Meat Curing/Brewing Chamber

Hi All,

I am in the process of planning a new meat curing chamber (having outgrown my last) and am going to make this one pretty big, aiming for 400-500 liter capacity.

I had a thought the other day though, the conditions of meat curing are almost identical to brewing. Do you think it would be OK to cure meat int eh same chamber as brewing? would the gas let out of the fermenter affect the meat or vice versa?

Any experience, thoughts would be appreciated!

Simon

Removed.

Curing != smoking.

I'm no expert, but meat curing and smoking are two different processes. From what I understand some people are curing meat in what looks to be a temp controlled freezer. So with some good cleaning and airflow control it might work.

SimonMatthee said:

Hi All,

I am in the process of planning a new meat curing chamber (having outgrown my last) and am going to make this one pretty big, aiming for 400-500 liter capacity.

I had a thought the other day though, the conditions of meat curing are almost identical to brewing. Do you think it would be OK to cure meat int eh same chamber as brewing? would the gas let out of the fermenter affect the meat or vice versa?

Any experience, thoughts would be appreciated!

Simon

Click to expand...

I know that meat curing is sometimes done with the use of bacteria like lactobacillus and pediococcus...having meat products that is actively fermenting alongside susceptible beer wort may not be a good idea. Although I can't see how cross contamination would occur, I would not be surprised if it didn't. On the other hand, I don't know if the species used in meat curing would live/grow in beer wort.

The second point to consider is design. Its my feeling that alot of the DIY fermentation chambers you see built on here are seriously underpowered and probably end up in the scrap heap/repurposed after all that work/cost building them. You are talking a large space here...don't be tempted to "cheap out" with too small of a minifridge. Likewise, you might just find that a full size fridge is the only way to go. Plan carefully.

The dog seems to think that you're talking SMOKING when you mean curing...totally not.

I've been contemplating the same thing lately and overall you would think so, the temp range in the 50's that is good for meat curing seems right and the humidity needed for curing, won't have any bearing on the beer in there.

So it seems well and good for most curing. BUT something to think about.....What are you going to be curing? Will you be growing any beneficial molds on your meats? Will you be using any cultures in your meats (like sausages) that you wouldn't want in your beer, like Lactobasillus?

I did a whole bunch of panchettas and such in my curing chamber and everything was fine. But now that I've made Chorizo and used bactoferm on them, I get that white powdery beneficial growth on my meats now. I'm not sure how that would be in my beer. So I've chosen to keep them separate as much as possible. But the trouble is, as this picture shows, my garment bag curing chamber, as I explain in this thread, is actually in the same closet where my fermenters are, actually to the left of the cardboard box on the floor. So I'm a little concerned that even in the room, there might be some guys floating around. So I may have to move my fermenters out of there.





You can't tell here with the finished Chorizo, but I had just wiped off all the beautiful white powder with a brine solution. But they were nicely covered, and now there's some on the walls of the chamber. And that's what Ruhlman says is really good for protecting your meats from all the other not so good ones.



I would maybe use your curing chamber to keep sealed beers cold, like in bottles, or even kegs if they fit, but I'd be somewhat hesitant in having fermenters in the same chamber. Especially if you have a fan circulating the air in there, you'd be kicking up any spores or molds or lacto regardless of whether they are good bugs or bad for your meat possible into your airlock.

Just a thought.

Revvy said:

The dog seems to think that you're talking SMOKING when you mean curing...totally not.

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Oops...thanks revvy. Missed that one. At least it can bump my post count so I look smarter...or something.

I got nothing on a curing chamber.

Curing is done in the regular refrigerator, drying is done in a temperature and humidity controlled environment. There are several blogs out there that can help you. I have been curing meat for a couple of years. I can post links if it's allowed.

scotty2 said:

Curing is done in the regular refrigerator, drying is done in a temperature and humidity controlled environment. There are several blogs out there that can help you. I have been curing meat for a couple of years. I can post links if it's allowed.

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Yeah, but it's still common to refer to the temp/humidity controlled place as the "curing chamber." Even Ruhlman does in his blog.....You don't hear it referred to as the "drying chamber" in most places.

Revvy said:

Yeah, but it's still common to refer to the temp/humidity controlled place as the "curing chamber." Even Ruhlman does in his blog.....You don't hear it referred to as the "drying chamber" in most places.

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Correct, it was for edification purposes. Temp should be about 50-55 and humidity should be 70-80%.

I guess it's ok to throw up some links as I've seen some in other places. Here's a link to my blog: http://sausagedebauchery.blogspot.com/ and a link to another great blog: http://curedmeats.blogspot.com/ should be enough info to get you going. I'd be happy to help as I am transitioning into brewing due to 2 empty temperature controlled fridges in my house.