Here to answer your questions on food, meat cuts, cooking techniques, smoking, curing chambers, whatever you want to know to step up your culinary game.


I can help you do anything from figure out what the best cut is for a dish to how to set up a dry curing chamber on a budget, how to get the best results out of your smoked items without over-complicating your recipe, or how to prepare a new dish


Ask away, the Butcher is in.

This post was edited by Ice98 on Oct 3 2015 09:46am

What's the best way for me to learn butchery?

"how to set up a dry curing chamber on a budget"

iso this.

The best way to learn is to find a butcher's shop in your area and ask around about internships, I did a part time internship for a couple months and applied what knowledge I had from my culinary background and was offered a position, which allowed me to continue learning

Practicing proper care and sharpening of knives, as well as knife skills (dicing, slicing, etc) will also help you to be a better cutter

First thing you need is a chamber, most of the time this is an old fridge or freezer, it can also be a wine cabinet or mini fridge, basically anything that is still capable of cooling the air inside itself, if you hunt around this should run you less than $50 on craigslist

Next you need a cool mist humidifier, this is very important because if you get one that uses heat to generate water vapor your chambers temperatures will fluctuate and you can easily run into problems

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B001ADL1SG?psc=1&redirect=true&ref_=oh_aui_search_detailpage

This is the model I used, it holds about a gallon of distilled water, which (depending on time of year and ambient humidity) will last anywhere from 5 days to 2 weeks or so

Next you need a humidity/temperature monitor, which is pretty easy because you simply buy an ambient weather sensor like this one

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B003OT33HQ?psc=1&redirect=true&ref_=oh_aui_search_detailpage

Next device you need is something to actually control the temperature and humidity, which is the most expensive part and also the most important

This one will do the trick but many users complain about the user manual being confusing
http://www.auberins.com/index.php?main_page=product_info&cPath=37&products_id=377

This is the one I used, but it requires opening the box and voiding the warranty to change a jumper in order for the box to run a humidifier, rather than a dehumidifier
http://www.amazon.com/AIR-2-Independent-Temperature-Humidity-Control/dp/B0012BGZVY/ref=pd_sim_sbs_201_22?ie=UTF8&refRID=000QMG55RQCTMQPTSBJX




You mount the CAP Air-2 unit inside your chamber, as the humidity sensor is built inside, this means it needs to be mounted so that air can pass through the holes at the top and bottom and pass over the sensor, I found that it mounts great to either side, and if you lack airflow you may consider adding a (very small fan) by plugging it into the same outlet as the humidifier using a T-splitter

You then run the temperature probe to a central location that isn't too close to where the cold air is circulated into the chamber

Next you fill your humidifier and plug that into the outlet

place your weather monitor somewhere it can get a good reading and then set your dials to about 70% RH, and 55* F, let the chamber run for at least a day and make adjustments, then make sure you are running stable temperature and humidity, it will fluctuate 3-4 degrees and about the same humidity % but this is normal, once everything is set you just need to get on making some awesome products

Here are a few pictures








I have successfully made 100mm collagen cased salami, 55mm beef middle salami, lamb leg prosciutto, duck breast prosciutto, cured duck hindquarter, gyulai, and a couple other products

10/10 post ty

On deck:
2 racks of ribs that are destined for the smoker
2 full pork bellies to be made into bacon
a little over a pound of beautiful marbled top round, thin sliced and about to be marinated to make jerky

:-D stay tuned

marbled meat for jerky...? 0.o

Yeah, the fat renders out almost completely into the meat and the resulting flavor is AMAZING, plus the added energy provided by fat is a big plus when out hiking or backpacking

maybe ill try it sometime, but i usually go for lean meat for jerky, like london broil. lean is what ive seen recommended as the fats go rancid eventually, causing it to spoil sooner than it would have otherwise.