I think #5 is not alive! Tee, Hee hee. Go ISU!! Hilton Magic!

K-State is currently ranked #5, what a jump. Can they maintain?

Sure Gel and protein extraction are not what you usually want in a fresh brat. On brats, I add seasoning before I grind, just because I want to mix as little as possible to prevent protein extraction. I like my brats with the texture of breakfast sausage. I season and grind twice through a 10mm plate then add about 4oz of water per #5 of meat to ease stuffing.

@bocephus thats a nice size water seal. I picked up my #5 in Ohio Amish country a few years back. It's an Ohio Stoneware crock out of Zanesville, Ohio. They also make 1, 2 , and 3 gallon water seal crocks. I haven't been able to find one at a store yet, but would like to pick one up. A 3 gallon with lid and weights at their online outlet store is about $150 with shipping, but their online outlet is slightly higher than most stores carrying their products. For now I just cover the top of my regular crock with kitchen plastic wrap and put the hard top on. It works and allows off-gasing with no problem. If you have time, snap a pic of your crock and if you know the brand name, let me know.

@Denny-O said in [Patty Maker sausage insert](/post/83996): > I have the L*M #8 grinder, Would the Waltons patty maker fit my grinder? And if so I'd buy the various thickness and diameter attachments that would fit your patty maker. It works with L*M #8 grinder. That is what I used before I upgraded grinders and stuffers. Interestingly enough, it does not work with L*M #5 stuffers. There is not adapter the correct size.

#5 pound stuffers do 19mm casings that fit on 12mm tubes easy and 16mm casings that fit on 10mm tubes with a little extra water. Just a note, it is not easy to find a 10mm tube that fits a #5 stuffer. I had to make an adapter. My #11 stuffer will do 19mm but it is work to crank it.

@metlman501 said in [Honey bbq snack sticks](/post/73160): > @grimpuppy how do you like the flavor, this will be my first batch of what I’d term a non traditional flavor. Personally I didn’t care for it or the regular bbq. I could eat some a couple times a year. I only made them in #5 batches and gave most of them away. Just my personal taste. I don’t care for sweet in my meats.

Thanks Jonathon

Jonathon said in Help us grow!:

@DennyO The entire User Recipe section might only be the users initial post. We might be able to allow the creator to allow comments or not but not sure on that yet. We are going to put together a template for people to be able to enter information on and then they will all look the same so the information will be easy to digest.

I hope this is something that I may discuss with you before Walton’s makes a decision.

Jamieson22 said in Stepping up to the “W” class:

Grimpuppy Is there no drip-tray on that MB or is it just out for the picture? Also, if it is anything like my PK 100, the smoke picked up by your sausage will increase greatly once the smoker itself gets a nice dark seasoning/coating on it.

Curious - how did oven compare to smoker?

The bottom of the smoker is considered the drip tray but there is a water pan that covers the smoke box and burners that will catch most of the drippings.

To my surprise the oven did extremely well. I have a convection oven. I set it at 170, the lowest it would go. No rotating product and it was done in 2 1/2 hours. Except for the smoke and a little more red color, you wouldn’t be able to tell the difference between the two in texture or flavor. I was very surprised at how well it worked.

Definitely have a few more smokes to get the new smoker completely seasoned.
31B2C0BE-FE56-4739-8856-A718C815ED9E.jpeg

I agree 21mm would be easier, but for me, 21mm is just to big for a snack stick. I prefer 16mm which my #5 stuffer will do. I am willing to go up to 19mm but don’t want a snack stick bigger than that.

Top 5 Meat Hacks: Cured Sausage Top 5 Meat Hacks: Cured Sausage

Keep Your Meat Cold No Stomper on Second Grind Let the Mixer do the Work Put Sponges in Smoker Finish Thermal Process in Sous Vide

00:00 Intro
00:31 Hack #1: Keep Your Meat Cold
01:20 Hack #2: No Stomper on the Second Grind
02:45 Hack #3: Let the Mixer do the Work
04:00 Hack #4: Put Sponges in the Smoker
04:45 Hack #5: Finish Thermal Process in Sous Vide
05:25 Conclusion

We dive into the top 5 meat hacks that help us when making cured sausage. From the basics of keeping meat extremely cold during processing to adding automotive sponges to your smoker Walton’s and Meatgisitcs do the hard work for you. Follow these hacks and feel free to share a few of your own! We promise once you do it this way, you’ll never go back to your old process. Enjoy!

Walton’s Sales Page: https://www.waltonsinc.com/sales
Walton’s Learning Center: https://wltns.link/learningcenter
Meatgistics Community: https://wltns.link/meatgistics
Walton’s YouTube: https://wltns.link/waltonstv
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Walton’s Twitter: https://wltns.link/twitter
Walton’s Instagram: https://wltns.link/instagram
Walton’s Pinterest: https://wltns.link/pinterest

Shop waltonsinc.com for Waltons 50 lb Meat Mixer Shop waltonsinc.com for PK 100 Pro Smoker Smokehouse Shop waltonsinc.com for Walton’s Chamber Vac Sealer Shop waltonsinc.com for Walton’s 6x10 Vac Bags Watch WaltonsTV Top 5 Meat Hacks: Cured Sausage. < div>

zbigjeff said in Chef vs Claude Battle …… to the Death!!!!:

Dr_Pain Gnocchi was used as a vehicle for the week as I grew up with many Italian immigrants. It all started on Thursday and they kept adding something cheap each day. On Friday, they would add fish caught on that day. Saturday would be meat scraps day (modern term i believe is awful). That’s where the dishes separated from making it in a pan or baked in the oven. The gnocchi up north would use parmesano regiano in the making of it because it was local. But, I can’t put my finger on a name for the dish.

I just love that story. A story of usage and necessity is found in many cultures. Down here they use to have Red Beans and Rice on Mondays because it was laundry day and they would use the starch from cooking the rice to starch their clothes (that’s before we added just the right amount of water to be absorbed by the rice)

Jonathon Yep you got it fixed awhile ago, there I am standing out there in the sticks, just where I am suppose to be.

Jonathon Yep you got it fixed awhile ago, there I am standing out there in the sticks, just where I am suppose to be.

Jonathon Yep you got it fixed awhile ago, there I am standing out there in the sticks, just where I am suppose to be.

The maps and locations tab doesn't work anymore correctly. I am missing from Washington State now. When they did their site upgrade, lots of things went astray.

@jonathon that is interesting & in some ways, I am not surprised. But Jee, was I one of the only few hailing from Alabama these days? I wish I could do something to improve that because the potential really is there. On the other hand, there are just so many more folks in Texas now & so much potential. Alaska has a lot of potential too, but not the numbers. Interesting.

@herbcofood agreed plus you could add the cooking aspect to it if the teacher pre prepped some Sausages and had them ready to cook after everyone makes their own. Sausages can be a tricky think to cook correctly. It could be similar to what ATBBQ does in Wichita with cooking classes but a step further.

@chef I am sure a sausage making class would do well just like those bbq ones have gained some popularity.

@jonathon I hope Oklahoma wasn't last.

@jonathon The numbers from Texas should be the reason for Walton's to open a retail store in Houston. I would be honored to run it for you. Imagine the business, the in person classes. The list could go on for ever.

Jonathan, Austin is something wrong with the map? Some of us are no longer showing. I went to edit and updated my profile and still not showing up.

@bocephus I was on the map but since the changes now I am not ,forget how to do it

@craigrice You need to put yourself on the map.

they don't even show me on the map lol

What do the analytics have to say about Meatgistics user numbers broken down by state?

Wow with the number of smokers and BBQ joints I'm surprised we weren't in the top 5.

Minnesota as number 2 state kind of surprises me, I grew up there and it will always be home although I have been gone 36 years, I go back twice a year and plan on moving back hopefully soon.

Texas going to GOAT

@Jonesy Somewhat, not exactly but some of that can be explained by population density and commercial customers can wildly throw off our sales as they can spend so much more.

Thats a pretty good amount of users and visits!

Hi Ridley, I used a 3/16 for the final grind, and yes I did use a food processor to emulsify, although it did struggle so I ended up doing it in 2 batches, I think Grimpuppy told me he did his in 3 batches. I did indeed like the final texture. I also let the cure set overnight before I sous vide the product. I was over all very happy with the final product. I had tried a couple of times on a smoker, but the fat just bleed out, the sous vide worked great.

Hi Ridley, I used a 3/16 for the final grind, and yes I did use a food processor to emulsify, although it did struggle so I ended up doing it in 2 batches, I think Grimpuppy told me he did his in 3 batches. I did indeed like the final texture. I also let the cure set overnight before I sous vide the product. I was over all very happy with the final product. I had tried a couple of times on a smoker, but the fat just bleed out, the sous vide worked great.

Hi Ridley, I used a 3/16 for the final grind, and yes I did use a food processor to emulsify, although it did struggle so I ended up doing it in 2 batches, I think Grimpuppy told me he did his in 3 batches. I did indeed like the final texture. I also let the cure set overnight before I sous vide the product. I was over all very happy with the final product. I had tried a couple of times on a smoker, but the fat just bleed out, the sous vide worked great.

Hi Ridley, I used a 3/16 for the final grind, and yes I did use a food processor to emulsify, although it did struggle so I ended up doing it in 2 batches, I think Grimpuppy told me he did his in 3 batches. I did indeed like the final texture. I also let the cure set overnight before I sous vide the product. I was over all very happy with the final product. I had tried a couple of times on a smoker, but the fat just bleed out, the sous vide worked great.

@dontate I have a few questions. 1. What plate size were you using for final grind? 2. Did you emulsify in food processor? 3. How did you like the final texture?

That looks like you did a pretty good job!

@dontate Yep, right there with ya.

HaHa for the grand kids!

@dontate Looks great. Interesting set of cocktail glasses in the background. 😉😁

   **bolded text** Started the Bologna! Thank you Jon and Grimpuppy for the help!

@grimpuppy looks like you did an awesome job and made a good looking and tasty product.

@Jonathon The red bologna casings came today. After this sat in the fridge for a couple days, the taste was out of this world. This might be my new favorite thing I have made. So mix the courser ground fat and finer ground meat together, then into the food processor?

great looking would be good in many things

@Grimpuppy That looks great, especially for a 1st attempt! A few notes, if you separate your lean from fat, don't grind your fat as much, leave some chunks in there. Use the |4-6-in-x-24-in-Fibrous-Red-Bologna-Casing (you know this already) and hold it REALLY tight to prevent voids. Then, smoke it to 130 degrees and transfer it to 176ish degree water and cook until the IT is at your desired temp.

@grimpuppy Looks great. Nice amount of cheese as well.

good job on the test run, I like the waste nothing mindset

Congrats, looks good

smokinbubba Thank you, Sir. I completely agree with getting real cautious. But, with this information I will be running another batch very soon.

smokinbubba Thank you, Sir. I completely agree with getting real cautious. But, with this information I will be running another batch very soon.

smokinbubba Thank you, Sir. I completely agree with getting real cautious. But, with this information I will be running another batch very soon.

@smokinbubba Thank you, Sir. I completely agree with getting real cautious. But, with this information I will be running another batch very soon.

Grimpuppy Just realized this was a resurrected thread but still feel the need to compliment you on those dogs!

I did the same thing you didn't mix it enough to mix the fat it should be a slurry when you are done 8 min mix not enough.

@smokinbubba It was the pure white pork goodness that I used. Question for you, though. Do you step up the temperature when you are sous viding the bambi dogs? If so, what is your schedule?

smokinbubba Thank you, Sir. I completely agree with getting real cautious. But, with this information I will be running another batch very soon.

@smokinbubba said in [Venison Hot Dog Issue](/post/38984): > Got to be pure white pork goodness for dogs. accept no substitute. > > DWB, I like your 40%. I bet Oscar uses more than that! The USDA regs doesn't allow more than 30% fat in commercial hot dogs.

Got to be pure white pork goodness for dogs. accept no substitute. DWB, I like your 40%. I bet Oscar uses more than that!

@todddsheppard What kind of fat did you use? Suet will render out at a lower temperature then regular fat. I personally use much more fat I'm my hotdogs, closer to 40%. Either way it's possible it got too warm during the process.

I made a latch for the door of my propane smoker. I can keep it around 100 degrees with the door open about an inch

@smokinbubba said in [Venison Hot Dog Issue](/post/38880): > I have found that fat out is caused by 2 things mostly. Not enough protein extraction or not stepping up temp SLOOOWLY when thermal processing. > Oh, 30% pork fat minimum. Fat is flavor! and the venison needs it. Regarding fat out, I would add that another significant contributor is too high of temperatures due to inaccurate thermal control or processing sausages in smokers intended for hot smoking and simply can't be set for lower temperatures. Sausage is much less tolerant to overtemperatures than ribs, brisket, or a pork butt. If you are going to process sausage on a high temp smoker, you better be watching closely and have a good thermometer to monitor internal temperatures. Having a known, accurate thermometer to check against the internal probes on a smoker is essential, IMO. My $.02 worth.

processhead The cylinders were pretty easy. they are stainless and in good shape so just boiled them in water and dawn dish soap and blew them off with air compresser. The guides were rusted pretty bad so had to sand blast them

Google will convert millimeters and inches for you. There is a chart I posted earlier on page 1 of this thread listed casing and tube compatibility.

I have found that fat out is caused by 2 things mostly. Not enough protein extraction or not stepping up temp SLOOOWLY when thermal processing. I think you had plenty of PE but you really need to find a way to step up your TP very slowly. I start at 125deg for 30-45min then go to 135,145,155,165,175 until internal temp is 160. Never go above 180'F or you risk fat out. I have been skipping the smoker altogether and sous viding my bambi dogs and bambi bologna. Add recommended ammt of hickory powder and put them in naked (the dogs that is) ice water bath and strip celulose. I make a good bit of bambi dogs and bologna. To me, the smoker puts a "rind" on the outside of by bambi dogs that I dont care for. Oh, 30% pork fat minimum. Fat is flavor! and the venison needs it.

smokinbubba Thank you, Sir. I completely agree with getting real cautious. But, with this information I will be running another batch very soon.

If I remember correctly you were sitting at a table with a meat grinder and that pyramid of snack sticks. Just move the grinder to the other side and use that as one side of the snack sticks to support them. than while your talking use your left arm against the other side of the snack sticks. VOLA hidden support but out in the open. lol

@slyoder Hanging them is fairly easy to do, your XXL should have come with a smoke stick that you can use to hang them. We don't close, crimp or tie off the endings when we hang. You might get some bulbing at the open ends but it should be a very small amount if you got proper protein extraction.

@jonathon, good question. I think the reason I laid out is because 1, I have very little experience with this smoker and was worried about cooking unevenly and 2, I was smoking several different products and was not sure how to get everything to fit in using the included hooks. My goal is to be able to hang products to smoke, I just need to figure out how to best do this.

Parksider my next thought would be what plate do you use for your grind?

@jonathon yep I have liked the Camp Chef XXL since it came out. I also have an old 40s-50s fridge that I might convert to a smoker with an electric element and PID controller. So many options out there!!!

@NDMike If you need a grill/smoker combo then I can highly, highly recommend the Camp Chef Woodwind, I absolutely love mine at home. However, if you are doing snack sticks and summer sausage and other things you'd want to hang then the XXL or the PK100 are great. The PK is obviously much more expensive and it doesn't have wif-fi or the ability to use pellets but it does a really really good job in both smoke flavor and color development and obviously, the insulation is great. Anyway you go I think you will be happy! @slyoder Any reason you laid out instead of hanging? Did it make it easier to move around to avoid that back corner too much (didn't know it was the corner, just the back so thanks!) or is this just the way you prefer?

smokinbubba Thank you, Sir. I completely agree with getting real cautious. But, with this information I will be running another batch very soon.

@pivodog will do...I'm with you. $ is hard to part with at times!

@ndmike please let us in the loop on what you decide. I also want to upgrade, but can't make up my mind because none of the units really do what I want. I guess I'm just too picky and cheap! I want the Cadillac but only want to for the beetle! LOL

@ndmike sounds like you've got a good plan! Those wings make my mouth water!

@slyoder yeah it sounds like we are similar. I also have a BGE that I love smoking things on. I find for wings though I really like a Weber kettle. I crack the lid and can get it to almost 600 degrees. The wings crisp up really well. I also have a Grilla Grills Chimp pellet grill that does a great job on wings while using their jerky/wing rack. 

@NDMike I was on the fence for a while with getting a horizontal (Green Mountain Grill) with a bull rack system vs the Camp Chef XXL. In the end the capacity and the price of the Camp Chef along with the updated controller ended up making my decision. I haven't done a lot much smoking on it other than processed products. I do have a couple of pork butts on today and so far it's working very well. I am curious how well it will work with wings. I've done wings on a Trager and Green Mountain and the horizontal format works very well to turn up the heat at the end and crisp them. I do believe @Jonathon has done wings on his XXL and said they turned out well so we'll see. I can always finish them on my Komodo if need be. I tell my wife you really need a couple to do everything properly :)

@mcjagger said in [Venison Hot Dog Issue](/post/36300): > @the-brat-barn ...very interesting, using mustard flour as a binder...how much would one use per lb/kg and does it impart an overwhelming mustard flavor or just hang out in the back of the flavor profile. Sorry, I did not realize I missed this post until now. We use 2C of Mustard Flour in a 25# batch of Weiners. Does add a touch of flavor which is one of the reasons we use it. It is very subtle though, if you did not tell someone it was in there they would most likely not be able to tell.

This is a good post. I am still on the fence as to a replacement for my Bradley smoker. The more you guys are using the XXL Camp Chef the more promise it is showing. I was all hot and bothered to get a Pitts and Spitts with sidebox but the sidebox is kinds small. Now I'm back to the PK 100 or maybe the XXL Camp Chef. Also still thinking about making a homemade one out of a 40s era fridge that I can get. I really want to try hotdogs now too...lol! This site may cause me to spend lots of $$$.

@Jonathon I'm still learning on my XXL but I really like it so far. It doesn't cook quite as even as I was hoping it would. Back wall is definitely hotter with the back left corner being the hottest on mine. The nice thing about the XXL is the racks are so easy to pull out and rotate to help even the cooking. I don't have very good pics of the finished products but here is what I have  

@slyoder That's great to hear!

@slyoder That's awesome! This is what Meatgistics is all about! Pics when you get a chance? Also, how do you like your XXL? I'm loving ours but I am trying to learn the heat patterns near the back wall. I actually burned some jerky that way.

@slyoder your giving me hope.

Pivodog - Perfect. I ordered an Anova. Looking forward to it.

I was feeling pretty discouraged after my first attempt but this thread got me motivated to try again. I did a 5lb test batch last weekend using 4lbs venison, 1lb pork fat. I used the Excalibur hot dog and Bologna seasoning this time along with sure gel and cheddar cheese. My XXL doesn't go below 150 so I put them on the top shelf above the snack sticks and summer sausage I was doing. I took them to 120-130 and then dropped them into 170 degree water (Electric roaster) It took about 20 minutes to get to 160 then ice bath. I couldn't believe it but they turned out amazing! Best of luck to you @ToddDSheppard !

I have an anova

Thank you very much!! I have ordered my sous vide equipment so next week I should be trying again.

mrobisr glad to here it worked out for you. Im a converted believer for sure.

@pivodog Do you put the hot dogs in bags prior to the sous vide process? Then, ice bath, remove from bags, and re-bag?

Thanks for sharing your experience. I had an almost identical experience a month ago. I also used the Bearded Butcher recipe except I used 10 lbs venison, 2.5 lbs fat. The other ingredients were proportionally identical. I had left a package of pork fat in the fridge for several days since I knew I was going to be using it and it was spoiled when I got it out so i ended up using 1lb pork fat and 1.5lb beef fat. I initially blamed some of it on the beef fat but from what you are describing it sounds about identical to my results. Also done on traeger with similar smoke schedule. Mine also had an extremely strong (untasteful) smoke flavor. I would have used 2 oz of the Walton's Hickory smoke powder in my 12.5 lbs of meat per the Bearded Butcher recipe which I later discovered is about 4 times the amount recommended on the package. I'm assuming they must have used something less potent. This was my first attempt at hot dogs, lots of very useful info in this thread. I'm thinking of trying again, using a binder and trying to Sous Vide them since I'm using a cellulose casing and they are not benefiting from the smoke anyway.

smokinbubba Thank you, Sir. I completely agree with getting real cautious. But, with this information I will be running another batch very soon.

I have not made hot dogs as of yet, but I sure want to. I will have some venison this fall, so this has been a very informative thread - Thank You!

@todddsheppard agreed with everyone, that smoke schedule can kill you. I did a batch using 12 lbs 80/20 ground beef, 6 lbs boneless skinless chicken thighs, and 7 lbs pork back fat and used sure gel as my binder along with about 48 oz water and they turned out awesome! Especially when my smoker only goes down to 150, started it there with the meat already loaded so it helped the slower process....