Built structures · Incubators and warm holds
Warm sausage fermentation incubator
A warm, humid incubator kept apart from the drying fridge, where fermented sausage is held through its fast-culture stage before moving to drying.
Overview
A warm sausage fermentation incubator is a box held at a warm temperature, apart from the drying cabinet. The fermentation stage of a dry sausage uses warmth and high humidity to let the starter culture make acid.
A separate incubator lets a new batch start while an earlier one dries. One guide describes making sausages every day and moving them to a separate drying chamber.
Temperatures reported
Home builds report different warm stages. One incubator box was held near 32 C for about 15 hours before drying near 13 C. Another single chamber held about 21 C for 48 to 70 hours. A manufacturer-cited guide puts fast-culture fermentation at 30 to 45 C.
The 22 to 26 C range that was asked about was not confirmed by any consulted source. The culture's own instructions must set the target.
Limits
Fermentation time is limited by temperature. FSIS notes that the degree-hour method counts hours above 60 F and supports control of S. aureus outgrowth during fermentation, not Salmonella lethality.
Sources for this section
Site
A build is made where it stands: moving it means building it again.
How it is built
Risks and precautions · High risk
A product that does not reach pH 5.3 or lower through bacterial action does not reach the safe fermented state.
Hazard sourceA warm set point too high for the culture or for the product can spoil it; the sources give ranges, not one target.
Hazard sourceCheck the pH of the product against the FSIS limit before moving it.
Control sourceCount fermentation hours against the degree-hour model.
Control sourceNot a validated process. Fermentation temperatures in the sources range from about 21 to 45 C depending on culture and method.
Materials
- 1 unit Insulated incubator box or cabinet — Holds a warm set point with a controller.
- 1 set Heater and temperature controller — Heater on the heat outlet of the controller.
- 1 unit Humidity source — Humidity is kept high during fermentation.
- 1 unit Temperature probe — Placed in the middle of the box.
- Set the controller to the warm fermentation target chosen from the starter culture's instructions. The sources give a range of about 21 to 32 C for the warm stage.
- Keep humidity high during fermentation so that the surface stays moist.
- Hold the sausage through its fermentation stage and log temperature and pH against the schedule.
- Move the sausage to the separate drying cabinet when fermentation is complete, so that a new batch can start in the incubator.
Places
Documented for international use, with no single place of origin assigned.
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Sources
USDA Food Safety and Inspection ServiceSafety
FSIS Ready-to-Eat Fermented, Salt-Cured, and Dried Products GuidelineDry fermented sausage reaches pH 5.3 or lower by bacterial action, then dries 25 to 50 percent of its moisture
Moisture to protein ratio of 1.9 to 1.0 or less, with Genoa and Milano at 2.3 to 1.0
Degree-hour method supports control of S. aureus outgrowth during fermentation, not Salmonella lethality
A plant fermenting to a pH above the model basis needs a challenge study
Cited in: Limits
BBQ-Brethren forumMethod
for the Sausage makers - a home made incubator boxHome incubator box held near 90 F (about 32 C) for roughly 15 hours, then sausage moved to a drying chamber near 55 F (about 13 C)
Cited in: Overview; Temperatures reported
MamaligaMethod
Adventures in Charcuterie - Fermentation and Curing ChamberInitial fermentation near 70 F (about 21 C) for 48 to 70 hours in a single chamber
Cited in: Overview; Temperatures reported
Meats and SausagesMethod
Equipment for Making Fermented SausagesFast culture fermentation given at 30 to 45 C
A cabinet without a way to reduce humidity is for fermentation only
Cited in: Temperatures reported