Curing weight loss plateau

[Chris Hennes]

As I mentioned in the Half a Hog Fall 2014 topic, I'm doing a bunch of dry curing right now (in my new curing chamber!). Here's a plot of percent weight versus time as of today:

I'm doing the cures according to Ruhlman and Polcyn's Salumi, so am targeting a 30% weight reduction. As you can see, however, while the Lonza is on track to achieve that level of reduction, both the coppa and the pancetta seem to be asymptotically approaching a final dried state that does not achieve the desired 30% reduction. Is this a problem, do you think? Should I keep them curing, or call them done?

[Dave W]

Pancetta for cooking would be fine at 25% loss but lonza for slicing and serving raw I'm not quite so sure. How does the meat feel when you squeeze it? I tend to go by firmness for whole muscle cures but funny enough it usually only feels firm enough to me once it is <65% raw weight.

[Dave W]

I don't know what Salumi recommends or what your conditions are but you can lower the RH at this stage to 60-65% rh to get to the final weight.

I've toured a commercial operation that finished their products at lower humidity for the final stage.

[Don Nalley]

Wow! you guys are very scientific! I like it!

I learned to cure meat the old fashioned way. Like Dave said squeeze it! haha 

Well men,  funny enough, when salting we never measured we, Taste it. Cook and eat a little, thats the test.

Agreed on the final,  somewhat lower humidity. The more fat like lonzino will take three to four months but deer loin,  no fat takes around 1 in a half or two.

Cold smoke in the beginning helps the cure for sure, just saying.

pancheta has lots of fat like guanciale (jowls)

Looks like your doing great with your products Chris. Remember, Time.................

Enjoy this little video..https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LMPx4hJkPyc

And this one lonzo:https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3rX8eWh4YGA