Subcategories

• Seasonings and Additives

  Learn the science behind why, when and how to use different seasonings & additives to make the best product you can.

  
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  Masya Seems to just about do the same thing here in southeast Alabama at certain times of the year. I understand your frustration.

• Fresh Sausage

  Learn the science behind why, when and how to use different seasonings & additives to make the best product you can.

  
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  Great article! I always made my sausages the “old fashioned” way and measured consistency/protein extraction by feel. It’s worked OK but I think I’ll be getting some equipment to help me fine tune my processes.

• Cured Sausage

  Learn about the equipment, casings and processes necessary to make Snack Sticks, Summer Sausage and Smoked Sausage and then watch as we go over how to process each type step by step.

  
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  Here is the proper breakout quantities for seasonings, cures and additives. The meat block and proportions are not covered here.

  https://meatgistics.waltons.com/topic/617/seasoning-conversion-chart-for-1-lb-and-5-lb-meat-batches
  https://meatgistics.waltons.com/topic/700/cure-conversion-chart
  https://meatgistics.waltons.com/topic/811/additive-conversion-chart

• Jerky

  Learn about the equipment, best cuts of meat to use and seasonings and additives to use to make jerky.

  
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  It’s my understanding that you do it with sticks so that the casing doesn’t get hard and split before the meat cooks. If doing smoke and not Dehydrating, the low first step helps with the smoke penetration for jerky. Just my opine… Cheers… Ok, tried to delete this misplaced post and i’m told i don’t have permission to delete my own post??

• Sausage Casings

  Learn how to choose the correct casings for your sausage, how to prepare it for use and the advantages and disadvantages of each type.

  
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  Scott Burtch We tie the ends of ours with a loop for hanging in the smoker & it works beautifully. Of course you would not want to tie breakfast sausages. We have done a few with open ends on the racks & they did fine, so long as I stopped the stuff right at the end or just before. Have you tried using Sheep for breakfast sausages?

• Meat Processing Equipment

  Learn about the importance, functions and abilities of meat processing equipment.

  
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  Didn’t think about the size of the stuff I’m already adding plenty of liquid but it makes sense and now more money for Waltons! Thanks

• Wild Game

  Learn how to make the best deer snack sticks, deer sausage or any other wild game products.

  
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  J

  Sorry if I missed it. But, I didn’t see the requirement of Sure Gel in the list. On the H Summer Sausage seasoning it tells me I should use it. Any issue with its usage coupled with my also using ECA?

• Smoked Meats

  Learn about different types of smokers, using different varieties of wood and best practices for smoking your own meat at home.

  
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  Fun fact - pork tenderloin has less fat than boneless, skinless chicken breast. Some people think that pork can’t be healthy but this cut in particular is definitely on the leaner side and a great option for people watching fat intake.

• Cured Whole Muscle Meats

  Learn about the equipment and cures needed to process your own hams and bacon at home and then follow along with our step by step videos.

  
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  lholder said in Cured Whole Muscle Meat 105 - Ham Basics:

  Could the ham be hung and dried at this point without thermal processing to produce a country ham or prosciutto style?

  No, the ham has too much water activity at that point. When dry curing you are not only curing the meat, but also dropping the moisture content to make the meat safe. I have used this method to make a shelf stable dry cured ham that I aged for 5 months before eating. The only reason I didn’t let it age the full 180 days was the wife complained that the cupboard smelled like a BBQ pit.

  https://virginia-beach.ext.vt.edu/content/dam/virginia-beach_ext_vt_edu/files/4-h/20120223-AGR-EXT-DryCuringVirginiaStyleHam.pdf

• Specialty Sausage

  Learn how to make specialty sausages such as Braunschweiger, Lebanon Bologna or Blood Sausage.

  
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  Jonathon I had heard the same thing about serving them with the casing peeled. I’m just too lazy to go to the extra work to do it.

• Deli Meats

  Learn about common additives, choosing safe deli meat from the store and how to process your own deli meat at home.

  
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  Deli Meats Meat Additives (For Homemade Deli Meat) Cold Phosphate Binders Sodium Lactate

  In Deli Meats 103, we went over some common meat additives that are used in commercially processed Deli Meats; most of them are harmless and are aimed at increasing the freshness of the meat, shelf-life, taste, and appearance. Most of these additives are not things you are going to have in your home or have easy access to; however, there are a few that are easily available and will give you nice reformed deli meat that can be sliced almost as thin as a true deli. These meat additives include Phosphates, Binders, Sodium Lactate, Sodium Nitrite, and Sure Cure. Keep reading for more information on each of these and the benefits of using them when making deli meat!

  Phosphates

  It doesn’t matter if you are making homemade deli meats or buying them from the store; some sort of phosphates will almost certainly be present. The phosphates raise the pH of the meat and allow it to hold more water. Commercial processors do this because a) water is much cheaper than meat, and b) consumers want juicier cuts of meat. We recommend you use Cold Phosphate as this will dissolve easier in cold water than some other types. An important note on phosphates is that if you are injecting it, you need to mix this in first so it can suspend in the water. I’d recommend you add phosphates to any deli meat you are making, but it is especially important when making low-fat deli cuts.

  Binders

  Binders, especially in low-fat cuts, are going to be very key when making a reformed cut of deli meat. Without it, you will have a hard time getting everything to stick together tight enough to let you slice it deli thin without it crumbling. Carrot Fiber isn’t a traditional binder, but it holds 26 times its weight in water, so it can help with juiciness. If you are going to use carrot fiber, like I do in future videos, it is best to use it in conjunction with cold phosphate. Super Bind is going to give you carrot fiber and potato starch, so you get the best of the carrot fiber plus, the potato starch forms a gel at the same temp as the meat really starts to expel water. The only problem with this is that in homemade deli meat, you are going to have some voids in your meat. Having no voids with a hand crank stuffer is extremely difficult, and those voids will be filled with this gel. It can be very unappealing. Sure Gel or Soy protein blend can also be good choices.

  Sodium Lactate

  Sodium Lactate is used by commercial processors to extend the shelf-life of meat products. It is sometimes used as a powder but is most often used in its liquid form. It increases the shelf life of meat products by regulating the pH of the food and reduces the effects of bacteria spoilage. In its liquid form, you would use it at a rate of 1.5% of your meat block, so for a 25 lb batch, you would use .375 lb. As we sell it in gallons, you can see that it would last you a long time.

  Sodium Nitrite & Sure Cure

  Another option for deli meat can be using sodium nitrite or sure cure. We’ve talked about it exhaustively in the past but using nitrite helps fight botulism spores. It’s important to use when smoking meat as you are often creating the perfect environment for the growth of botulism and other bad microorganisms. It can also assist in increasing the shelf-life of the meat and preserving its color and flavor.

  Watch WaltonsTV: Deli Meat: 202 Additives For Homemade Deli Meats Shop waltonsinc.com for Additives Shop waltonsinc.com for Cold Phosphate - Sodium Phosphate Shop waltonsinc.com for Sodium Lactate
• Dry Aging

  Learn the science behind why, when and how to use different seasonings & additives to make the best product you can.

  
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  Jonathon AF2E2350-E050-4FFA-B428-A335AA68A025.jpeg so this strip is starting at 12.6 pounds going to try for 28 days this will be in a fridge not opened I’m going to get another strip tomorrow and bag it the same way and hold it for 28 days in a fridge that’s open and closed all day long.