/Century-BNQ-T7B-Digital-Cooling-Controller/dp/B01LZV591B/ref=mp_s_a_1_13?crid=1NXIEB0MA228Z&keywords=temperature+controller&qid=1551123886&s=gateway&sprefix=temperature+&sr=8-13

I don't really want to get in a fight about it, but IMO that's an awful book for recipes. It's incredibly inconsistent, and some are wildly off. Cool pictures. Cool text. Awful recipes.

Here are a few suggestions of mine. Pictures and prose aren't so exciting, but the recipes and techniques are rock solid.

https://www.amazon.com/Home-Production-Quality-Meats-Sausages/dp/0982426739?ie=UTF8&qid=1468252524&ref_=la_B001JRXURI_1_1&s=books&sr=1-1

https://www.amazon.com/Art-Making-Fermented-Sausages/dp/0982426712/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1468252549&sr=1-1&keywords=art+of+fermented+sausage

https://www.amazon.com/Charcutier-Salumiere-Wurstmeister-Francois-Paul-Armand/dp/0615720846

When people say "Ruhlman's" recipe, are you talking about https://www.amazon.com/Charcuterie-Salting-Smoking-Revised-Updated/dp/0393240053/ref=asap_bc?ie=UTF8? Should I just ignore the bad reviews of it?