IVERYAN He really is. I love his videos.

GWG8541 it’s pretty good. The craisins add a little sweetness. Wild rice dont add alot of flavor, but gives it a good texture. It is the favorite sausage of many of my friends and family that I make

Jamieson22 that’s my problem too, I keep making all these flavors to try and don’t eat them on a normal basis. Was hoping I was gonna sell more. Now it’s not grilling season sooooo……

Brezer74 That looks great!!

Garry Tarpley we haven’t cooked any links yet, but we sampled the meat left in the stuffer and the single blowout. I would say the flavor is more like a breakfast sausage than what I would consider a brat.

DennyO ha ha ha 😂 yes it would 😄

Lance ok. It sounded to me like a gooey or slimy word thanks for correcting my definition.

Both are fantastic and if in the area of Temple, TX Green’s sausage house is in the same league, all of them making wonderful food.

Bob Stehlik that’s the way I have usually seen them presented. You could lmix and match

Dr_Pain said in Cooking stall in my smoker HELP:

DennyO said in Cooking stall in my smoker HELP:

Dr_Pain said in Cooking stall in my smoker HELP:

Sheesh! I need to get back to cooking so I can compete with you guys. That is some good looking product

Doc, you just take care of you first! Take your meds now so you can make your meals later!!

Getting better everyday. I made a dish last night (from my childhood) that I will share soon. It is a simple all in one and cooked in the microwave. Simple enough and TASTY!!!

Ohh, Very glad to hear! Push yourself mindfully a little and keep it slow and steady.

craigrice said in New to waltons some advice would be appreciated:

if you dont want the tang of ECA then you can use smoked meat stabilizer as a cure accelaretor then smoke the same day with out the tang

or Sodium Erythorbate and stop the browning too.

Lance said in Got another load going in.:

cdavis Thanks. I get to work on my taxidermy stuff from around March through September.

Then the cycle starts all over again.

Yes, everything was cold. Most of the deer meat was partially frozen as I had precut the pieces before freezin, and the pork while not frozen was cold with some of it approaching solid (1/2 hour in the freezer after cutting it in strips that my grinder can tear through). Didn’t see any schmere of the fat. As I mentioned, I only coarse grind my pork for summer sausage so that I get small pieces of fat in the final product. I like it to have a typical salami look rather than looking like a homogeneous mass like bologna. Something else I will watch for as well, but I do understand the need for it all to be cold.
Thanks
Peter

processhead said in First Attempt At Snack Sticks:

Agree with every ones comments and great looking sticks.
Did the ECA release? You should be able to taste it when you take the first bite as a tangy flavor.
I don’t think you would otherwise taste unreleased ECA unless you chewed it very thoroughly.

Thanks! Yes there was a definite tang, so I think I was good to go! I’m going to try a batch without it and let it cure overnight to see what i think of those.

Dr_Pain said in Heat Control While Grinding Meat:

processhead said in Heat Control While Grinding Meat:

Dr_Pain said in Heat Control While Grinding Meat:

processhead said in Heat Control While Grinding Meat:

Are the plates and knives sharp?
Dull knives will grind slow and cause things to warm up.
Does the drive end of the auger (back end) have a fiber washer where it contacts the grinder housing?

That was going to be my suggestion. He could start by buying a sharpening stone and resharpening the plates and cutter. If that does not work then that may be a good opportunity to UPGRADE LOL!!!

I don’t mean to derail the main topic, but what you want to sharpen your own grinder knives and plates is an absolutely flat surface abrasive. Unless unusually large, a sharpening stone will not have the size and flatness you need.
What works well for grinder plates and knives is a flat counter top with a sheet of wet/dry silicon carbide abrasive paper, about 400 grit.

Lay the sheet of abrasive paper down flat on the counter and just work the grinder plate in a circular pattern on the paper till you get a uniform smooth polish on the plate and have removed all knife wear patterns from it. Use the same process for the grinder knife.

This works for plates/knives with light to moderate wear. It won’t work that well for stainless or disposable knives and plates.

I have never used the grinding stones that the sausage maker sells but I thought it was a good concept. Eric at 2 Guys and a Cooler seems to advocate for them (but let’s face it he is sponsored by them) but I believe I have seen another video where he did what you mentioned with the sandpaper.

I looked that the stones sold by TSM and watched the video.
For those not familiar with them, the stones are round and fit inside your grinder head with the plate or the knife, depending which you want to sharpen.
When the auger turns it rotates the knife against the stone and puts a fresh edge on the knife.
The second stone rotates the stone against the stationary grinder plate.
I have not used this product but I would have some reservations. Using them in an electric grinder looks like it would be easy to break the stones if you were not extremely careful adjusting the grinder head nut.
Over time, the stone for the plate is also going to cut a groove in your grinder plates because it is smaller than the plate is.

Man, the double grind sounds like a awesome system

Chris Scheppers I sent you an email.

Thank you!

twilliams

Sure gel was one of the ingredients that I did add in with the seasoning. In the past I have also added carrot fiber to help retain moisture. And I had no issues. But this time I didn’t add it and having different problems. So confusing.

calldoctoday yeah the bacon cure won’t make it taste like bacon. I’d definitely add some chopped and ground bacon if you want to add a bacon flavor to it. Could do that as a fresh or smoked brat still just fine.

We are fans of corned venison and we use the Walton brine mix. I will say after it is complete, we cube it and pressure can it with a little beef fat so it is ready to just warm up and use.

nicholls47 Always worth a try, you never know it might have turned out great.

Jamieson22 Not a problem, just another set of eyes looking.

twilliams If you have a hard time getting past the appearance then send them to me

I used collagen because I don’t have any Polish relatives.

I Was totally surprised looked like any other animal I boned only this one had lots more fat to trim

Dr_Pain the Marianski’s, from their book.

I have been using beef fat exclusively for my summer sausage and snack sticks and would have to do a batch with pork fat to compare. Please send me your meat to pork fat ratio for 12.5 lb and I can try a batch and see if I can see a difference . I will make 2 ea 12.5lb batches and compare. Personally I have never been able to tell the the difference between the meat I use, I have used Caribou,Whitetail and Sitka Black Tail Venison, Moose, Elk and Beef and can’t tell the difference in flavor of the finished product. I am planning on trying Black Bear this year with Extra Precautions to ensure it will be trichinosis free as our bears are well known to carry it.

DennyO I follow the Globe procedures which leaves blade intact. Figure if it is good for commercial applications it will handle my small-time usage. Also less time and handling of the blade.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bDyle83gVtg

mrobisr said in Grinder Plate preferences:

It just depends on your preference as a lot have said. For andouille I grind once through a 10mm, for summer sausage I grind twice through 10mm, and for the genoa salami I just did I ground the pork and fat through 10mm once and the beef through a 10mm and 4.5mm.

That’s my exact combination for both mentioned (andouille and Genoa)

Grimpuppy said in Jerky help:

I like to crush my mentos and blend with the spice mix 😂

HAHAH!!! I think they would bring you more “fun” if you kept them whole and put some form of carbonated beverage instead of water/marinade. That nucleation process if fun but messy

dlcoleman2 I use pork fat and trimmings and go with 30%. Keep it as cold as you can when grinding and stuffing to keep the fat from rending out. Any less fat and the brats always seem dry to me!

lkrfletcher I just thought that your bacon looked more like full slices.

What do I have to own a 12" or 14" Hobart or the like that I could not lift off of the counter to store it out of the way just to be able to full slice bacon, boneless hams and brisket?

keend0 Depends on which route you want to go. If you want to make a traditional kielbasa I would recommend using Signature Smoked Kielbasa Seasoning, Sure Cure (packet included with the seasoning), Smoked Meat Stabilizer and Sure Gel Meat Binder.

For the Roasted Garlic Smoked Sausage I would use Smoked Meat Stabilizer,
and Sure Cure (included with purchase).

Pork butt ground and the cheese of your choice added along with cure #1, salt, dextrose/sugar, California ham spice, and some smoke.

DeerSlayer

daveomak Welcome to this site! I know you from another site that I cannot log onto any more. May we converse in a pm?

Joemy96 That makes perfect sense. I have never made 32s so my experience has only been with 19s and 21s

Cooper1 said in Summer sausage question:

Thanks John, I smoked them last night and they came out perfect as usual. So with that I’m not going to mess around with a good thing!

Wisdom incarnate. Congrats

Bruce 0 Fat won’t necessarily go bad, but it will go rancid and give you an off-flavor. If it is going rancid, you will notice a change in smell, maybe a change in color, and it should be noticeably different than truly fresh meat. If it was not 100% fat, but still had a fair bit of protein on it, the lean/protein portion left will go bad before the fat does. My best suggestion is to treat it like other fresh meat and if you are not going to use it within a week or so, vac seal it or at least put in a more closed container and freeze it.

Miller Yes if you want to smoke right away I would suggest using encapsulated citric acid or sodium erythorbate. If you aren’t really experienced with smoked meat stabilizer I would avoid it if you have access to the other two.

That looks absolutely horrible!! I would need to try it to confirm though

Joking of course ;) The more I see you guys using dedicated smokers the more I feel that at some point I will have to buy one

Jamieson22
Amazing!

Yes you can refreeze if you really need to. For the best quality finished product, you really want to grind whole fresh meat and fully process it within a narrow time window. The quality of ground meat degrades over time, whether it is frozen or fresh

Looks delicious! I’m definitely going to revisit this post and take some notes. Thanks for posting. 😋

That would work just watch the salt content I guess?

They are all cure accelerators. I am not sure at what speed each one works at compared to the other, but for home processing, I would guess there isn’t much difference. You only want to use one of them. If you like the tang, I would just stick with the ECA.

Yeah I wondered the same thing, as in maybe it needed a higher concentration since it wasn’t 100% pork.

I don’t have any left over seasoning from the package and it was 75% pork butt and 25% venison.

Andrew Welcome back Andrew. It’s been a while since you have posted. What have you been making lately? Anything of interest?

TJSauer do you buy a bbq mix or make it up yourself and use bbq sauce?

wdaly thanks. They did turn out really good.

Briox Look into cheese cloth soaked in butter to drape over the chicken. We did this with the Thanksgiving Turkey and was the most moist, best turkey I’ve ever had in my 52 years!!! It was done in the oven, but will be trying in the smoker!

wvhunter1965 said in Chipped Deer:

mrobisr ,

Thanks for the info, sorry to be such a rookie but I am learning!

We were all rookies at one time or another.

Well, I only got the snack sticks done yesterday. Another problem I ran into is they snapped as I was taking them out of the smoker to put in the sous vide. Like a dummy (this is a trend, I admit), I just dropped them in the water and figured it would be fine. Got them done, in the ice bath, take them out…there’s fat all over the outside of the sticks. The flavor is really good - I mean, it’s Willy’s so of course it is - but I am thinking I didn’t mix well enough, and then when they snapped, the fat got on the outside.

So, they’re slightly gross from that. Not sure how to get the fat off, lol. Still have to do the summer and pepperoni. And I have a super busy week with Christmas and my son’s birthday tomorrow. Any clue how long I can wait to smoke in the fridge? 3ish days? longer?

I am going to be making summer sausage with 50% deer and 50% fresh pork butt. Last year I did one batch and smoked on the pellet grill to temp. of 160. Did another batch and just hung to dry for 3-4 weeks in a 40-45 temp. controlled environment. Kept an eye on the 2nd batch till it was dried.
Both batches were 50-50 deer-pork butt using H summer sausage seasoning, sure cure, and sure gel. This year wanted to try Habanero BBQ seasoning.
My wife and I prefer the Old Tyme (hang to dry) summer sausage the best.
My question has anybody used the Habanero BBQ in the Old Tyme sausage? I was wondering about all the sugar in the seasoning.
I might have to just smoke it to 160 degrees but rather go hang to dry.
Thanks for your help.

I always add Montreal steak seasoning (1t for pint and 1T for a qt) and a clove of fresh minced garlic when I can mine.
C8FA020B-39D0-40C6-B783-76AA68608638.jpeg

If I’m not using suregel I include CP in all my products. In the previous life we added sodium phosphate to 99.9 of all the products sausages, hams, hot dogs, breast, and more. The only thing that didn’t have it was no brand name whole turkeys. The brand name whole birds were pumped too.

sarabelieves38 yes but hopefully you stuffed it right after mixing or it will be super stiff and possibly damage your stuffer

Sounds like the 8x12’s are the way to go. Thank you for those who responded.

Old post, but to clear up some misconceptions I’ll attempt to set the record straight for future use and discussions.

Morton sugar cure and tenderquick are essentially the same product exception being that sugar cure contains a small amount of dextrose to feed the beneficial bacteria in long cures and a small packet of spices better known as California ham cure on Waltonsinc.com.

The reason that Morton doesn’t recommend tenderquick in bacon anymore is that the high heat of frying underutilized cure #2 nitrates causes nitrosamines to be produced and that is not very good for colon health.

For long cures, non-cooked meats, and boiled meat tenderquick works well though it is extremely salty. Unfortunately you cannot lower the saltiness because then you don’t get enough cure.

For fried meats use only cure#1 and leave cure#2/ tenderquick for long cures and recipes such as Gepockelte. I agree with Austin that using the Excalibur cures may be a better option for most because the salt content of tenderquick is extremely high (intentionally) and has very specific uses that most people will never need.

Commercially, nitrate is no longer allowed for use in curing of smoked and cooked meats, non-smoked and cooked meats, or sausages (US FDA 1999). However, nitrate is still allowed in small amounts in the making of dry cured uncooked products. Home food preservers should avoid the direct use of this chemical and opt for the mixtures described above.
https://nchfp.uga.edu/publications/nchfp/lit_rev/cure_smoke_cure.html

M. Saboe I do my summer sausage like that and have absolutely no problems contrary to popular opinion, just as twilliams said it is temp activated.

marzig20 looks and sounds amazing!! waiting to hear how it came out when you fry it. The extra pickling spice in the jars kinda scares me. Lol. I don’t like a lot of it as it leaves a bad aftertaste for me.

Jesser said in Tough casings:

twilliams now that’s something new, never heard of p ri c king the casings before smoking only to release air pockets. Any background on how this helps?
Thanks for the. Info

The summer sausage casings, Mahogany Pre-Stuck Fibrous Casing are already struck. Helps the casings adhere to the meat.

bobfrapples I would suggest 70/30 at the least and up to 50/50 when using venison. For seasoning Hatch Green Chili Flavored Brat will provide some heat and includes garlic in its ingredients.

I know this is and old post, but I have done this before and for educational purposes I want to answer the question. If by opaque you mean white that is what cooked salt cured pork looks like. If you want red/pink you must cure pork with cure # 1/2. The only reason Prosciutto is red/pink is because it is raw and not cooked, there is a reason pork is called the other white meat. If you did add cure # 1/2 and it didn’t cook as pink then then for what ever reason your cure didn’t penetrate the meat.

Grimpuppy nice looking product.

wdaly thanks for the update, good info to know

A binder of some sort such as eggs, milk powder, carrot fiber binds meat well along with some mixing or as cdavis said sure gel if you have some.

Deepwoodsbutcher good info on the flakes.

craigrice wish I was on your Christmas list

I personally don’t care for the vinegar smell and taste when frying and eating it.

Finished the bacon up and baked it at 400f on parchment paper and absolutely no sugar burn. I hadn’t really payed any attention, but did this time because of this post. Rate of sugar was my normal 1.5% and it was dry cured, so give it a try you might be pleasantly surprised.

processhead great link, thanks. That is why in a previous life all of the products contained sodium erythorbate which I probably should be using since time is always guiding my production schedule instead of standard.

This could be a little confusing since it on this site, but I digress.

“A lot of our recipes from Walton’s and Meatgistics call for a 12 hour holding period when making cured sausage.”

“So if you want to skip the 12 hour holding period when making cured meats between processing and cooking, simply use a cure accelerator, and get the added benefits of flavor stability and a potentially better shelf life.”

processhead I enjoy me some lamb t-bones, lamb lollipops and then there is a little cafe in a really small town. They raise their own lambs for the sliders they make in the cafe. Boy howdy they are really good, you can tell it’s not beef but you can’t tell oh thats lamb.

cdavis I used the h summer and jalapeño summer.

I much prefer cold smoke. Allows for longer smoking times and to me produces a better texture.

nemo you can use either carrot fiber in smoked meat products, but it is typically used in fresh. Where sure gel is typically used in cured products. Carrot fiber has a higher water holding capacity which will affect the time of your cook of cured products and may make it have a spongey texture. Sure gel holds some moisture but it also helps with protein extraction when making cured. If you have the opportunity try some Small batches and see what you like

i run it thru the buffalo chopper with ice. Before the chopper, I just double ground it and it all tastes the same. I just prefer the pallet feel of the emulsified product. Its more like Troyers trail to me.

Chef I miss those French fries. When I got back to the US after my first deployment as a young Marine over 35 years ago, my sister and her family offered to take me out to lunch and asked what I wanted. I said McDonald’s double quarter ponder with cheese and a large French frie. Life was simpler back then. I could actually eat at McDonald’s then, not so much now.

IVERYAN That’s how I took it also, I think so they could get a more accurate measurement on the ratio.

I use no cure but go to the freezer right after stuffing. I then remove them and vac seal them after they are frozen.

bobfrapples I would go ahead and stuff, think you will be alright.

txoutdoorsman the last batch I made ran 29 % fat content. Seems that the rice can tolerate a bit more fat than other sausages. I also added cold phosphate at a 0.1 % level to stabilize the moisture.

Let us know how it turns out.

EDIT: Okay, I see this was an old post. How did it turn out?

glen It’s very good. Customers really like it. It is a mild Boudin.

I will be making another batch next week. I intend on making half spicier for those who like it hot. Think I’ll combine jalapeño and cayenne.

marzig20 Sorry no I didn’t look that close.

You only want to use cure #1 on anything that is fried. Tenderquick and Sugarcure both contain cure # 1 & 2 which will produce nitrosamines from the underutilized cure #2 when heated to high temperatures as frying does. I use them, but only in items that are to be cured more than thirty days.

I have used my kitchen aid with some batches that were over the size of the mixer I hand mix to get the seasoning distributed then split the amt. in half mix with the paddle on both till protein extraction ,then combine and a short hand mix to blend before stuffing

MCURRAN They definitely look good!

Ridley Acres If you make it to TX check out Buc-ees

fallis10 I think johnsbrewhouse has you on the right track. Although, if I recall when I used to make my own before switching to Walton’s, I would do one cup Pickling or Kosher Salt with One cup of Packed Brown sugar to every gallon of water. I sometimes would mix it up a but & substitute some of the liquid for other liquids (not a bunch of whiskey or anything like that, just a bit if you are doing that), sometimes add some other herbs, etc. Boil the liquid with the solids for a few minutes until you get everything broken down as just liquid. Let it cool completely, then add the brine mix to the ham in the bucket. I would inject mine too to help get that brine or other flavors deeper into the meat faster. Brine for 5-8 days & usually about 6-7 is a plenty. Then rinse, dry, & go to smoking.

I’ve seen in this thread much about injecting to make bacon. Has anyone done a dry cure bacon using a vacuum tumbler? I dry cure now and am looking for a way to execrate the curing time.

marzig20 I have some habanero/bbq seasoning that I won in a giveaway, can’t decide if I want to make summer sausage or snack sticks. Maybe a combination of both

Excellent post!

Ted Perry Any chance you’d be willing to share your copy cat recipe/methods? I found this sausage in a local grocery store and really enjoy it. Price has gone up though so I was thinking of trying to make it and came across this. Also their fat content is pretty high, I was considering using less just to make it a little healthier.

I was thinking of just starting with a basic pork sausage seasoning and then adding curing salt and some hickory smoked powder. Don’t think it will be exactly the same but hoping it would be good enough.

You can really tell the difference with the bacon booster at least I could on mine.

marzig20 my understanding through some reading is that the sleeved/tubed casings are typically more consistent overall .vs. buying a hank or bagged casings.

I use sheep casings when I make kabanos snack sticks and 19mm for other snack sticks. I like the natural but there is a cost trade off. Most folks expect to see snack sticks in the 19mm range, so I use both for now. I don’t have much issues with blowouts, but I don’t overstuff and use the linking process to tighten them up. I learned using natural casings so that is my preferred process. I do use collagen and other types, but not my go to.

CaptMike I often hold some of the meat for burgers.

Chef I try to plan the menus, then shop relative to ingredients needed & not on hand, Sometimes plan the menu relative to what is on sale & on hand. Then of course look for truly good sales for storage (not hoarding). I have always done that for years, at least when I am on top of it. It can save an amazing amount of money. I have just handwritten it all. This sounds interesting. We hope you & your family are having a nice Thanksgiving Holiday.

ADJWIS Cure #1 will still be plenty active against odorless pathogens like botulism so the sniff test will be sufficient