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Well, the three tuscans are done -- see photo series below. 

I pulled them out of the chamber on Thanksgiving morning, after about a month in the chamber (recall that we made them on October 24).  After the fermentation stage, I kept conditions in the chamber at around 54-58 degrees and humidity around 70-80%.  The mold bloomed pretty nicely and weight loss was around 35%.

After I pulled them from the chamber, I scrubbed off the mold with some salt water solution, then dried them off, and wrapped them in wax paper in the fridge.  You'll see the pre and post scrubbing images below.  You'll also see the spread of sliced salami that my daughter and I quickly gobbled up.  It tasted very good and was much less sour (in a good way) than the first batch that Tim and I made a couple months ago. 

So, who wants some salami?  I was just the custodian for these and I know that several of you wanted salami but did not have sufficient curing conditions.  So, I could probably cut two of the tuscans in half and give to those who want some -- Andy? Robin? Yolanda and Frank?  Others who helped make these?

In response to Jim's call for weights, I just checked all mine and found that my tuscans have actually lost 32-38% of their weight, so I think it's time to crack one open.

The giant genoa has gone down from 9 lbs, 7 oz to 8 lbs, 2 oz, for a loss of 14%.  Another couple months for that big boy perhaps.

Interesting new development on my tuscans.  A handful of tiny drops of fat on the surface, which were not there two days ago (see photos below, and look closely for the small, gleaming beads of liquid fat). 

I've seen similar weeping fat in prior salami (though much more excessive), but I thought that was due to temperatures that were too high, and perhaps conditions too dry.  But, these have been kept consistently below 60F and at or above 70% RH for the last several weeks.  Anyone know what physically causes this?  I've been reading the very interesting (and detailed) Marianski book (http://www.amazon.com/Art-Making-Fermented-Sausages/dp/1432732579), but haven't gotten to anything on this yet (I'm bogged down in a section on the innumerable variety of bacteria and their properties and functions).  

One interesting thing is that I only see this in spots where there is no mold (though it may be happening in other spots as well but the white mold is just absorbing it as it oozes out, so it's not visible).

Here's the latest from the Rosen Chamber.  Conditions have been holding steady in the mid 50s for temp and 70-80% humidity.  I've been keeping my humidity up a bit more than the Ruhlman/Polcyn book calls for for a few reasons.  First, because the outside of the giant genoa was starting to get dry and it's so big, I want to make sure I don't get case hardening.  Second, I wanted to encourage more mold development.  Third, I just got the Marianski book on fermented sausages and it recommends a humidity range of 70-85%, rather than Ruhlman's lower 60-70%, and I put more stock in Marianski.  One interesting (and disconcerting) thing I found was that my remote humidity sensor generally reads about 7% higher than my base unit for the same conditions.  Who knows which is correct.  I have an analog hygrometer in the mail that I'll add to the mix ($5).

You'll see that all seem to be doing nicely, with plenty of mold on the tuscans and a slow but steady development on the genoa.  I wiped off some blue/green/khaki mold spots yesterday with a water/vinegar mix.  Probably wasn't necessary, but did it anyway.  Also, interesting to see that much of the "white" mold on my tuscans is really off-white tending toward yellow/brown.  I hope that's OK.

I haven't weighed anything yet, but plan to do so soon. 

My lovely wife, Jeanine, cannot stand the "stench" in our basement.  She wants me to throw all the salami in the garbage.  I tell her that I am THE PRESIDENT OF THE MEAT CLUB and that it is both my duty and passion to carry on these old traditions and craft some tasty morsels in the process.  She pinches her nose and says: "Get rid of them!!!!"

But, of course, I cannot.  I will need to come up with some other solutions.  I'm thinking of setting up some odor barriers in the short term (shower curtains?) and then maybe devise a more involved venting system to the outdoors.  I guess not everyone can appreciate the funky/sour smell of aging raw meat.....

While I've still got my cherished boys (they're really like family now), here's a quick update: the Giant Genoa and the three tuscans are all sharing the curing chamber, which is hovering around 55-60 degrees and 72-76% humidity.  Everything's looking pretty good, especially the tuscans, which are developing an excellent bloom of powdery white mold (see pictures).  The genoa is doing nicely too, but not much mold and the only mold is slightly furry (though it's white and not too furry, so I'm not concerned); I see the beginning of some nice white powdery mold, which is good.  Despite the relatively high humidity in the chamber, I have some concerns about the exterior of the genoa drying out given its massive girth and the fact that the venting fan is often on, which may be passing a dessicating breeze across the genoa.  We'll see.

Next time you see Jeanine, let her know how cool you think she is for curing salami in her basement....