Jamieson22 said in Best pellets for smoking in AmazeN or cold smoke generator?:

Denny O said in Best pellets for smoking in AmazeN or cold smoke generator?:

I’ve been using “Lumber Jack” pellets. 40 lb bag from $7 best sale to $11 everywhere around here.

Wait you are finding 40lb bags for $7-11? Locally Farm and Fleet sells Lumber Jack 20lb bags for $11 which is pretty good. I order pallets from factory and end up paying $14-ish per 40lb bag including the shipping to my house. Last order was $860 total for 1.2 tons (60 x 40lb bags).

My bad! 20lbs. They are buy 3 get one this month. Still 10/11 dollars a bag here. I’ll know better tomorrow, I’m going to get a few.

Jonathon well what was the result of the great dove hunt, we are all waiting on average shells per dove?

julian 11am till 6pm and your butts are done? WOW, for me to make pulled pork from bone in I’m 16 hours start to finish. I put my 2 butts in a dry cooler wrapped in towels and leave them till next morning. When I open the foil they are still so hot I wear heavy rubber gloves.

I cook mine @ 225 / 235 degrees in the cabinet. Foil wrap around 155 / 165 and set in a cambro @ 205.

Appears identical to the Pitboss Copper which is less than half the price at Lowes. I made a wooden dowel system with a few small blocks of wood and dowels that slide onto the top rack positions. allows me to hang 44" sticks draped in half over the dowels…15 lbs easy on 2 dowels…

processhead
Dave in AZ
There we go! The parameters was what I was looking for from both of you.
I thought that maybe twilliams may have stopped by as well.

I have had tough/chewy natural casings when I smoked also. I figured it had something to do with humidity.

Dave in AZ thanks for the update. 💡

PapaSop that is a beautiful porkchop.

Tex_77 oh that sounds fun while your trying to cook

twilliams thx for your informative reply above, I read TimC 0 reply myself and thought, “I have to figure out what this blooming is, I keep hearing it referenced and really don’t know…”
So your post was very useful and informative to me, thx!

TimC 0 your nice response and the info on casing shriveling and temos, was also helpful, thanks!

processhead Now you are going to make me start remembering old Popeye Jokes.

Russell Rogers that is a beautiful pile of sausage. Congrats 👍

I think it would be very beneficial. There is very little sticking if any and cleanup is easy with a well seasoned smooth surface. However It will be a fair amount of work to do. Use your Blackstone for awhile and if you like the way it works use as is. If not then spend the time to sand smooth and season.

Jonathon that’s super admirable

calldoctoday dang pulling out all the stops there

bocephus sounds like a great recipe. Thanks 👍

calldoctoday think I am going to have to give it a try. Sounds so good

Denny O I think you are on to something there

arnprior
Yep, as processhead said, kinda by definition something labeled “cure#1” is 6.25% sodium nitrite.
There are other names for mixtures found in Europe or a Mortons product with different ratios.

Thx for the book recommendation for rubs 😉

Idaho Smokey don’t know how I missed this but that is a great recipe and detailed instructions. 😋 thank you.

Jamieson22 looks great to me.

tarp Great looking loin. Thanks for sharing your process. Will have to give it a try.

hey i give the guy credit he was trying and thought he was doing things the right way , his problem was 2 fold (1) no one taught him how to cook and (2) lack of experence
both of these are not his fault, butit does show what happens when we get to dependant on tech

PapaSop Have a grand time. Have not been up that way in ages, but went up that way a few times years & years ago camping & it was really nice.

wdaly Now why would you want to ruin a good burrito with mac and cheese.😁

shoprat53 good to know. thanks for sharing

I just watched BBQ USA and I thought it was a pretty good show. I know what they use for rubs and sauces are what makes them money, and cook times very, but I like a bit more how too, and not just entertainment. A closer look at the smokers they use would be kinda nice too. With all that said, Sarah and I enjoyed the show and will watch it again. Congrats to Midwest_kc and look forward to more posts on meatgistics from them.

Jamieson22 Had them again for Fourth of July. They never disappoint!

beekeeper84 beautiful butterfly. Congrats 👍

zbigjeff Never gave that a thought! With the grass I saw you have done a whale of a job!

Looks great, bet it tasted better.

Steak Princess That “utensil” is serious for sure. Glad you have friends like that. Keep it rockin’.

Idaho Smokey I have a thread on cold smoked salmon with some decent lessons learned…I cold smoked it 8 hr or something. WAAAAAYYYY too much! Doing it again, or the trout you have, I would just do a light 30min to 1 hr smoke max. And I referenced Marianski a lot and used his salmon brine.

bocephus the only problem is I have two many other seasonings I need to get used up, but it will def. be bought again sometime in the future.

mrobisr said in Fall Off Bone BBQ Chicken:

Denny O said in Fall Off Bone BBQ Chicken:

But no matter what the target temperature, if it’s below 165°F, it has to be held at that lower temperature for the required amount of time."
“https://www.smoker-cooking.com/temperature-of-smoked-chicken.html”

While I completely agree the process of pasteurization one has to be extremely vigilant to make sure that the target temps are actually held at the specific time required. Most people that I have witnessed just do not have the attention span that is required to monitor their cook that closely, so for the most part I recommend the pasteurization with extreme caution.

I agree, I know there is a newer chart than the one that I showed, I just do not have it in my files.

I learned about this from a man on another website probably 15 years ago or more. He is retired now but was a food inspector if my memory serves me.

Dad joke alert

ppelaez A small amount of fat coming out is not all that uncommon. If you are using Walton’s casings they are pre-stuck, which means the have very small holes in them.

Thanks for the info.

mrobisr Thanks, I don’t know anything about cultures so thanks for the info. There was and still is a Cloverdale summer sausage called cervalot(sp) that has a tangy flavor to it that I don’t like, maybe its a cultured product.

I put my sausage in a meat lug and fill with ice to the point that every corner or hole is filled and the ice is just above the meat then I fill with water until all the meat is covered. My casings whether collagen, fibrous, sheep, hog, or beef are so tight that you cannot tell where the meat or casings start and stop it is one continuous bite, that is my two cents worth.

zbigjeff - Nice

Jonathon I noticed that. Thank you.

Dave in AZ

I also do Polish, Hungarian, Portuguese,

HerbcoFood Wow those birds look good!

Dave in AZ Congrats on the new smoker! Def post some pics once you get it running.

Bob Stehlik This is the controller I have now for my Texas Elite. https://www.stanbroil.com/product/Stanbroil-Replacement-Digital-Pro-Controller-for-Traeger-Pellet-Wood-Pellet-Grills.html

tomhancock I also use a Pitboss 5 and you are right on with your method!

caryfr5 i concur, I have one of thier griddles for my stove, they are heavy duty.

I dunno. I threw my last batch into a big plastic tote, directly from the smoker, and just let them rest in the garage at around 45deg F till the next day. Too lazy (it was late when the temp hit 160) to ice them etc. Everyone likes them.

But did some 17mm sticks that had tough casings a couple batches ago. People were troubled a little. Not up to my usual product. I need to keep experimenting. I am certain that there are a bazillion ways to do this, but also a lot of ways to screw it up. We all need to find out process.

I do think its not a good idea to mix sizes in the same batch. My 17mm fail (not really, were still quite edible) was part of a mixed batch. So they got over cooked while waiting for the 19mm to get to temp.

Dave in AZ said in Walton’s package, 16, 19, 21mm casings, going to experiment.:

That looks like it can generate some torque!

It does. It means smaller helpers like my wife or daughter can get it on the processing fun. 😁

It’s the SteakAger

Arnie Hofer I am not very familiar with those. I have used the high mt jerky kits but was a long time ago. I would think you could mix the seasonings as long as the cure wasnt already in it. pretty sure the cure comes seperate though. If not it would be a problem. I am sure there is someone here that might be able to answer your question a little better and the nice thing about this community is they will help you out

Ed Paone said in Humidifier Mods ?:

I have gave a lot of thought about this also and plan on trying it. I’ve looked into the reptile foggers and like that you can adjust the amount of humidity.

The one I have will go from the lowest setting of hardly being able to see it to the highest setting that produces a thick fog.

twilliams thanks for the advice

Under meatgistics menu button (top left corner for me) there is a choice , conversions. That will bring up all spices, cures and additives. Find your spice and you will see one and five pound conversion amounts. Less than one pound devide the one pound amount by what fraction of a pound you have. Example your bacon weighs 3.5 pounds. Multiply the 1 pound amount by 3.5. Should be all set. Remember to use the correct amount of cure if it is separate.

Thanks all. Was wondering if it was just up my way. 👍

Jesser check on ’ cooking with shotgun red '. He has done it on his site. Maybe give you some ideas.

You can also use maple syrup as a replacement for the sugar in this recipe. Just coat the belly with the syrup then apply dry ingredients and process as normal.

Bacon
2.0-2.5% salt
1.5% sugar
#1 pink salt, Follow directions
5.67g/1 tsp per 5lbs belly
Mix cure, salt, and sugar together
Coat bacon
Place in container or vacuum pack and place in fridge at 35-38f
7 days cure/inch of belly
Rinse off under tap water return to fridge for 1-2 days.
Put in smoker for 1-2 hours or until it reaches room temperature, no smoke
Cold smoke to desired smokeness
Put back in fridge for 1 day
Slice, package, and freeze what you will not eat in week.

Meat_Jack said it. Your ECA is safe until you hit the temp that melts that coating

daryl how right you are. I already do my own deer for some of the reasons you listed. Now it’s time to make myself do the rest of it. In September I took a 1400lb steer to my local slaughter house. I was not happy. Ribeyes were supposed to be 1 1/4in thick . I got 10 packages of 2 that were 5/8in thick. I took a package back to them and asked why they were so thin and where the rest of them were. They pulled my sheet and saw they messed up. They said if I was unhappy just don’t come back they have plenty of business without mine. I have lost faith in the slaughter houses here. They always give away sausage samples so I figured that’s where the rest of my steer went.

Lance Very Nice & tasty looking too! Great Snackin.

This Meatgistics University post on making snack sticks can help you nail down a cooking schedule. https://meatgistics.waltonsinc.com/topic/763/cured-sausage-106-basics-of-making-snack-sticks

Nice! It is definitely my favorite brat.

Woody1551

I am not seeing any red flags on your bacon smoking process.
Although unlikely since you are using damp sawdust, you might want to ensure the sawdust is just smoldering slowly, and NOT burning with an open flame.

Dr_Pain I’m with you. They’re making me hungry 😋

can I make Italian sausage, pepperon, salami, freeze it in casings with seasons and sure cure added and smoke it at a later date.

Retired157 I have a cook shack which is basically the same thing as what you have. Couple of things from what you are describing that you want to do. From the factory there is no vent adjustments, just a pinky sized vent hole on the top and same one on the bottom to drain grease. Now I see you added a vent to the door which will let some air in but it will probably get bottleneck with the small vent on the top. So you may have problems with the smoke schedule you described.
Also with this smoker you will have trouble getting wood chunks to smoke (if at all) at low temps. Especially with the low temps in your schedule. With this smoker you really need a smoke generator to do what you described. You mY be able to get away using a smoke tube and a fan since you added the vent on the door.
Get on youtube and watch 2 guys and a cooler videos. He has the smokin it brand of your smoker and has a smoke generator to do his sausages.

I think Austin or @ Jonothan would be the ones to ask as they deal with commercial processors

Boy that’s something I didnt think through. Idk? Anyone???

mfrievalt - Good Job!

Been smoking Q for over 20yrs in my 2 little cookshacks. Amazing smokers right there! Great find.

Not sure what your smoke schedule looks like. I had same issue and thru posts here found that I was not closing dampers during final stage which never allowed the sticks to finish at the 160 temp causing extremely long cook times and very dry nasty product.

I use chunks in my vertical offset, so I stopped soaking. When I finish my Cotton Gin drum, I won’t soak then either.

Randie N
Agree with the others, it looks great.

I prefer to take jerky out a little early since you can always air dry it at room temperature if it needs to be a little drier.
On the other hand, once it is crispy-crittered, there is no going back.

lkrfletcher is there a shelf life or refrigeration required with the butter on them?

shoprat53 thanks that’s good to know….never thought about freezing it then adding it to sausage. Instead I just buy high temp but it’s so $$$$$. I’ll have to try it with regular chunk cheese

Midwest_kc No I haven’t.

Idaho Smokey My son-in-law worked as a RN in the ER and charge nurse in the ICU, he loved the action until he got hurt on his last long CPR a doc would not call (multiple hours). The only action I ever saw was having to go rescue patrol vehicles for the PD when the c r * p was blowing into proverbial the fan. )(Austin’s censoring program tried, but I got around it). We got sent out to some situations where I was told to just get it running and lets get out of here. Mind you, I have no vest except a high vis that gets left in the service vehicle.

I think being creative and stacking cooking racks with spacers that you could go even more than 12 lbs. That’s what I do with my Louisiana Grill

Also first hour, drying phase keep door cracked open.Helps get rid of moisture.

bocephus I think you should!

Ah yes, to actually light, I use newspaper donuts drenched and a little bit of vegetable oil.

I was more worried that without a half-full or completely full chimney, the coals wouldn’t ash over completely

That is what I did. Vacuum sealed enough for a couple sandwiches in each bag.
67455A5A-9FBB-4BE4-96C9-821F87064795.jpeg

Ridley Acres said in Beef Sticks:

Dr_Pain Yes the fancy equipment sure makes things easier, but depending on how badly you want things you can make old world tech work in a pinch

I completely agree!!

6158d1d9-71af-48f1-931d-df44b3fbd056-image.png

Thank you, saw dust it is and will always be

Thanks everyone for the suggestions.

shoprat53 awesome! I recently scored big and picked up a Smokin Tex 1400 smoker for $50. Hoping to do some snack sticks on it this week.

processhead sorry didnt see the question. Well the wifi bridge did not work at all. They couldnt warranty it because I bought it off someone. They sold me a replacement bridge and one of the probes that also was failing at 1/2price on both. Like 30 for the bridge and 25 for the probe.
Got everything working and I think I burned out the new probe by pushing it through a chicken breast. That one that warranted. I probably saved 30 bucks from what a new one cost but looking back I should have just spent the 200 bucks and had a good warranty.
The people were very helpful and I really liked the ability to deep fry with the thermometer in the frier.

cattleman54 said in Ground Meat Shish Kebabs Binder:

marksaltzman316
Wrap them with bacon. Win win

EVEYTHING is made better with bacon LOL! May not match the flavor profile very well though. Something I have never done and would consider doing

twilliams I did Step Up started at 1:20 went to 140 then to 155 and then to 175

Dave R Look at Auber WiFi PID controller. It works awesome with Masterbuilt. It requires a modification to The masterbuilt mine was a single jumper wire to bypass the built in controller. For making summer sausage and snack sticks it is great because you can program the steps in. You can have up to 6 programmed steps set up. Those steps can be defined by time at a certain temperature, or temperature of meat or a combination of both. It’s $225 so worth it though especially for snack sticks that need a more precise temp. https://www.auberins.com/index.php?main_page=product_info&products_id=702

KillerNoms I have the MB40 also with the Auber PID WiFi controller. It works awesome. I thought about the fan also. Do you have pics of your fan inside the MB40?

If you are running a Masterbilt XL with two burners, you can just use one burner or instead of turning dial counterclockwise, you can turn it slowly clockwise for a lower flame than the “LOW” setting.

Just curious, did you use 5w20 or 10w30 and regular or synthetic oil on the dowels?? LOL Cut 1/4" rebar for my Masterbilt XL. These will outlast my smoker and me. Insulated wit some foil insulation from Ace, 3/4" spaced out from sides (3/4x1 1/2" ) , run only one burner for low heat, found a roasting pan for water which forces heat to go around pan for better distribution. Hang 3# summer sausages (6 per rod) with no problems. Recently did 200#.

craigrice i was thinking this idea as an alternative to a water pan using sponges & towels. Would lava rocks evaporate more h2o compared to sponges?

Cabelas90 I buy the cheep nitrle gloves from hbf then use them for mixing and seasoning and can easily discard them

I agree with PapaSop on the sure-jel and I also like the “twang” the ECA gives.

Jonathon I have some injectable pa’s in the fridge mixed in a 1/2 gallon jug.How long will it stay good?