DougN congrats on the slicer and the jerky

mrobisr that’s how we do all our sales products like brisket, pulled pork, burnt ends. We beginning the experiment with ribs soon to see how they translate in a sous vide fashion.

processhead I never even looked at the date when it popped up. But I sure enjoyed looking at them again.

Whitetailrancher I’m sorry for the outcomes of your experiences through the BSA.

our doin just fine brother! keep the efforts comin! You are going to nail it next time!

twilliams you are very welcome…348😁

You missed my point, I use that old Little Chief to only apply smoke to product that I’ve already cooked thoroughly or my dry cure stuff I make, or cheese etc. Product that I cook by other means but then want to run a hit of smoke on it for smell and flavor, hence “cold smoking”, smoking without getting up to cooking temps!!

Dave in AZ Well said! PaPaSmokes Normally I would tell someone that what someone else says doesn’t matter, if you like what you make keep making it that way (as long as it is safe) but as Dave says, different rules apply to you. For Bacon our temps don’t go above 180° The below is from https://meatgistics.waltons.com/topic/800/curing-bacon-for-smoking-cured-whole-muscle-meat-104

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Thanks for the info, I have a very large cabinet smoker as well as my pro smoker smokehouse pk100, I’m not happy with my grill and I wanted an additional “pit” to either smoke on or grill, never owned a pellet but really like the thought now of how fast and long you can cook. The pit boss as nice as the rotisserie is just isn’t what I want as cooking steak or shrimp would be a bit more challenging. I like the Yoder a lot. From what I’ve seen, there is a dealer here in KC that stocked them and another benefit I didn’t know til yesterday is they us the fire boards platform which omi have come to like a lot with 6 probes etc. the cons I’ve heard is no way to dump extra pellets, is this a big deal breaker ? I probably don’t need the YS640 but I’ve never had a problem with spending more on quality.

Tex_77 processhead They were absolutely delicious and oddy for maybe the first time ever they were just as good the next day! I pigged out on them in the morning! The Sweet Heat ones were the least favorite, the sauce is heavy on mustard and that has a tendency to cook out. Other two were awesome!

samspade Yes, Sous Vide will prevent the stall since there will not be any evaporation energy able to cool the sticks since the water has nowhere to go. If you are interested in this then thenew Waltons Smoker Soaker towel is an easy way to get humidity into your smoker!

Unless you personally left a ton of meat on the back ribs, i feel that a braise is a waste of time. Too little meat that will shrink to nothing. That is why i smoke and foil to at least 200 degrees and probe tender.

Dave in AZ now that is a sandwich

GWG8541 Thanks young man!

processhead Good beef is good beef… A little salt/pepper and enjoy the taste. When i batch sausage i always taste w/out condiments. I want the meat to taste good as it is. Just what i do… 🙂

cdavis Thanks! The Meatgistics community input helped finalize the names.

Steven Winscot I shoot for 203-205 and then hold at 160 for many hours afterwards.

Dave in AZ thanks. That was interesting. Wouldn’t mind trying to make it sometime. I thought that it was everywhere also. All the Amish stands and butcher shops around here sell it.

you will notice that the cure effect is diminished (not as pink)

cdavis Well, then Get Busy!🤣

CapnMP another alternative to having steam and high humidity in the smoker is to finish taking the sausages to 155f in a water bath heated to 170f. It only takes a few minutes and removed wrinkles

Jesser
#1, I agree with Paul. Meat is 70% water, held in place in protein bonds etc. When you freeze it, the ice crystals mess up that bond, and water leaks out. In whole muscle, it only leaks from surface, and interior gets mostly reabsorbed. But in ground meat, it leaks from surface…which is everywhere. I freeze meat in chunks, and try not to do ground frozen.

#2. There are tons of SV threads where folks express opinions on bagged vs unbagged. I probably posted remarks both ways. Some juice gets in water. Cooked sausage, like smoked, has less juice come out, so less worry there for unbagged. Most folks say no loss of smoke flavor. Poaching in water has been the German go-to method, forever. But sometimes if I only hit the smoke for 1 hr or 2, and I want it all, I bag them to be sure all smoke stays on.
– tenderness of casings. Most folks say long drying of casings is what causes toughness. Moist cooking seems to help. I’m not totally sure myself, as I don’t think my casings are tough often enough to form an opinion. Some 8 hr smoked TX hotlinks were tough, won’t do that again.

Jesser I pull all my sausage at 130’s and sous vide @ 145f for however long the USDA pasteurization chart shows. At this point the sausage is fully cooked and safe to eat as is or you can grill, fry, or reheat any way you desire and know that it is a juicy and safe to eat product.

PaPaSmokes yes absolutely add cure to your meat block that you will be smoking/cooking at a long extended interval. You can add it to fresh product such as fresh bratwurst but not necessary as long as you cook at a typical fast interval until internal temp reaches desired temperatures of 160*, 165* for chicken all for food safety.

bocephus we’ve had storm after storm and the roads are bad. Hope Jon has safe travels.

Dave in AZ
Thanks for that Dave. Certainly reinforces my ideas in using SE.
appreciate your concise information

hankus46 Then I believe it would be 0.528g per kg of meat

PaPaSmokes You will have no issues!
Just remember the law of 40 degrees to 140 degrees inside of 4 hours! Then lean to the higher temps in a shorter amount of time. This is what #1 cure is used for.

PaPaSmokes like bocephus said, make sure to check the boxes and then save changes

Total cooking time 5 1/2 to 6 hours.
Has a lot to do with outside temperature.
My smokers are in an insulated barn so that helps.

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Coldfoot this looks great. I’m going to give it a whirl. Thanks for sharing 👍

Dave in AZ really good info to have. I’ve been doing jerky wrong for years. Now I have to relearn. Thanks for sharing 👍

Jamieson22 they are definitely one of those perfect snacks. The kids will probably come around to the smoked ones as they get older. Its one of those snacks that have been around a heck of a long time.

startek said in Cold weather smoking issues:

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This is the element I am going to try the testing with and see how the results compare.

Sincitylv said in Pellet Grill Temperatures:

I also believe my temperature probe is off as well as the meat probes. I can handle the meet probes by using different probes or instant read but right now it appears that when I set to 160 my grill is running about 180. Just looking for ideas to keep lower temps.

If the temperature probe that monitors the chamber is inaccurate, the controller will never regulate properly to the set temperature.

I suggest checking the chamber probe against a known accurate thermometer.

Ridley Acres said in Smoker build questions:

processhead Do you have problems with condensation in the flue?

I haven’t seen any. I would expect some puddles on the floor where the smoker ties into the main stack, and I am not seeing that happen. It is a double wall flue pipe, so it may stay warm enough to avoid condensation.

Tex_77 I Decided to not put any salt in my rub this time, and the wet brining was plenty! Im gonna have to look into dry brining!

Denny O April 15th, I’m still high and dry for the time being!

cdherman When those are done I’d love to see some pics and write up on the process?

AaronSilves
Yep. I just made some a couple weeks ago.
IMG_20230116_101853167.jpg IMG_20230116_104917131.jpg

Thanks for the reply. I make chicken—Buffalo Blue Cheese with Bacon brats. They are fresh. But if I combine my brat procedure with my cured sausage, it’s very close to what you describe. Time to give it a try.

gus4416 said in 25lb batch of Colorado Beef Jerky:

Jamieson22 not much left

Yeah about 7lbs out of probably about 12lb from 25lb raw. Makes you understand why store jerky can be so expensive. Well, actually why it SHOULD be.

lamurscrappy Always good to look at some older posts, occasionally I select the random tab in topics just to see where it will take me.

I’ve had the same experience with long cook times. Over time I’ve found what works well for me. My experience has been that the sticks are very sensitive to the amount of fat added when trying to bring up to temp (160). One batch I decided to add what I thought was an excessive % of fat and when I put them on the smoker they were up to temp in less than 4 hrs (smoker never got over 190). (I ramp up the temps the same every time I cook. However, my pellet smoker will not consistently stay lit if I go below 150, so I start at that temp.)
I’m still experimenting with fat and water content but the ratio that came right up to temp was 6 lbs venison, 2lbs of lean pork butt, 2 lbs of lard (for a 10lb mix) I add the spices, cheese and pink salt based on 10lbs, and have found about 1/2 cup ice water per 1lb of mix is about right. In this case, 5 cups. Never added anything but spice mix curing salt and water.
I’ve found to its much more difficult to smoke in cold weather. I have done it, but I cover my smoker with fiberglass welding blankets from harbor freight as insulation. The more meat in the smoker, the longer it takes. My 30" x 17" smoking grill will handle 10lbs. (1 layer of sticks with some space between each stick) and I rotate them because of smoker hot spots.
Hope this helps!

no_eyes_processor haven’t heard from you in a while. Glad to hear from you again.

badexpresso It’s a 700. I’ll look into upgrading the firmware. I’ve tried propping the door open on the 700 and it started doing really weird things. Haha

jakeanderton I have used a pork loin before in a fresh sausage. It was around the time I first heard that pork loin has less intramuscular fat than chicken breast. I made some side by side with no fat added as I wanted to see what the difference in taste/texture was. Turns out that even with less fat pork loin makes better sausage than chicken breast, even if it has less fat.

I would still recommend adding pork fat though. I haven’t had to buy it in a while but it shouldn’t be more than $2 a lb at your butcher…or that is what it was in 2020 when I bought a case of it. I vac sealer it in the largest chunks I could but still have had to slice off some of the oxidized parts when I defrost it. I think that bag might have gotten slightly pierced though.

wanda0554 they are fine. I started smoking mine 1 hour at 120* no smoke. Then add smoke. Then 1 hour at 130* then 2 hours at 140* then I put it in a large stock pot with 170* water and put probes in meat and pull at 160* . It only takes minutes to reach. Then put in an ice bath. You still get the smoke flavor.

Yesi put in protein called for on seasoning package. Iced bath maybe not long enough then put in frig. Still there in vacuum sealed bags after 1 we

calldoctoday I have grilled a lot of them too. Fresh caught/filleted on some pre-sprayed tin foil with some lemon pepper or your favorite seasoning.

I will quite often bake them the same way and they turn out really well.

Labradorbob I do not care for the high temp cheese. Use any extra sharp or very hard cheese, cube it first. Then smoke for a few hours at very cool smoke temps. Then in the refer or dehydrator at very lo temps for a few hours. Works great. We like the taste & texture much better than high temp cheese.

badexpresso said in Thermoworks smoke:

If anyone is looking for an awesome grill/smoker temp probe, the thermoworks smoke is awesome. I highly recommend it to anyone.

Not affiliated in any way shape or form. Just an extremely happy long time user. I have others but my go to, is the thermoworks smoke, and thermopen one.

I have both of those as well. Actually, have two Thermopens and gifted another to my son. Great products. One probe I had for the Smoke failed. Went to order a new one and decided to talk to customer service first. Was curious if I did something wrong with it. Long story short, they sent me one at no cost. This was many years after original purchase. I was stunned. Will now look at the waterproof one.

BTW badexpresso. I see you haven’t joined Team Orange yet. Solidify your membership here!:orangehat: 😉👍

Tried it 3 weeks ago. Sticks were below on screen trays and 6 - 24” x 3” summer hanging. Had temp probe s in some of each. When the slim Jim’s were close, everything went into the Sous Vide for final cooking. Only thing is the Summer was a little short on smoke. I even used the same meat/ Spice mix. Only difference was the caseing. Used carrot fiber

Fractured Fitness
Not being on a well or city water we have a cistern and trucked water so we conserve it as much as possible. I use ice or fresh snow (not Yellow) in the meat hack and add water to cover the product till the temp has sufficiently lowered. I then place the product on a Clean large beach towel and roll and wipe it to dry and remove any drippings. I usually let it sit for a day in the refrigerator and then vacuum seal and freeze.

Thanks for adding the link!

jakeanderton just keep at it. It took quite a while to win my wife over but things are looking up. You’ve got this 👍. Congrats again

Dave in AZ very interesting 🤔. Thanks. I would have never thought of that.

Jonathon I reckon I’ll have to try both and see what happens. It’s worth a shot for 2¢.

Jonathon Makes sense, so when I order I’ll order the fibrous casings. Thanks!

Derslayer1 welcome to the community, you have found a great group who are always willing to try and help.

Dave in AZ Nice looking bacon!

Thanks so much for the quick reply Dave. Makes my day on when I can stuff and smoke.

Richard Goesinya - Well Done!

ricnordl no need to apologize, the countries in that region are really close together and share many traditions. Folks in this community, are always willing to help and if we don’t have an answer, we do our darnedest to figure it out.

samspade yep!

sugarman Any more once I get my snack sticks, summer sausage, etc to 140 I just water bath it till it hits 165. I use a large steam table pan on my propane burner and do in 15-60 minutes what would take hours in the smoker way better heat transfer in water than air. Got this time from this group and love it

Dave

tarp Just beautiful!

I hang the sticks on 3/4" wooden dowels.
Broom sticks work too as long as there is no finish on them.

Jamieson22 said in Best pellets for smoking in AmazeN or cold smoke generator?:

Denny O said in Best pellets for smoking in AmazeN or cold smoke generator?:

I’ve been using “Lumber Jack” pellets. 40 lb bag from $7 best sale to $11 everywhere around here.

Wait you are finding 40lb bags for $7-11? Locally Farm and Fleet sells Lumber Jack 20lb bags for $11 which is pretty good. I order pallets from factory and end up paying $14-ish per 40lb bag including the shipping to my house. Last order was $860 total for 1.2 tons (60 x 40lb bags).

My bad! 20lbs. They are buy 3 get one this month. Still 10/11 dollars a bag here. I’ll know better tomorrow, I’m going to get a few.

Jonathon well what was the result of the great dove hunt, we are all waiting on average shells per dove?

julian 11am till 6pm and your butts are done? WOW, for me to make pulled pork from bone in I’m 16 hours start to finish. I put my 2 butts in a dry cooler wrapped in towels and leave them till next morning. When I open the foil they are still so hot I wear heavy rubber gloves.

I cook mine @ 225 / 235 degrees in the cabinet. Foil wrap around 155 / 165 and set in a cambro @ 205.

Appears identical to the Pitboss Copper which is less than half the price at Lowes. I made a wooden dowel system with a few small blocks of wood and dowels that slide onto the top rack positions. allows me to hang 44" sticks draped in half over the dowels…15 lbs easy on 2 dowels…

I have had tough/chewy natural casings when I smoked also. I figured it had something to do with humidity.

PapaSop that is a beautiful porkchop.

Tex_77 oh that sounds fun while your trying to cook

processhead Now you are going to make me start remembering old Popeye Jokes.

Russell Rogers that is a beautiful pile of sausage. Congrats 👍

I think it would be very beneficial. There is very little sticking if any and cleanup is easy with a well seasoned smooth surface. However It will be a fair amount of work to do. Use your Blackstone for awhile and if you like the way it works use as is. If not then spend the time to sand smooth and season.

Jonathon that’s super admirable

calldoctoday dang pulling out all the stops there

bocephus sounds like a great recipe. Thanks 👍

calldoctoday think I am going to have to give it a try. Sounds so good

Denny O I think you are on to something there

arnprior
Yep, as processhead said, kinda by definition something labeled “cure#1” is 6.25% sodium nitrite.
There are other names for mixtures found in Europe or a Mortons product with different ratios.

Thx for the book recommendation for rubs 😉

Idaho Smokey don’t know how I missed this but that is a great recipe and detailed instructions. 😋 thank you.

Jamieson22 looks great to me.

tarp Great looking loin. Thanks for sharing your process. Will have to give it a try.

hey i give the guy credit he was trying and thought he was doing things the right way , his problem was 2 fold (1) no one taught him how to cook and (2) lack of experence
both of these are not his fault, butit does show what happens when we get to dependant on tech

PapaSop Have a grand time. Have not been up that way in ages, but went up that way a few times years & years ago camping & it was really nice.

wdaly Now why would you want to ruin a good burrito with mac and cheese.😁

shoprat53 good to know. thanks for sharing

I just watched BBQ USA and I thought it was a pretty good show. I know what they use for rubs and sauces are what makes them money, and cook times very, but I like a bit more how too, and not just entertainment. A closer look at the smokers they use would be kinda nice too. With all that said, Sarah and I enjoyed the show and will watch it again. Congrats to Midwest_kc and look forward to more posts on meatgistics from them.

beekeeper84 beautiful butterfly. Congrats 👍

zbigjeff Never gave that a thought! With the grass I saw you have done a whale of a job!

Looks great, bet it tasted better.