{What control do I have over the CLEAVER environment?}
CLEAVER Salumi Cabinet PLUS Range (August 2022)
Launched in August 2022, our new PLUS collection of Salumi Cabinets are the world’s first true Salumi and Dry Ageing Cabinets.
With the full range of temperature {0 ̊C to 25 ̊C} and the humidity {60% to 90% RH} control, these exciting new models provide flexibility and diversity.
Our recommended settings for these models are:
The original range (pre-June 2022) of CLEAVER Salumi Cabinets allow you to set the temperature {5 ̊C to 25 ̊C} and the humidity {60% to 90% relative humidity}.
{Can I dry age in a CLEAVER?}
Our latest PLUS models of cabinets - released in August 2022 - The Weaner+, The Boar+ and The Hog+ - now have the capacity to dry age. Models released before this date are not designed to dry age meat.
The environmental settings in the original range of CLEAVER Salumi Cabinet are perfect for salumi and charcuterie, but not for dry ageing meats.
While the Salumi Cabinets will hold the perfect conditions for salami curing etc, they are not designed to operate at Dry Ageing conditions (<3 ̊C/>75% humidity). At the lower temperature range (5 to 7 ̊C), these cabinet will not hold humidity over 65% RH. These are not suitable for Dry Ageing.
Our PLUS Cabinets, however, have been designed to be able to provide the ideal dry ageing environment - low temperature/high humidity. The temperature on these cabinets can be adjusted the full range from 0 ̊C to 25 ̊C will hold a humidity up to 80-85% RH.
{What is Dry Ageing?}
Dry ageing is a process of resting or storing whole cuts of fresh beef, venison and even fish in a controlled environment and designed primarily to intensify flavour as well as promote tenderness.
When you age meat, the enzymes that are present in the meat will start to break down the tough muscle fibres over time.
In addition, if you are dry aging your steak the flavor will improve over time thanks to enzymatic and bacterial actions, as well as oxidization of the fat on the steak. As time goes on your steak will develop a deeper, beefier taste.
{How much meat can I fit in a CLEAVER?}
The Piglet can hold up to 15 to 20kg of meat.
This up to a half dozen coppas or around 10 to 15 medium salami.
We recommend maximum batch sizes of no more 10kg at a time with 10 to 14 days between each batch being added to the cabinet. Multiple batches can be curing at different stages in the cabinet at the same time.
The Weaner (it's bigger than you think) will hold up to 30 to 40kg of meat.
This could be made up of up to 2 to 3 prosciutto, 10 to 15 coppas or around 25 (long) to 50 (short) salami...as a guide.
Batch sizes of 10kg to 15kg at a time with 10 to 14 days between each batch.
The Boar can cure around 50kg to 60kg of meat.
Which is could be 4 to 6 prosciutto, and/or 20 to 40 coppas, plus 30 to 60 salami.
Batch sizes are between up to 20kg with 10 to 14 days between each batch.
The Hog can cure around 70+kg of meat.
You can fit up to 4 to 8 prosciutto, and/or up to 40+ coppas, plus 30 to 60+ salami.
Batch sizes are up to 30kg with 10 to 14 days between each batch.
{What is the difference between batch sizes and total meat capacity?}
Batch size recommendations on our cabinets refers to the maximum fresh weight of salami you can add to each of the models at one time.
Meat capacity for our cabinets is an indication of the total amount of meat you can fit into each cabinet - obviously very dependent on the type and size of each piece of meat you are curing.
These batch sizes recommendations are for salami only and don't apply to whole muscle cures like prosciutto or capicola.
Please note; you can cure multiple batches of salami - at different stages - in their cabinet at a time, but you should allow at least 10 to 14 days between each batch.
The salami batch sizes are important to allow the cabinets to deal with the large amount of moisture derived from salami during the first 10 to 14 days of their curing. Failure to follow these recommendations can lead to the cabinet freezing up and losing its capacity to effectively control the environment.
Please remember that a CLEAVER Salumi Cabinet is designed to be used all year round, not as a once a year replacement for your normal winter cure. Smaller batches, more often rather than one large batch is the best way to use your CLEAVER.
We suggest using these recommendations as part of your decision process when considering the right model for you.
Maximum Salami Batch Size
The Piglet: 5 to 8kg
The Weaner: 10 to 15kg
The Boar: 15 to 20kg
The Hog: 25 to 30kg
{What casings do you recommend in a CLEAVER Salumi Cabinet? }
We strongly recommend only using natural or round-end collagen casings in our Salumi Cabinets, rather than the tied-end fibrous casings.
While the fibrous casings work fine in the natural environment, where the low night time temperatures can naturally slow down the curing process, in our Salumi Cabinets, we continue to see inconsistent results, including an increase in case hardening and hollowing.
If customers wish to use the fibrous casings, we recommend lowering the temperature (<10 ̊C) and increasing the humidity (80-82%) settings to slow the curing process down. All fibrous casings in a CLEAVER should be finished with compression netting.
{What maintenance will I have to do?}
Not much. As always, you should keep your CLEAVER clean to avoid contamination and spoilage.
You will may need to add water to the humidifier - not not usually - and you might need to occasionally empty the de-humidification discharge tray.
If installing the cabinet in a high humidity region or on moisture sensitive flooring, we would recommend allowing for a discharge pipe to be installed into a drain or waste point. The additional hose and instructions are supplied with every cabinet.
The warranty is full-replacement for 2 years on Salumi Cabinets.
We also offer a lifetime warranty on spare parts and consumables.
This warranty does not include the purchase of additional items like shelves, hanging bars or hooks.