No matter whether you run a restaurant, a hotel, or an artisan market, if you want to serve your clientèle quality meat, you can’t outsource its preparation. We live in a world full of chemical additives, and to guarantee the production of real, healthy sausages, salumi, and salami, the best way to do so is to cure your meats yourself through traditional salami processing. The problem is that fewer and fewer companies are willing to produce quality meats without dangerous shortcuts to save time and money. The good news is that with a quality meat curing cabinet, you can get the job done yourself without compromising taste, health, or your savings.
The other day, we reviewed the largest meat curing cabinet from Stagionello, the STG200600 200 + 600 kg cabinet, and confirmed its reputation throughout the food preservation industry as the gold standard for preparing massive amounts of salami in weeks. However, the price of the STG200600 can be hard to stomach for smaller businesses, which is why today we’ll review its slightly smaller sibling, the Stagionello 100 + 300 kg STG100300 Cabinet with ClimaTouch and Fumotic, to see if it offers more value for the money. To summarize our thoughts, buy the STG200600 if you’ll consistently cure close to 2,000 pounds of sausage on a monthly basis, and buy the STG100300 if you can make do with a 900 lb limit. We fully review it below, and you can buy the Stagionello STG200600 here on Amazon or buy the Stagionello STG100300 here instead.
Which features do all Stagionello cabinets, including the STG100300, include?
The STG100300 is the second-largest meat curing cabinet Stagionello manufactures. The company, which is a master of meat preservation, makes seven different curing cabinets, of which the STG200600 is the current flagship. Each cabinet is capable of curing a wide variety of salumis and salamis in, on average, 20 days. The cabinets are fully automated to allow you to manage your business while the cabinets manage the three crucial components of safe and delicious meat preparation: temperature, humidity, and air movement. Before detailing how the STG100300 varies from other Stagionelolos, it’s worth reviewing which features all models share (i.e., the STG200600, STG100300, STGTWIF0, STG200TF0, STG100TF0, STGPNTF60, and Stagionello Evo 150).
Built for use in hotels, restaurants, farms, meat markets, organic cooperatives, and research labs, Stagionello cabinets use ClimaTouch computer monitoring systems to continually adjust temperature, humidity, pH, and airflow throughout the five pre-programmed phases of each unit: salting, stewing, smoking and aromatization, and seasoning and drying. Each cabinet uses non-toxic foam for insulation and a proprietary Fumotic system to produce and maintain desired levels of both cold smoke and added flavorings.
Stagionellos are built to last and designed to be easy to maintain. They use non-porous, food-safe, easily cleanable AISI 304 stainless steel interiors; externally, they feature locking glass panels, allowing you to visually verify the curing process or showcase your meats in retail settings as they age. You can use the cabinets anywhere with an ambient temperature of 89.6°F (32°C) or less, and each cabinet includes alarms and digital notification systems for any issues involving humidity, temperature, pH, evaporation, or condenser settings. You can control the computer system in five languages (English, French, German, Spanish, and Italian) via a touch screen display. In addition to the aforementioned features, the computer includes 30 preset recipes and sufficient memory to store a total of roughly 100, allowing you to add 70 of your choosing without removing the preset options. You can also control every element of the cabinet through the computer system and log the results of the various internal probes for record keeping.
Which meats can you cure with a Stagionello cabinet like the STG100300?
Each Stagionello cabinet can be used to prepare just about every kind of salami in existence, including 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. You can also cure many varieties of salumi, including Proscuitto, Coppa, Bresaola, Cotechino, Guanciale, Lardo, Mortadella, ‘Nduja, and Pancetta.
Pros, Cons, and Key Features of the Stagionello STG100300 Meat Curing Cabinet
Now you’re up to date of everything you’ll find in every Stagionello cabinet, here’s what you’ll only find in the STG100300. As their second largest model, it features 100 and 300 kg cabinets for a combined 400 kg, or nearly 882 lbs of curing capacity. It will work in any environment with an ambient temperature that doesn’t exceed 89.6°F (32°C) and an ambient relative humidity under 90%. Electrically, it requires 380 Volts, uses 7.12 kW at full power, and draws 10.32 amps. Functionally, it creates a microclimate to simulate the climate conditions of southern Italy, where you’d naturally find the specific temperatures and humidities necessary for safe sausage preparation. As a result, you can use the STG100300 almost anywhere in the world to produce salami of equivalent quality, flavor, and texture, as what you’d find through traditional curing methods in a Mediterranean climate.
There’s no doubt that the Stagionello STG100300 is a large machine; it weighs 700 pounds shipped, stands 101 inches tall, is 100 inches wide, and takes up 37.4 inches front to back. It uses stainless steel adjustable legs to provide extra stability on uneven floors, and you can also buy casters to provide additional mobility. The biggest drawback to the unit, aside from its price, is the meager 1 year parts and labor warranty. However, we consistently read and hear good things about Stagionello’s customer support, and when you keep in mind the degree to which they rely on their reputation for quality machinery and safe and authentic salami preparation, we would be surprised if the STG100300 showed a need for significant repairs before at least 10 years of service. That said, do keep in mind that Stagionello recommends preventative maintenance twice a year to keep their machines working in tip top shape.
What’s the difference between the Stagionello STG100300 and the STG200600?
Aside from the additional price of the STG200600 compared to the STG100300, the only meaningful differences involve capacities, dimensions, and electrical needs. The STG200600 can cure up to 1,764 lbs of meat in an average of 20 days; the STG100300 tops out at 882 pounds at a time. Because the STG200600 has twice the capacity, it is nearly twice the size; while it is still only 100 inches wide, depth increases to 69 inches and weight doubles to 1,400 pounds. The electrical requirements also rise to 8.6 kW and 12.5 amps at peak draw. Aside from these differences, both machines function identically.
Is the STG100300 worth the savings over the STG200600?
If you’ve reached this point and still aren’t sure whether to buy the STG100300 or to go all out for the STG200600, we understand. Both machines cost a significant amount of money, particularly from a small business. However, we can assure you that both are among the finest machines in their field, and either will quickly pay for itself if used at capacity and if you price your salumi apppropriately. We recommend choosing the STG200600 if you expect to reliably sell between 1,000 and 2,000 pounds of sausage every few months and to buy the STG100300 if your business runs on the order of 500-1000 pounds every few months.
You can buy the Stagionello STG200600 800 kg meat curing cabinet here on Amazon. If the price is too dear or if you only need half as much curing capacity, you can buy the Stagionello STG100300 400 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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