The holidays finally over. It’s frigging cold. And I’m out of sausages.

15# summer sausage ( cracked pepper and garlic)
10# breakfast sausage (110 southern pork)
10# snack sticks ( jalapeno & pepper cheese)
10# brats (Jerry’s seasoning)
5#. Hot dogs ( Excalibur chilli dog)

Found this a lot to do on a weekend with no helper but got through it. To much cleaning between batches. Hands are still wrinkled. Some pics and notes along the way.

25lbs each of venison and pork. The nine pound tube of ground pork saved one step but the meat was pretty smeared. Wouldn’t recommend if your wanting particle definition.

Snack sticks and dogs. First ever try for hot dogs and linking them. Not bad but over stuffed the dogs.

Breakfast sausage and brats. A little difficult to stuff by yourself using natural casing. Got these a bit tighter than I wanted but…a few blow outs when twisting.

Had these stuffed so tight one split where the meat probe went in. That’s a first.

Used my new sous vide circulator for the first time. Worked great. Everything smoked went here to finish. What a time saver. Tried this last spring and won’t go back. Thanks@parksider.

Everything turned out great. The kids loved everything. The sticks were the best I’ve ever made. Used Walton’s collagen casing and sure gel for the first time. Even when stuffing the casings I could tell these were better quality. Perhaps the stickiest meat as well. I’m guessing the sure gel had something to do with that. Started to get a little wrinkling but water bath took care of that. All casings will come from Walton’s exclusively.

Whew…I need a beer.

A bit off topic but… Just had a short thunderstorm pass through. Not a big deal to folk’s in warmer climates but huge deal here in the great white north. It means the last of the white stuff is being washed away.

Although we’re sheltered in right now, those few rolls of thunder mean better time’s ahead. Being outdoors, grilling, smoking, camp fire’s and gathering with family and freinds.

Stay strong people… We got this!

Taking a week off work during a lock down is actually kinda boring. No where to go and not much to do. Ok, enough about that. Time to make some sausage.

All seasonings going forward were Excalibur except the cracked pepper and garlic.

Fresh sausage
Five pounds each.
#110 southern pork
Hatch green chili
Andouille
Philly
Last three done as brats.

in

Bagged and let them set overnight to meld the flavors. Still need some practice on the sizing and twisting but whatever.

Tried a patty test on the three new ones. #110 is a repeat. The Hatch is very good, the andouille as well. The Philly brat is exceptional. Wow. Almost a creamy taste profile. Can’t wait to grill these.

Smoked sausage

10# H unit
15# CPG
5# each of Willie’s/with pepper cheese, Gigawatt and Habanero BBQ. These for sticks. First two, summer sausage.
My son and wife came over to help with mixing and stuffing on these. Huge help, went must faster.

The smoked summer and sticks were all finished in a hot water bath. Sous Vide style.

Final results came out very well. Matt & Jen were most impressed with the Hatch, Philly, and Habanero BBQ.

A good few days work. It’s time.

Like a heart attack waiting to happen. But it sure tastes good. Can’t remember the last time I had corned beef hash. Yum.

Back to that old sausage recipe. Found out it’s not my grandfather’s but belonged to his brother Wes. So now it’s called “Wes’s Sausage”. I asked mom how she remembered the texture. She thought somewhere between a bologna and a brat… Hmm. She also spoke with a brother that said Wes definitely had a smoker and they used a beef casing. Time to grind.

Broke the seasoning down to a 5lb batch. Aside from the salt and sugar it didn’t look like a lot. But once mixed together and the aroma of the onion and garlic soaking in warm water totally filled the kitchen.

Next day I ground and stuffed the meat. Didn’t have any beef middles or rounds but had some hog casing about brat size. Did a couple pounds in that because she remembered the natural casing and the rest in a fibrous casing. Hand mixed this only to the point of starting to get sticky. Wanted this a bit looser. Bagged and left sit over night.

Next morning took out to warm up and dry out in the kitchen. To the smoker we go. Used my regular smoking schedule which is nearly identical to Walton’s. 6 1/2 hours later… Done. Ice bathed, hung for 3hrs in the garage and back to the fridge overnight.


This was absolutely amazing. A semi soft texture and the taste is wonderful. Mom took a piece and said OMG. Greatest compliment I’ve ever received.

Wish I could send you all a sample. This is a keeper.
Thanks Uncle Wes.

Bacon wrapped venison back straps. Two different ways. The open pit was much preferred by all.

On the lighter side of all the corona talk. Just talked to a gal who exclaimed…

" I feel like I’m sixteen again. Gas is cheap and I’m grounded"

Yep!

Grabbed a three pack of sirloins from Sam’s club a few days ago. Sirloin is not my go-to but the price was right. Grilled one the first night. As expected a little chewy but taste was great. Vac sealed the other two. Took one out today and put in the Sous Vide. 135 for about 1 1/2 hours. Just a little over a minute direct sear each side.

What a difference. An even pink throughout and a lot more tender. Perhaps go 2hrs Sous Vide next time.

A note on the foil potatoes. Usually add some garlic powder to them but seen the Garlic Romano wing shake. Yep, it works. Very good. Added more after cooking. As Jonathan and Austin said… Good on everything.

Donovan Mercer
Don’t ever worry about bothering someone around here. Kinda what this whole community is all about. Good luck on those sticks.

Ok… Let’s get this done.

Wow. Haven’t thought about this in awhile. I see Team Blue has a slim, one person lead. Well, not to worry. I’m sure everyone will get on board with @Team-Orange shortly. Besides, why wouldn’t you. Walton’s and Meatgistics is all about " Orange ". You know, the company’s flag ship colors. It’s why we’re here. It’s why we buy and use their products. They’re the best, so why not promote their colors and products.

I have no problem admitting my favorite color has always been blue, even the clothes I wear. But when I grill and process any meats my Walton’s is always on. Just my appreciation.

So… For all you long time members and especially you newer members, get on board. Show your love.

@Team-Orange

BTW… I see Tex_77 referred to all you gentleman… C’mon ladies, do the right thing!

twilliams
[censored]… That sucks!

lkrfletcher
My first time with this was in a turkey cooker. Last two times was in a meat lug with the Sous Vide circulator. No bags used. I’ve had no issues with meat particles or fats clogging anything. I know Jonathon errors on the side of caution with using bags but that’s up to you.

The main thing with the hot water bath is that it saves a ton of time to get the product finished. No more 10-12 hour smoke times. I’m smoking both sticks and sausage to 140-145 then finishing in the water bath. Sticks done in a few minutes, sausage in less than an hour.

As Jonathon said Parksider has done a lot of this and I’ve learned a lot from his methods.

bubba
Yep. Only way I do it now. Do the same with summer sausage. Huge time saver.

twilliams apologies for late reply. Only tried the Reuben seasoning once and wasn’t overly impressed. Not messed with it since. Why I was curious how yours will turn out. The perfect Reuben is the sandwich I’ve been chasing for years. Still try them from various places I travel to. If someone can get the brat figured out that would be very interesting. Good luck.

twilliams
Curious to see how these work out for you. Still chasing that perfect Reuben.

This should generate some varied responses. To your first question… Yes. Just depends on what type you’re doing and what you’re looking for the final product. Typically I always do two grinds. Personally I think you get a better finished product. ( again depending on what you’re making ). With a cured sausage a smaller second grind will get you better protein extraction and a better finish. A fresh sausage you could get by with one grind but depends on the amount of meat to fat you’re doing and what you’re looking for. Sorry, lot of ifs here. Just experiment. Not sure there is a right or wrong. As far as the PIA it’s not really an issue on my end. With a #22 grinder the second grind is pretty fast.

Third night in a row with steak. Ribeye tonight and a change of pace with a little surf. The weird part. $14 total cost on this. Last gourmet burger outing was $15 just for the burger without extras. Hmm. I’m good with this and my time.

Grabbed a three pack of sirloins from Sam’s club a few days ago. Sirloin is not my go-to but the price was right. Grilled one the first night. As expected a little chewy but taste was great. Vac sealed the other two. Took one out today and put in the Sous Vide. 135 for about 1 1/2 hours. Just a little over a minute direct sear each side.

What a difference. An even pink throughout and a lot more tender. Perhaps go 2hrs Sous Vide next time.

A note on the foil potatoes. Usually add some garlic powder to them but seen the Garlic Romano wing shake. Yep, it works. Very good. Added more after cooking. As Jonathan and Austin said… Good on everything.

So I pulled out the last package of Philly brats from the freezer today. Oh boy!!! Not quite the aha moment I had a week ago when I pulled the last package of snack sticks, but close. Cooler temps are close so time to get busy.

Anyway back to the brats. Decided to give Jonathon Cheez Whiz thing a go. I’m doing this by myself with no one else around for a reason. Being from 'sconsin if one of my peeps seen me pouring cheese on a brat they would look at me like what the F are you doing.

Had to put some onion on this just because I like onions. It tasted pretty good but would definitely not be my go-to for a brat. I’m guessing this was a lot better on an actual Philly steak sandwich. Perhaps might incorporate some high temp cheese into the next batch of these but… They’re so good as is.

Although brats on a bun covered with onions, ketchup, mustard and kraut are wonderful… Sometimes just stabbing one off the grill with a fork and eating is close to the best it can be.