chrich_99 you are correct 32/68. I have never used straight venison

Basscat
I’m gonna vote NO, but then I’m gonna waffle and add, fajitas often have some vinegar and lime juice in their seasoning, rest is close to taco. Soo… if you like fajitas flavor more than taco, I’d add the ECA!

jakeanderton Sorry didn’t see your question till now. This is just a premade snack stick seasoning mix.

Dave in AZ Looks like you got a bit. I am still splitting wood & loving it, but not like I used to & not due to age, but we just don’t burn it like we used to. We still hand split all our smoking wood though. If I recall correctly, Arizona Ash is a fast growing tree & not sure of the smoking value. A cord (not a face cord) would be 128 cubic feet, no matter how you measure it. Folks get confused with the face cord vs full cord thing & the measurements, but just stick with the 128 cubes. As far as price, I have no idea these days as we still cut our own when we need it & do not buy any & I am too poor to pay attention. Also, do everything you can to stay away from those HOAs. I got involved with them when we were still in Texas in the late 70’s, early 80’s & tried to do some good things & not a bunch of cookie cutter whatever, but it was a loosing battle, so I have made every effort to stay away from them any more if at all possible & that is the very short story.

all of my ground and formed jerky formulas have the seasoning usage the same as whole muscle

mrobisr I am right there beside you…

weirich76
1669952071111-20221201_182358.jpg

Hey, here is a pic I posted in another thread today where I froze some ground meat and fat, cut to cubes, then reground. In this case I used food processor and did this for max coldness during emulsify step.

This is what I mentioned above 😉

Ridley Acres Deepwoodsbutcher I am touched and honored…31

For snack sticks I use 1.5 oz. of water per lb. of meat.

Brendan 0 We picked up some pork loins at that price. Also picked up a few more Boston butts from albertson’s $0.97 LB. Always like to have some on hand when prices are good. Two going into the smoker tomorrow for pulled pork.

Larry Tumblin I used them commercially, so I’ve actually tried quite a few brat and sausage seasonings. Philly cheese steak is a big hit to name one. I use a lot of their rubs and spices/ cooking seasonings. The BBQ sauces are fantastic and the mustards are delicious.

Brendan 0 I always use a binder in summer sausage it helps create a solid tube which slices great and looks good. In links carrot fiber is great due to it’s water retention for a juicier product

SWicky No, I am saying with fully hydrated saskatoons I tried 3 different batches and my family and friends liked the 20% best…so I suggest you make smaller batches and find out what you and yours like best. Let us know. Cheers

Sounds interesting! Would like to use some chicken breast instead of always using thigh meat. What kind of store bought seasoning? Name brand or just a local mix? Is it Italian flavored?

Ridley Acres That is a huge bird. How much did it weigh? Lots of good leftovers there.

GYoung thanks for the link

I hit up the meat counter at my local grocer for beef fat trimmings. I usually do about 15 percent.

Ridley Acres sounds like you will make good use of a dedicated processing room for sure. Hope it all works out well for you

EDaniels your brats look great 👍 congrats

Has anyone tried using Habanero BBQ summer sausage seasoning for BRATS? Added cheddar or ghost pepper HT cheese?

.@koko13 f I do not add cheese to my product, but with the standard meat product adding more liquid is the key to easy stuffing. Adding more liquid on the front end then drying on the back end is the simplest solution to easy stuffing.

SWicky Welcome to the community. Everyone has their own way of doing things, if it works for you it will be fine.

johnsbrewhouse Glad to hear you are doing much better today & were able to get everything moving. I have all mine moving now too,

Ridley Acres
My wife hides mine, but… I still have the internet!

Dave in AZ I always want to add that you shouldn’t add Soy Protein Blend or any soy based or cereal based binder to small diameter sausage as they will cause the meat to set up and make stuffing difficult/impossible depending on how thin you want the sticks.

Ridley Acres yes. Nice to get exactly what you want and work at your own pace

calldoctoday I’m pretty lucky. Our local processor is real good. He ordered me a whole case of bellies.

grinnell-locker For brats we do not even reduce the plate for the second grind, just do the second grind with the same 3/8" plate & it is perfect.

Deepwoodsbutcher You are very welcome, thank YOU!

Dave said a mouthful there, I see myself in the mirror as wanting to save at the real cost of the meat I could be disappointed with later. Well put Dave!

Dave in AZ you won’t be sorry. This is good stuff.

Larry Tumblin Very nice, good job!

johnsbrewhouse i truly do not deserve your kindness. I thank you kind sir…46

lamurscrappy
The one there probably shouldn’t be online as it is custom only. The other “standard” 6 inch one is still a special order item. The 6" standard one is $389.99.
I will probably have the custom one removed online and won’t add the other one, so if you want to buy one you’ll have to call our customer service team at 316-262-0651

ppelaez you should be fine. Just be sure you cook to 160.

Dave in AZ I found that there was more than enough pressure…maybe if the canister wasn’t full enough it could be a problem or maybe after repeated use it perhaps might become a problem…anyways, just my 2 cents

IMO it just comes down to personal preference. Some like cured meats with more sweetness or other flavorings. Others like it on the saltier side.

mrobisr
cdavis
Thx much guys. I’ve been waiting weeks for some encapsulated lactic acid samples so I could do some side by side comparison, but it looks like the account manager never sent the sample maybe… might have to press on with just eca and an eca/ela mix, and F-LC culture. Appreciate your comments.

Thank you. I’m hoping to try these suggestions soon.

caveman01 Sorry I’m late to the party, but the tangy can be really good if matched with certain cheeses, glad you like it.

Ridley Acres Have you ever tried boiling them and then frying/grilling them for color? That should solve your tough casing problem.

Dave in AZ this was a great thread. Lots of good info I can use. Thanks to all.

Dave in AZ yeah, it is crazy, same with bacon, cajun, or canadian… 67

Some of you may make your sausage links by twisting in one direction and the next link in the other direction. If you pinch and twist every other link always in one direction you can make the links in half the time. Just skip the length of link and pinch and twirl then skip a link then pinch and twirl and just keep pinching and twirling every other link always twirling in the same direction and your done in half the time.

Tex_77 thx, good podcast. I wanted to know more for sure, interesting guest, wish he had gotten more talk time.

andrewt cold phosphate primarily binds water to meat letting you add more water for juicier sausage and economics. Apparently also useful as a binder, but it would not be my go-to choice. I have some.

200 degrees would probably do it, especially if the smoker has temp swings and got higher in truth.

Everything stalls in a cookerat lower temps. For every meat type , shape, surface area, moistness, there is a point at which evaporation loses as much heat as is being put into the meat. So temp stops increasing until meat dries out enough… which isn’t great for some things you want moist. Reducing evaporation by increasing humidity in oven helps. Also, you only get most smoke flavor below 140f, above that meat is cooked and impermeable to smoke… so a lot of folks pull sausage, snacksticks, brisket off then and finish it sealed up to retain moisture somehow. Briskets get wrapped in foil or paper and oven finished often. Snacksticks you can toss into a sous vide and finish in 30 min. Bunch of threads here on doing that.

djohnsonfire said in Cooking stall in my smoker HELP:

Dr_Pain said in Cooking stall in my smoker HELP:

@dennyo said in Cooking stall in my smoker HELP:

Dr_Pain said in Cooking stall in my smoker HELP:

@dennyo said in Cooking stall in my smoker HELP:

Dr_Pain said in Cooking stall in my smoker HELP:

Sheesh! I need to get back to cooking so I can compete with you guys. That is some good looking product

Doc, you just take care of you first! Take your meds now so you can make your meals later!!

Getting better everyday. I made a dish last night (from my childhood) that I will share soon. It is a simple all in one and cooked in the microwave. Simple enough and TASTY!!!

Ohh, Very glad to hear! Push yourself mindfully a little and keep it slow and steady.

Mindfully is the word of the day!!! Thanks DennyO

I saw this post in the unread feed, and I thought Dr_Pain was back…guess not yet. Hopefully you are doing well Claude, wherever you are!

Is there anything different that you’re supposed to do when using super bind vs. the sure gel binder? I have used sure gel for many years without issue and when it was sold out I tried some of the super bind and the outcome was not good. So bad in fact I tossed the small batch of snack sticks and brats I used in the test. Everything was measured correctly but I did hand mix since it was a small batch. I’ve used carrot binder before without issue and super bind is supposed to be a mix of that and potato starch. The end result was dry, clumpy and I could taste the binder. The meat looked fine before smoking. Not enough water? Not mixed well enough?

bleathery Wow, that looks really good. Great Job!

Jonathon I can definitely taste that with the hog jowls.

If you allow a salted blend to sit in the refrigerator, it will continue extracting protein through 72 hrs and get stiffer even without ore mechanical mixing. Even 6 hrs in the refrigerator you should be able to tell a difference.

Jonathon is spot on about the moist heat, it is the only defense we have against E. coli. Dave and DWB are spot on about the low heat and extended time, good luck.

Mcjagger That will be in my next batch for pork belly bacon. Back then when I was asking I already had one and a half whole belly in brine.
On my June 23rd comment about deer bacon, that will now be coming up in the next months. I put it on hold last June as I ended up with too many irons in one fire!

RON PARRISH That’ll teach him to ask before the try. I’m howling with you.

Snacks I would use whole bag for 25 lbs. Snacksticks are usually saltier and more flavor than a brat.
Brats are 1.7% salt usually, so using whole pack in 15 lb meat gives 2.8% salt. I make bacon at 3% salt, costco is 5%. I make Canadian bacon at 2.5% salt, and ham at 2%.
Slim Jims ate 4.0% salt.
That gives you some bumbers to guess how salty you want your snacksticks.

wvhunter1965
Oh also, as a reference, I use Willie’s snackstick seasoning at recommended levels. But then I dry my snacksticks to maybe 70% original weight, so not quite as much as restructured jerky 50%. I’m happy with the salt and spice, but it is at the very top end of salty. So I’d go 50 to 70% recommended usage if using Willie’s.

Dave in AZ said in Guanciale, Have you made it?:

Taste of Italy

That is my go-to since it has the bio protection added.

OleSmokey about $1.89# in central Michigan

mrobisr thanks for the update

Salt should be more than 1.8% of meat weight to extract the muscle protein & create bind. If the seasoning is very acidic, it can coagulate the protein so it won’t stick
together - adding baking soda at 1% of seasoning weight should reduce the acid level enough to prevent this. High temperature or a big temperature rise through a mechanical step like grinding or stuffing would smear the fat so the protein can’t encapsulate it - should be less than 38F in the casing. If you measure temperature before grind and after grind, goal would be a temperature rise less than 4F and same for before and after stuffing. If any of these fit your circumstances.

If you are wanting a true chipped beef, SOS then it is not smoked which removes a level of preservation. While I have not done venison I have experimented with lean beef and will share my experiences. First it must be cured or frozen or the fat will go rancid quicker than I like. Here is my first experience https://meatgistics.waltons.com/topic/5284/dried-beef-for-chipped-beef/23?page=2.
I will highly suggest cure#1 and with that you will have the perfect SOS meat that will keep for a very long time.

Butcher67 I am following this thread also as I would like to try a drier batch of sticks myself.

Denny O I own a TruHone and it works great.

I have also determined that when the translation says cutter aid it is referring to the addition of phosphate and ascorbic acid can be substituted with sodium erythrobate.

cdavis thanks had posted before but what the hay.

calldoctoday I always use an empty ice cream bucket. It is stored with my sausage making equipment, that way my wife won’t use it for a dog water bowl.

Good job on your bologna. I want to try making that one day.

Deepwoodsbutcher Very Nice, those are beautiful!

smconner Actually green ham (fresh uncured) back leg of hog is what a lot of commercial sausage makers use since it is very lean allowing them to add fat to a very specific percentage of the meat block, so it is a good thing.

wvhunter1965 I think there is a recipe in the recipe section and maybe even a video. When I make mine, I use just enough water to mix in the spices, maybe a couple cups. I use half venison and half pork butt. Cellulose casses and use the same smoke schedule as snack sticks. I think finishing in water would work good also. As for binder, I use two cups soy protein for 20# batch. Hope this helps

GYoung those look really good! I am going to have to get some of that mix to try now🍺

HokieFan99 glad it worked out. Congrats 👍

I use Non Fat Dry Milk in my venison sticks always, works great. Usage rate is 1 to 3% of meat weight. Supposedly there is a significant difference between normal grocery store NFDM and the sausage specific Hi Temp NFDM you can get at suppliers. However, I have used regular most always and been very pleased.

Dave in AZ said in Forgot carrot fiber:

Best thing if you can work timing, is to mix and stuff same day, then leave it overnight already stuffed, if needed. Makes stuffing way easier, keeps you from breaking down the nice overnight bind during stuff.

👍

Dave in AZ No Problem, It was a learning experience for us as well. And not the results I expected.

wdaly thx 😉

Outdoors19 I have done it. I had to add a bit of water to it to soften it up again to make stuffing easier.

cdavis
Thx Charley. Couldn’t get to sleep, thought I might as well type 😉 I love duck, and someone making an all duck stick got me excited lol.

I saw a meme from Tropic Thunder where Tom Cruises character is on the phone and telling the Golden Dragon or whatever that groups name is that captured Tucker that he would rain holy fire down on them and it was saying that is how North jersey talks to south jersey about whether it is Pork Rolls or Taylor Ham. Made me laugh, and 2 times this post has popped up into my mind in one day!

mrobisr Just got my scale and the Sodium Erythorbate. I will make the first run tomorrow. Thank you.

Those looks really well done. Congrats.

Grimpuppy They look awful good to me, nice job.

Grimpuppy No, I used the smoked as I wanted to try something. I think I would have been better off using the fresh, as you mentioned, for the smoked brats & keeping the smoked for some serious pepperonis.

Denny O I thought you might like that.

Mcjagger said in Formed/Pressed Ham:

this first version was good but could be so much more better with a few additions,

And that is why home processed is the best, that custom taste according to your family.

Dave in AZ No confusion at all I understand the guidelines perfectly just confusing the biltong requirements and forgot that it uses vinegar.

130f Internal meat Temp, for 121 minutes
135f Internal meat Temp for 37 minutes.

Unfortunately, this will not meet the requirements either. The meat must reach 160f then it can be reduced to 140-150f for drying. The high sugar recipe that Jon shows on the video, and I have had was very good and within the USDA standards, so maybe that is the only viable option at this point.

Lost River Jones Well done. Just the right amount of filling.

processhead Sheep will be used for breakie sausages hog for all else.

pr0wlunwoof Yeah Man!

Dr_Pain I have. I purchased the 19mm Waltons Fresh casings (only available by the case) and have been making snack sticks with them. In my smoker they end up with just as much snap as the smoked collagen casings. My next step is to smoke them for a few hours then souv vide them to get them to 150 degrees allowing for a perfectly round snack stick that has a low sound of snap. Fingers crossed.

bleathery congrats on the new equipment. Enjoy your sausage making 😋.

lamurscrappy I’m fixing to cure and smoke 8 hams. It looks like you have it nailed down. I would sure like to hear about your process from the cure process to the holding time to the smoke schedule. This will be my first time trying this myself. If you don’t mind taking the time to do it I would really appreciate it. Thanks.

bocephus Wow. Hadn’t even considered pellets. Will certainly give it a try.

I always just stuff them and cut them right away (as soon as I finish the casings) and they do not open up. I think perhaps you are stuffing them a little tight. Just Saying.

gChart Lower cooking temperature.