If you’re in the business of food service, whether in the context of running a restaurant, a deli, a hotel kitchen, or even an artisan organic meat market, if serving the best charcuterie to your clientèle is a priority, you’re going to need to make it under your own roof. The temptation to do otherwise is strong; thousands of companies have taken chemical shortcuts to trim expenses, but that’s short term thinking and will cost you customers in the long run. If you want to serve sausage, salami, and salumi that’s truly authentic, healthy, and real, you’re going to need to do it the way it’s always been done: through traditional salami processing. The challenge is that there aren’t too many companies left willing to do things the right way. However, this means that if you want to build your brand in a long-term, sustainable fashion, all you have to do to stand out from the competition is to invest in a good meat cabinet and cure your meat under your own roof. The quality of your salami will speak for itself, and you’ll be rewarded with a lifelong fan base.
This is where Stagionello comes in. Arredo Inox is a little Italian company that has been quietly creating durable, buy-it-for-life curing cabinets under the Stagionello brand that no one else in the market can compete with. If you buy a Stagionello and learn to use it, you can cure your meats with accuracy and unmatched quality in less than a month. We’ve reviewed a number of Stagionellos this year, including the STG200600, the STG100300, the STGTWIF0, the Evo 150, and the STG100TF0. However, these are all rather large units for larger businesses. If you’ve got a small restaurant, deli, or artisan butchery and don’t need hundreds of pounds of meat per month–or simply can’t afford a unit that would produce that much meat–you’ll want a smaller, cheaper model. Today we’ll review that model, the Stagionello STGPNTF60 60 kg Wall Cabinet, and see why it’s the best choice for food preservation and salami preparation on a budget. We’ll also compare it to the slightly larger STG100TF0. To summarize our thoughts, buy the STG100TF0 if you want to cure up to 220 pounds of meat each month and stick with the STGPNTF60 if your charcuterie needs won’t exceed 132 pounds per month. We fully review it below, and you can buy the Stagionello STGPNTF60 here on Amazon or buy the Stagionello STG100TF0 here instead.
Which features does the STGPNTF60 share with other Stagionello cabinets?
The Stagionello STGPNTF60 is the smallest meat curing cabinet produced by Italian-based Arredo Inox, following the STG200600, STG100300, STGTWIF0 and STG200TF0, STG100TF0, and Evo 150. The company’s reputation is based on its creation of the best automatic meat curing cabinets money can buy, and their techniques for creating microclimates to produce authentic salami have yet to be matched by other brands. The cabinets primarily differ in size and price; each is capable of curing dozens of meat varieties in about 20 days on average. We’ll take a closer look at these features below; the core points to remember is that Stagionello cabinets are designed to safely, accurately, and automatically manage the three essential parts of meat preparation: temperature, humidity, and airflow.
When you buy a Stagionello, you’re buying a cabinet built to run 24/7 in just about any commercial environment, from restaurants to research labs to everything in between, including farms, organic co-ops, and meat markets. With their proprietary ClimaTouch monitoring technology, you’ll enjoy a cabinet that continually and automatically adjusts airflow, pH, temperature, and humidity levels through each of the five curing phases: salting, stewing, aromatization and smoking, and drying and seasoning. The cabinets use non-toxic foam to insulate your meats and a Fumotic system to allow you to inject flavors and cold smoke on the fly.
Stagionellos are buy-it-for-life, commercial grade machines. Internally, they use AISI 304 stainless steel, a food-safe grade that’s also easy to clean. Externally, they feature locking glass panels that give you security and visibility; if you want to showcase your meats to customers as you cure them, you can do so without affecting the integrity of the curing process. You can use the cabinets anywhere with an ambient temperature at or below 89.6°F (32°C); you can also monitor temperature, humidity, condenser, evaporation, and even pH levels through alarms and digital notifiers. The computer is programmable in five languages (English, French, Spanish, German, and of course, Italian) via a touch screen display, and you can add 70 customized recipes to the 30 preset options, giving you 100 recipe options at a time for your charcuterie. You can fully control the cabinet without opening it and also make use of data logging systems to comply with accountability requirements.
Which meats can you cure with the Stagionello STGPNTF60 salami cabinet?
You can use the Stagionello STGPNTF60 to cure just about any kind of charcuterie you can find a recipe for. Your options include but aren’t at all limited to Cacciatore (also known as Cacciatora or Cacciatorini), Chorizo, Ciauscolo, Fegatelli, Felino, Finocchiona, Genovese, German salami, Hard, Kulen, Lardo, Napoletano, Milanese, Pepperoni, Saucisson, Soppressata, Spegepolse, Vysocina, and Winter salami. Beyond salami, you can cure a range of salumi including Proscuitto, Coppa, Bresaola, Cotechino, Guanciale, Lardo, Mortadella, ‘Nduja, and Pancetta.
Pros, Cons, and Key Features of the Stagionello STGPNTF60 Meat Curing Cabinet
Now you know what to expect from all Stagionello cabinets, here’s what to expect exclusively from the STGPNTF60. It’s the smallest Stagionello meat curing unit, featuring 60 kg (132 pounds) of curing capacity. However, it’s built to the same standards as its larger siblings; you can use it anywhere with an ambient temperature at or below 89.6°F (32°C) and an ambient humidity level below 90%. In other words, you can use it to produce charcuterie in almost any indoor setting.
The STGPNTF60 has rather modest electrical requirements compared to its larger siblings; it runs on 220 Volts AC with a max draw of 2.6 kW and a peak amperage of 11 amps at load. It draws water through a 3/4″ diameter inlet and releases it via a 1/2″ diameter outlet. After programming it, the cabinet creates an internal microclimate that simulates the climate conditions found in southern Italy that are necessary for salami preparation. This allows you to make salami of the highest quality just about anywhere in the world without compromises in flavor, texture, or longevity. In other words, the STGPNTF60 lets you cure meat as if you lived in a Mediterranean climate without needing to move to one. Dimensionally, the unit is about 1.5x as wide as a residential fridge, measuring 43.3″ wide, 30.7″ deep, and 52.8″ tall. It weighs 150 kg (330 pounds) when empty and stands on a set of stainless steel adjustable legs; if you need more mobility instead of additional stability, you can buy optionally available casters.
The biggest drawback to the cabinet, which it shares with every Stagionello, is its too-short one year parts and labor warranty. However, given the degree to which Arredo Inox depends on its reputation as a quality cabinet maker to stay in business, we’d expect at least a full decade of constant use before the STGPNTF60 needs significant repairs. It’s important to note, however, that Stagionello recommends preventative maintenance twice a year for optimal long term performance.
What’s the difference between the Stagionello STGPNTF60 and the STG100TF0?
Besides the price difference between the STG100TF0, which costs more, and the STGPNTF60, which costs less, the only other significant variations have to do with their capacities and dimensions.. The STG100TF0 is the larger cabinet; it can cure up to 100 kg (220 pounds) of meat at once in as little as 20 days on average. The STGPNTF60 will only cure 60 kg (132 pounds) over the same time period. Dimensionally, the STG100TF0 is narrower at 29 inches vs 43 inches, but both share the same depth at 31 inches while the STG100TF0 is significantly taller at 83 inches vs 53 inches. Their weights are identical.
Is the STG100TF0 worth the additional money beyond that for the STGPNTF60?
If you’re almost ready to order and just have lingering doubts about whether or not the STG100TF0 is worth paying more for than the STGPNTF60, we’d recommend considering your business needs before anything else. If you have enough clientèle to consistently sell between 100 and 200 pounds of salami every few months, the answer is easy: get the STG100TF0. However, if your business needs are smaller and your charcuterie capacity won’t likely exceed 100 pounds sold a month, save your money and buy the STPNTF60 instead. Both machines have the same build quality and either will make excellent salami.
You can buy the Stagionello STG100TF0 100 kg cabinet here on Amazon. If the price is too dear or if you only need 2/3rds as much curing capacity, you can buy the Stagionello STGPNTF60 60 kg cabinet here instead.
Canadians, unfortunately Stagionellos are not readily available. We would advise you to have them shipped to a US address and drive them across the border, following all applicable laws and customs regulations as needed.
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