Humidity control.
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Ran across this pic from a FB sausage group. He was dry aging some snack sticks. What caught my eye was the small humidifier/vaporizer sitting in the cabinet.
Got me thinking of a way to use one of those and vent it into a smoker. Not sure about how to control the humidity or monitor it but sure got the wheels turning.
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Haven’t read that post.but dry aging snack sticks would be pointless. You’d end up with nothing after you cut off.all the pelicle. He probably dry aged the beef that he used to make the snack sticks but I could be wrong since it looks like a fridge it’s in. I’ve been looking into dry aging pretty extensively lately and checking out a bunch of home builds. They use a controller like I linked below, in conjuction with a humidifier to keep the levels where they want them. I’m betting he’s using that same configuration to dry the snack sticks and keep humidity in the chamber.
https://www.amazon.com/Temperature-Humidity-Controller-US-Model/dp/B01KI84NY2
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I’m sure this is going to start some arguments on here BUT…I don’t particularly care for dry-aged beef. It does NOTHING for the tenderness of the beef, it might give it a little bit more of an umami flavor but it’s not this amazing difference that everyone talks about. If I have a subprimal I would far rather eat all of it normal then deal with the loss of product and the hassle of dry aging.
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This post is deleted!
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I guess I was looking for comments on incorporating the humidifier to a traditional smoker, instead of using a water pan and sponges etc. Don’t really see a point in dry aging a snack stick.
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PapaSop We considered it and even looked at a few humidifiers with the thought of building something so it directs it into the smoker. We just couldn’t make it work so that we were able to actually control the amount going into the smoker. Too much can be just as detrimental as none at all. There are control boxes you can get as well but in all honestly getting to 50% RH (https://meatgistics.waltonsinc.com/topic/1099/cured-sausage-205-advanced-thermal-processing) made me not as concerned as it is a simple inexpensive and quick option!
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PapaSop We considered it and even looked at a few humidifiers with the thought of building something so it directs it into the smoker. We just couldn’t make it work so that we were able to actually control the amount going into the smoker. Too much can be just as detrimental as none at all. There are control boxes you can get as well but in all honestly getting to 50% RH (https://meatgistics.waltonsinc.com/topic/1099/cured-sausage-205-advanced-thermal-processing) made me not as concerned as it is a simple inexpensive and quick option!
Jonathon
Looks more like a fermentation chamber.
When I ferment and age a sausage such as Sopressata there is no pelicle. -
PapaSop We considered it and even looked at a few humidifiers with the thought of building something so it directs it into the smoker. We just couldn’t make it work so that we were able to actually control the amount going into the smoker. Too much can be just as detrimental as none at all. There are control boxes you can get as well but in all honestly getting to 50% RH (https://meatgistics.waltonsinc.com/topic/1099/cured-sausage-205-advanced-thermal-processing) made me not as concerned as it is a simple inexpensive and quick option!
Jonathon I think that a smoker homemade like FlamingAntlerOutdoor has would be a better option for a humidifier to be used by someone as the volume of the box in relationship to the size of the humidifier to obtain the proper percentage of moisture along with proper venting
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PapaSop We considered it and even looked at a few humidifiers with the thought of building something so it directs it into the smoker. We just couldn’t make it work so that we were able to actually control the amount going into the smoker. Too much can be just as detrimental as none at all. There are control boxes you can get as well but in all honestly getting to 50% RH (https://meatgistics.waltonsinc.com/topic/1099/cured-sausage-205-advanced-thermal-processing) made me not as concerned as it is a simple inexpensive and quick option!
Jonathon if you had a gauge to show relative humidity and a adjustable vent or damper on the line going to the smoker box to regulate it then it would be possible.
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Although an active huidity source in a smoker might be a good ides, I have never seen a smoker with an active humidity control. I don’t think a gauge or sensor for RH control that withstands the smoky conditions and heat inside a smoker exists. Except of just an inside water tray, there are several ways of vaporising a smoker - Meadaw Creek’s Cabinet Sokers for example https://www.meadowcreekbbq.com/catalog/barbecue-smokers/bx25-box-smoker
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Thanks all for the input. Sounds like it’s just not feasible.
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I guess I’m just not that adventurous.
I smoke and cure meats for preservation reasons.
Adding water, with a pan or any other device seems counter productive.
People I’ve seen with curing chambers do not use a humidifier like that. They use what is more like used in a humidor for cigars. (Think a large storage, walk in refer sized chamber.)
A vaporizer like what I see in that picture is going to mold your sausage.
And Lord Knows, us guys don’t want to let our sausages mold.Carry on…
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I guess I’m just not that adventurous.
I smoke and cure meats for preservation reasons.
Adding water, with a pan or any other device seems counter productive.
People I’ve seen with curing chambers do not use a humidifier like that. They use what is more like used in a humidor for cigars. (Think a large storage, walk in refer sized chamber.)
A vaporizer like what I see in that picture is going to mold your sausage.
And Lord Knows, us guys don’t want to let our sausages mold.Carry on…
pauliedmondsjr
Lol
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I’m sure this is going to start some arguments on here BUT…I don’t particularly care for dry-aged beef. It does NOTHING for the tenderness of the beef, it might give it a little bit more of an umami flavor but it’s not this amazing difference that everyone talks about. If I have a subprimal I would far rather eat all of it normal then deal with the loss of product and the hassle of dry aging.
I could not open the link you sent me it said access denied@akdave Not sure what your smoker set up is but the best way I have found to increase the humidity in a smoker is with Automotive Sponges. I detail that in this post https://meatgistics.waltonsinc.com/topic/1077/cured-sausage-205-advanced-thermal-processing
could you send it again
Thanks
Dave -
akdave I have a suspicion it was trying to make you log in as I just tried accessing it from an incognito window on google chrome and it would not let me in… can you try loggin out, logging back in and then trying the same link?
Austin Is there a reason that this post is only visible for logged in people?
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akdave Sorry, I gave you the link to a private section where I post things as I work on them here is the real link
https://meatgistics.waltonsinc.com/topic/1099/cured-sausage-205-advanced-thermal-processing
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