Cost Options for Meat Dry Curing – Buy or DIY

Curing meat at home can be done in numerous ways, ranging from keeping it very simple to having a dedicated drying fridge. Here is a breakdown of the costs and ideas for curing small goods, such as salami, whole muscle cured meats, or charcuterie.

I started curing meat a few decades ago. Based on my experiences, I hope this quick rundown gives you an indication of what’s possible and perhaps some inspiration to give it a try!

I’ve used many different methods to cure meats, and you can use various options; you may already have the proper setup at home.

Drying cured meat requires approximately 50-60­°F/10-15°C temperature and 65-80% humidity. For salami, more accuracy is required than for whole-muscle meat curing, such as braesola, pancetta, and prosciutto.

Of course, it all depends on what type of cured meat you want to make.

Many years ago, I began my salumi journey (whole muscle, classic salt, dry-cured meats, link to charcuterie/dry-cured meats category list on this site) and experimented with different methods.

How Much Does a Curing Chamber Cost? A standard fridge can be used for certain meat curing projects, or building a curing chamber costs $100-300 USD.

To convert a kitchen fridge with controllers for temperature/humidity, and a humidifier/dehumidifier. It may be plus +$150-$250 USD.

Lastly, you can purchase a professional curing chamber, small format starts from $1,200 up to $10-30k.

Below is a complete list of options. For someone new to the craft, using your existing kitchen fridge is a good option if you don’t want to invest in building or buying a dedicated setup (you need to use small pieces of meat – regular kitchen fridge meat curing article here).

The other ‘no-investment’ method I have seen is simply hanging it in a cellar, attic, or basement. As you can imagine, the results can vary considerably! Once a beneficial mold is present, it can innoculate other hanging meats also after some time.

I’ve seen a lot of different equipment, so hopefully, I can provide some guidance on what is worth spending money, time, and effort on.

Homemade cured meat can be truly sublime, and there are many ways to achieve it.

For me, this is the slowest of foods in a time when life happens very fast—it’s therapeutic and tasty!

I hope this helps some budding meat curers, also known as Norcini (Italian Meat Curing butchers), who want to learn how to cure meat.

Options

From starter to full-blown professional curing options.

Drying Area	Description	Cost (USD)
Basement/Cellar/Garage	Varies, often in cooler months, can work, but may be inconsistent	None
Regular Fridge	Only for smaller projects, since very dry conditions (less than 200 grams meat muscle)	None
Biltong Box/Dehydrator	Designed for making biltong/jerky – very low temperature drying	Low/Medium
May need controllers, humidifier/dehumidifier, fan, filter	May need controllers, humidifier/dehumidifier, fan, filter	Medium
DIY Wine Fridge Conversion	May Need controllers, humidifier/dehumidifier, fan, filter	Low/Medium
New Domestic or Commercial Drying Fridge	Purchase a pre-built curing chamber for professional use.	High

Basement/Cellar/Garage

If you use a testing method for humidity and temperature, you may be able to find a suitable location as you head into fall. The colder months are generally the way to go in most temperate environments.

Some folks like to hang the meat outside during winter; you could also research your climate and see how moisture and temperature vary throughout the year.

Bugs and insects are another reason why, traditionally, dry-curing meat was done in the winter in Europe.

A Regular Kitchen Fridge

What Cured Meat Projects

However, smaller pieces are required for all dry-cured meats, as the humidity is often very low. The article above, on regular kitchen fridge meat curing, explains the process in more detail.

Superb—if you want to try some curing projects, I have found that under 7 oz / 200 grams of meat curing works best in my fridge.

You also don’t want much fat on the meat; fat takes longer to dry out.

They say pancetta is the easiest meat-curing project, and its versatility in the kitchen is impressive. However, if you put it in the fridge, the fat will harden on the outside.

Authentic carbonara fettuccine enhances so many dishes. You can make some in as little as 2-3 weeks, and it can be semi-dried, not thoroughly dried. The golden number is at least 30% weight loss.

Again, it’s a brief rundown on how to dry-cure meat in your own fridge.

It typically operates at a lower moisture level. Over the years, I’ve found that at 25-45% humidity, it can’t handle meat curing projects beyond about 5 days to about 2 weeks before the cured meat gets hard on the outside.

A fridge temperature of 37-42°F (3-5°C) works well, as there is also some air circulation.

50-5°F / 11-13°C is ideal, but that’s for long-term months or years. Trust me, the regular fridge does work.

Perfect humidity is generally 65%—78 %, depending on the project. This is ideal for long-term meat curing projects.

Remember that fridges vary a bit; you can check the humidity level with a humidity temperature device, like a hygrometer.

Use it to check other places around the home that could work for charcuterie dry-curing meat. You would be surprised by what you can get away with regarding temperatures/moisture. This is partially a craft, with a decent amount of science, if you want consistent results.

DIY Dry Curing Chamber

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So many uses! I haven’t strictly used my curing chamber for meat curing.

I have also done a few other things in it. I have gone inside it on wintry cold days (seriously) and set the chamber temperature to over 86°F / 30°C; it was very cozy.

All salumi & salami can be done in this type of setup.

I’ve experimented with various styles of braesola, lonza, smoky bacon pancetta, biltong, growing oyster mushrooms, fermenting beer and wine, dry-aging meats, and drying spices and fruits.

Drying certain spices and vegetables is only possible because I installed a decent heating source in the curing chamber, specifically a flat panel heater located at the back. The heat source also allows me to increase the temperature for fermenting dry-cured salami. However, it’s not possible to have both dry-cured meat drying and fermentation happening simultaneously in the same area.

If you can balance the environmental chamber and control the environment effectively, you can create a plethora of meat-curing wonders and other creations.

My main issue with this one was the dry air from the relatively large compressor on top. I ended up putting a few layers of muslin over the vent, which improved it quite a bit.

Instead of a dedicated input fan for fresh air, the air comes in from the compressors, but I also offset a ‘gasket’ lid and used HEPA filters. Because this is close to the main fan in the compressor, it pulls air in.

This isn’t necessary in more straightforward conversions, but it’s just a matter of fine-tuning to get this beast working well.

Main Equipment Costs:

• Fridge
• Controllers – either for one input or two (temp & humidity)
• Humidifier
• Dehumidifier
• Heat Source (for salami fermentation or cool areas)

It’s worth investing in this kit and having reliable equipment.

After spending weeks, months, or years patiently waiting for a salumi project, you don’t want it to go bad because of a faulty piece of kit that was 10% cheaper.

For my curing chamber, I opted for the whole hard-wiring of the meat curing chamber into a controller box, rather than the easy plug-in option, which is now very common. I had to enlist the help of an electrical engineering friend to assist with the hard-wired control box. 

Since then, I have helped many others to get into the salumi dry-curing game. The plugin-type controller is probably the best option if you are not an electrician or electrically minded.

I’m fortunate to have an electrical engineering brother who has often guided me in the right direction.

The components, like a plug-and-play temperature and humidity controller (article I wrote here reviewing a controller), are reasonable.

Here is a link to a post about building your curing chamber that goes into more depth.

Tips – DIY Building a Curing Chamber 

1. A second-hand fridge is the way to go here; don’t buy a new one since you will likely modify it with holes.
2. You will want to hang things, so think about the racks at the top of the fridge.
3. Some people only use a humidifier; however, if you don’t have one, you may encounter trouble – the compressor will still have a dehumidifying effect. But, when you have ten salamis hanging, it may create too much moisture, so a dehumidifier is advisable.
4. Consider how the airflow will flow in and out; the fridge may not be drawing enough air when it cycles on and off.
5. The tank for the humidifier will vary, and depending on the setup, you might get 1-4 days. If you have space, investing in a large-capacity tank may be good.
6. Tools, food-grade sealant, etc, will be needed.

Buy a New Drying Chamber

I’ve used a dry aging fridge sent to me since it was touted for dry curing also. Although its variations in humidity meant it wasn’t the ideal solution (SteakerAger Pro 40). $1-2k USD

In more recent years, my good friend bought a commercial double door Stagionella fridge, it’s on another entire level, higher at $ 15- 20k USD

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Plug and play – you can start immediately for any meat-curing

The DIY options above achieve the same result as this option. However, it often takes a lot of tweaking

However, if money isn’t an issue, this is where you have things like presets, so the computer in the curing chamber knows precisely the right conditions for specific projects.

Other aspects, such as antibacterial materials and high-grade steel, are also used. In Roman times, when prosciutto and Parma ham were made, they didn’t have these devices; the natural environment made it easier.

However, since we have scientifically developed methods to cure meat to perfection without case hardening and utilize modern techniques such as equilibrium curing, we avoid over- or under-salting the food.

We can create the perfect environment through a professional curing chamber or a DIY option.

If you wish to see the how-to guide to curing meat at home, which took ages to write but covers the process of dry curing, check out the post.

I’ve used the SteakAger Pro 40 (USD 1,500), a dry ager, in detail. However, it can also be used for dry curing. It had a significant amount of case hardening and averaged 75% humidity, but there was considerable variation.

Also reviewed and used a Stagionella double-door professional fridge, which is entirely customizable and quite overwhelming for at-home charcuterie in some ways ($15k).

If you have any questions, I would love to hear from you.

Other Option – Biltong Box /Dehydrator (for biltong/jerky)

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Dries meat or, if you have a dehydrator, dries fruit, vegetables, etc.

It is a meat curing chamber, but you aren’t doing dry-curing (technically, it is dry-cured, but it’s dried it out very fast).

This is an excellent way to get preserved protein snacks for camping, work, or to munch on.

You can create a healthy, nutritious snack to eat anywhere, or add the biltong/jerky to various salad dishes.

You can also use an oven on low to make jerky or biltong; some people prefer to leave the oven door open to prevent it from overheating.

This type of dried meat is perfect for outdoor adventures, such as hiking or trekking. Protein fills you up, and it doesn’t need to be refrigerated.

Jerky and Biltong – because you are using salt, vinegar, spices & maybe sugar. The meat is being cured and supposedly ‘cooked’ with vinegar. If you think of this like South American ‘ceviche‘ in citrus lemon or lime juice, the acidity has a similar effect.

Making jerky or biltong is very easy. I wrote a post on different methods – check it out here.

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