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Old 03-19-2021, 06:06 PM   #1573
bizaro86
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Quote:
Originally Posted by DownhillGoat View Post
They definitely aren't. If/when I switch I'll sanitize for sure. If I don't do a second setup, I'll likely use it for dry aging for a year or so, freeze the cuts, then swap it to curing.

Hahaha if there's a word to describe me it's "overkill" so you're right on the mark there. I'm more worried about it being too dry rather than too humid. Unless I'm completely missing something, theoretically the humidity should be fairly close to the RH in the house, slightly lower due to the lower temp, and possibly slightly higher as the meat loses moisture. I have a humidifier for inside as I assume that's going to be my struggle. Any blogs Ive read using descicant (or a dehumidifier) were in places like Florida or Thailand. I assumed lack of humidity would be an issue here. Surprisingly I was talking to someone at work who does curing, and he has an issue with it being too humid even on Calgary, which really really surprised me.

So far I've started around 60-70% with it cycling from 50-60 with temp fluctuations as the meat dries. Might be an issue come summer, but certainly not in winter. In my head at least.
The lower temperature increases relative humidity. As air warms up it can hold more moisture, so when you cool it down it keeps the moisture it has which raises the relative humidity. That effect is where ice on freezer coils comes from - the cold air can't hold as much humidity, so it condenses out on the sides and freezes.

I agree that you're more likely to need to add humidity (especially in the winter). For the time i tried it I found neither was necessary, but I try and keep the humidity up in my house, so the rh of the input air was around 50%. Moisture off the meat and the temperature effect was enough to keep it in range. YMMV, obviously.
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