Sticks dry fastest when moisture is leaving the surface of the product at the same rate it’s moving out from the center and you get a smooth/pebbly surface like spandex or very fine uniform wrinkles all around the product like Slim JIms used to be. Relative humidity 50%-65% will help this appearance. The deep wrinkles are uneven drying where the surface skins over in some areas (smooth parts or tops of ridges) and all the moisture is escaping from other areas that cave in (the valleys). If you use low relative humidity (0%-35%), you should get deeper wrinkles. Higher air speed will produce deeper wrinkles. And slow cooling in air from a high temperature will help the wrinkling. You could pull it hot and let it stand in air to 80-100F to enhance the wrinkle, then chill it as long as it is cured sausage and not 80-130F for more than 1.5 hrs or 40-80F for more than 5 hrs
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Howdy ya,ll ,
stuffing some sticks that I want to wrinkle up nice- will sure gel prevent that?
I have used those type binders a lot , but never tried to make wrinkles, I also have BP special binder but dang that stuff makes it really stiff an almost rubbery, just want a nice wrinkled stick,Thanks , RC
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I remember twilliams being a fan of this and he might have been the 1st to alert us that something was happening with the seasoning. If I remember correctly he let us know that a bag had expanded, like it was full of air. We told Excalibur, they pulled it eventually and reformulated it. Well, it is back and we have ordered some, so we should have it in a few weeks!
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Hello, I am looking at making venison brats. I want to use natural casing but I am unsure of the correct size casing to order. Any help is app
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Hi Guys
I want to put pepperoni sausage into a plastic casing 2 to 2 1/2” I’ve done that and cooked sous vide to 70c. However I get a big amount of moisture which turns into a gelatinous mass when cutting open the plastic.
Anyone have any idea to prevent the moisture extrusion. Any addition to the meat mixture to soak up the moisture so that when cooking I get a dry sausage mass.
Thanks for any advice ~~```
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I have perfected my Lebanon bologna summer sausage. I usually use my pellet smoker for smoking it, even though I have trouble keeping it at low temps (125 f) for the first part. I have a great sous vide and have used it to cook my filet mignons and then finish them in a hot skillet.
Any thoughts, suggestions, and feedback on the three (3) possible options below?
1 - I make my summer sausage mix, start it in the smoker until I get it to 125-130 f (it should be dry enough and have gotten plenty of smoke) and then vacuum seal and place in the sous vide until it reaches 160. Then ice bath it as usual.
2 - I make my summer sausage mix, start it in the smoker until I get it to 125 f (it should be dry enough and have gotten plenty of smoke) and then vacuum seal and place in the sous vide until it reaches 145 f. Then put it back in the smoker at 175 until internal temp hits 160 f. Then ice bath it as usual.
3 - I make my summer sausage mix, start it in the sous vide, vacuum sealed, until I get it to 145 f . Then place it in the smoker at 175 until it reaches 160 internal. Then ice bath it as usual.
I am an old Jarhead and this is my first blog post so feel free to also email me your thoughts, suggestions, and feedback directly - tony.bensel@gmail.com
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I have a smaller smoker and the venison summer sausage on the lower rack came to temp. However, the middle and top racks only came to 140 and 118 respectively. Do I need to continue the session until they also reach 160 or could I stop this and try the other two racks in another session tomorrow?
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My wife bought me a ham press for some reason but I appreciate the thought … anyways, I have never made a ham of any sorts never mind a formed/pressed ham but have done a little bit of research…cube lean pork, add salt and cure, pack into press, refrigerate then cook…my question is, I think I want to use Country Brown Sugar Cure with California Ham Spice and all of the information tells me to use it in a wet brine but can I use both of them together as a dry brine, mix with the lean pork, put in the ham pressed, let cure 24-48 hours and then cook…if so, what amounts of each should I use per KG/Pound of meat…any other tips or tricks are most welcome…thanks in advance for your guidance
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A couple of questions primarily directed to those with experience using prepared cure formulas, and tagging Jonathon as well to get his comments.
From what I have observed, many prepared cures include salt, sugar, nitrite and other additives. The instructions for use of these prepared cures usually call for adding enough of the product to over-salt the meat during the curing process, then remove the excess salt after curing by soaking the meat in water.
My first question is why add more salt and other ingredients on the front end of the process only to remove them later?
Second, removing the excess cure ingredients by soaking in fresh water is the accepted method. Soaking is effective and works, but how consistent and predictable is the amount of residual salt and nitrite levels in the cured meat? It would seem there could be a lot of variability depending on amount of water used , length of time in the water, and number of water turn-overs.
The above method contrasts with the equalization method of curing where salt levels are carefully calculated to add only enough salt, sugar, and nitrite to the meat to hit the target levels of saltiness, sweetness and nitrite in the finished product.
Hoping to get some enlightenment on use of these cures and how to get repeatable and consistent results.
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Doing a venison pork summer sausage, and adding in ECA. I know I do not need to hold overnight with it. However, is it bad if I do and smoke in the AM?
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I am looking for the correct Sure Cure on Walton’s site that isn’t pink. The last batch of hot dogs I made had the reddish color to them, which I don’t want. There are so many cures to choose from, but none of them seem to be the same as the Pink Sure Cure without the Red #3, they all have some sugar in them (unsure how the sugar will effect the hot dogs).
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A little embarrassed to even be asking this question, but here goes. Has anyone made any snack sticks with the fake meat? Someone asked me about it and thinking prob could, but???
Would like to hear thoughts from you all
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Over Christmas I mixed a 7 lb batch of stix bbq seasoning. I added the seasoning and the cure but had to freeze it right away before curing due to an equipment issue. My question is the meat still good or is it ruined? If I thaw it out and mix it up again can I put into casings and let sit overnight to “cure” and then smoke? Sorry very new to this and hoping I didn’t waste a bunch of meat
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Anyone used this on bacon? Results? I was planning on injecting. I also plan to use the bacon enhancer with it. Thanks
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So I’m going to try making some bacon. Probably going the TenderQuick route, and adding seasonings from there. There is a (couple) commercial rubs I want to use to experiment with, and obviously those already contain salt. Can anyone provide some guidance over how to figure out the salt content of the rub, and then adjust so that the bacon isn’t too salty?
I know after curing I can slice off a piece and try it to judge saltiness, but I’d like to at least be in the ballpark at the beginning. I also thought about applying the rub after the curing process. Thoughts?
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When making venison summer sausage, is 50/50 venison and pork butt a decent ratio? Or is that overkill on the pork? I have seen different ratios from 80/20, 60/40, etc… just curious what the general consensus on here would say. This is my first time making summer sausage. If I can get away with 50/50 that would keep me from wasting as much venison (harder to come by obviously) if something goes wrong.
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Hi all,
I remember someone saying they build a smoker out of a food warmer. Can someone get me the video of how they did it ?Thanks Justin
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