Utilizing the whole wine cellar

[Brian_Gilp]

I modified a recipe from The New Charcuterie Cookbook — Jamie Bissonnette. I bought it used for $2.

Lots of info on the web that can get you started.

[Brian_G_r_a_f_s_t_r_o_m]

Interesting!

don’t know how much a “TON” is, but if you like French Onion Soup, that’ll rid you of a good amount. But maybe you get enough to make that soup 20 times over.(?)

[Rob_Isaacs]

I used this recipe from Modernist Cuisine. The black garlic spread is worth making also.

[Eric_White]

I tend to follow Rimmerman’s book for the important stuff (salt, curing salt percentages), but wing it entirely on the spices

Edit to add - I tend toward whole muscle cures, such as coppa. I’ve tried a whole leg a couple times, but sadly failed.

[William_Kelley]

My cellar is at 80% humidity, which is a touch high for long term storage of hams in my experience, but works very well for cigars even if some would consider it a touch high.

[Jason_T]

Somewhat similar thread on this topic several years ago (wouldn’t have been easy to find unless you recalled the conversation, which I did… I probably need a life )

What else do you keep in your wine cellar?

With us buying in greater quantities to minimize trips to the store (or deliveries), I find things other than wine are finding a home in the wine cellar. While my wife has always stored her Cannoli shells in the cellar, and we keep the “good” olive oil in there, it now also contains vacuum-packed coffee beans and nuts. I think the potatoes may do well in there too, but I’m reluctant because the bags aren’t sealed like the nuts and coffee. What, besides wine, do other folks keep in their cellars? …

[Dave_McIsaac]

@William_Kelley

My cellar is at 80% humidity, which is a touch high for long term storage of hams in my experience, but works very well for cigars even if some would consider it a touch high.

There was (is?) a cigar shop in Cleveland (Cousins) that kept the humidor very cool (cold) and very high humidity. They did this to kill off/prevent any cigar beetles. Assuming your cellar is around 55 degrees, 80% humidity would be just about perfect for cigar storage (temp + humidity = 140)

[Andrew_K]

You don’t really need a wine cellar for that. I got one a few years ago and it just sat on my counter for a couple of months while we worked our way through it.

[Greg_Pierce]

I am just amazed that folks have such ginormous wine cellars that allow them to do stuff other than store wine. Mine is so stuffed that it routinely takes a fair amount of time moving stuff out so that I can get to any given wine I’m looking for.

[alan_weinberg]

I keep chocolate in the wine cellar and hide Mounds bars there also.

[John_Morris]

@Mattstolz

@John_Morris

Also, having visited a prosciutto plant south of Parma a few years ago, at least in big quantities, the aging hams stink to high heaven. It was nauseating.

have done the same, and honestly, I loved that smell! not as much as the parmesan aging room, but still enjoyed it.

In September 2016, by dumb luck, we arrived in Langhirano for the annual Festa del Prosciutto. I’d tried to set up a tour with an artisanal producer, but the tourist office sent us to an enormous industrial plant owned by an Austrian company:

When we were there, it was the 50th anniversary of the 1966 festival, for which the locals constructed an enormous (paper mache?) ham – 25 to 30 feet long, I’m estimating – that they hung over the road at the entrance to town. Photos of that faux ham were all over the town in 2016.

[EricZ]

0.0% chance my wife is letting me leave a leg of ham on the counter anywhere where anyone could see and since my wife doesnt eat ham, that is big o’ chuck of meat for me to work thru solo (+ guests)

[Jim_F]

My cellar doubles as my wife’s fur storage.

[Brandon_R]

Don’t be. I keep maybe 100 bottles at my home in my cellar with most of my wine at an offsite. It’s a passive cellar that, partly due to my home being in the Pacific NW of the USA, stays rock-solid at around 55-65 year-round. There’s more than enough room for a pile of onions!

[D_Fischer]

I use my wine cellar when I make lemoncello (I use a method that involves suspending the lemons in a large jar over the liquor for two months). I have also used it when fermenting items (albeit in a jar with a water lock).

[Steve_McL]

When we host Thanksgiving or Christmas we’re generally feeding 12-20 people a couples meals per day.

The wine room becomes overflow for things that need cool, but not cold: pies, eggs, hearty produce, cheese & etc.

[T_Melloni]

I have used my cellar for storage of onions, garlic and hot peppers. I also made some dried sausage (salami). Humidity was not as high as I would like. Generally, around 70% is the recommended level for making cured meats. I was around 55%. The dried sausage/salami was good. I just needed a slower and longer dry time.

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[brodie_thomson]

Pickled Manzano Chillis and other preserves

[T_Melloni]

Can you smell them in the cellar. Seems like no matter how tight you seal the jars, even with the plastic film cover, some scents will escape.

When I dried sausage, my cellar smelled like an Italian deli. Smelled great; my mouth would water smelling the curing meat.

[Mattstolz]

@Greg_Pierce

I am just amazed that folks have such ginormous wine cellars that allow them to do stuff other than store wine. Mine is so stuffed that it routinely takes a fair amount of time moving stuff out so that I can get to any given wine I’m looking for.

when building ours, we had the space in the basement that isnt being used for anything else anyways, and once you are buying the stuff to build it, the added cost to give it more sqft didnt seem that significant. so ive got a much larger space than I need for wine, and dont have the racking to fill the whole space anyways.