Tex_77 looks pretty [censored] tasty. Will give that a go.

Tex_77 YOU Guys!!! Love it.

I am asking the experts here before I try to make my own pepperoni. Is there some additive that can used in conjunction with the Walton’s recipe to achieve the orang/reddish color of store-bought pepperoni, without altering the taste of the recipe? I know sure cure will lend some pinkish/red…but I also intend to use encapsulated citric acid for the bite, thus it will hit the smoker immediately. When using ECA and not holding overnight, does the sure cure still give the meat the reddish tint? In terms of the deeper color, I am afraid of just dumping in extra paprika for fear of ruining the product. Advice? Thanks for any suggestions!

Jonathon can hardly wait!

Jonathon I think my problem was that I put then in the oven at 300 deg. and they cooked too fast which dried them out. Ratio was 20% pork sausage to my venison. in the past I have just stuffed them, then frozen them and cooked them by grilling or boiling to 165 deg. I was thinking it would be good to have them cooked, frozen, then simply heat them through instead of worrying about the temps later. My thinking now has changed !!

lcash74 That was the same thing I said when he mentioned it, you don’t put shrimp in Andouille. If you want to do that make Boudin or something else.

Jonathon I’m definitely going to give this a try. Looking forward to seeing the video.

What Are The Safe Internal Temperatures? For Beef, Pork, Veal and Lamb you want to cook entire pieces like steaks, chops or roasts up to 145° and cook any ground product like hamburger or ground beef up to 160°. The reasoning for this is that the center of something like a steak has been protected from being introduced to harmful bacteria by the meat on the outside, as soon as you grind that up you are potentially exposing all of it to the bacteria. For Poultry, like chicken and turkey, you want to cook your meat until the internal temperature is 165°. This includes all cuts of poultry including the breast, legs, wings, and ground meat. This is going to kill off a large number of harmful bacteria including E. Coli, Salmonella and Staphylococcus amongst other. For Fish, including shellfish, the safe internal temperature is also 145°. There are obviously some exceptions to this like sushi and sashimi but those are made safe in other ways, mostly freezing it to a temperature that will kill any parasites that are living within the fish. How Can You Monitor This? The best way to ensure you are cooking your meat to the correct internal temperature is to use a digital probe thermometer. The Grilleye Pro Plus Thermometer makes monitoring your foods internal temperature easy, with this system you leave the probe in the meat through the cooking process. It communicates the temperature back to the base of the unit that sits outside the smoker or grill and this one will communicate that information back to your smartphone so you don’t even have to be able to see the base unit to monitor the temperature.