Tex_77 thanks

I am preparing semi air dried sausage using Costco shoulder butts. Should I add more pork fat? If so please explain and best place to buy the extra pork fat. Thanks.

Robin05 thank you everyone. After 22 hrs in the fermentation chamber 68-76 F and 65- 80% humidity, the sausage pH is 4.9. Thank you all for your quick responses.

Excellent thanks

After fermentation do you also lower the humidity?

mrobisr thank you

Great idea. Thank you.

In preparation to make a large batch of semi air dried pork sausage I have a few questions. In the past I have made small batches with moderate success. Previous batches included Cure#1 but no starter culture. After stuffing the sausage in natural hog casings, I hung it in the basement for 24 hours. Afterwards I hung it in a vertical smoker and gradually heated it without smoke (total time 5 hours, smoker temperature maintained at 95-110 F for 2.5 hours, then gradually increased to 145 F) until the internal sausage temperature reached 130 F. Afterwards I cooled it in ice water for 30 minutes and then hung to dry for another 5 days. Final weight loss was 28%.
In this large batch, I have decided to add Bactoferm F-RM-52 and dextrose at 0.8%. The plan is to hang the sausage in a controlled environment 68-78 F with 65-85% humidity for minimum 24hours or until the pH drops to less 5.0.
My question is do I need to raise the sausage temperature of this large batch to 130 F or can I just let it remain in the drying chamber up to 15 days or until it looses 18% of its weight? At the end of the process the sausage will be vacuum sealed and frozen. When ready the sausage will be cooked to internal temperature of 165 F.

Lance thank you that is comforting.

My max temp is around 75 because at higher temperature I can’t maintain humidity and I need the humidity to avoid case hardning

Battery operated Food ph meter. I calibrated the meter prior to use with ph 4, 7,and 10 buffer.

I also used the recommended amount of Cure#1.

I made a small batch of sausage and I used the recommended amount of Bactoferm F-RM-52 and 0.8% dextrose. The sausage is hanging in a controlled environment: 67 - 73 F and 85% humidity. The initial pH was 5.8. After 10 hours, the pH is still at 5.8. How long should it take for the pH to drop to 5.0 or lower?