Tex's Top Picks

[Tex_77]

Here are my top picks for various applications, feel free to post your own tops picks from Walton’s large array of products. I will continue to update as new products come out and I try more flavors. Last updated 02/05/23.

Brat Seasonings -

1. Hatch Green Chili - Great flavor, brings some heat, but isn’t overbearing. If you are a fan of Hatch chili’s you will love this flavor.
2. Supreme Pizza Bratwurst Seasoning - Great seasoning, kids love it, add cheese and its almost like eating pizza.
3. Philly Brat Add cheese and you have yourself something close to a true Philly Cheese steak.
4. Blue Ribbon Brat Great traditional brat flavor.
5. German Sausage Great mild flavor. Don’t use the cure that comes with it when making a fresh brat.
6. Sheboygan Style Bratwurst Seasoning great traditional Wisconsin brat flavor. Will be a crowd pleaser.
7. Loaded Liberty Sausage Seasoning A great brat, add sime cheese and take it to the next level. Really tasted like eating a steak to me.
8. Jalapeno Popper SausageTaste very similar to hits namesake. Don’t let the Jalapeno scare you away, its not going to burn you out. Be sure you add cheese!
9. Bavarian Oktoberfest Sausage The flavor of this sausage is outstanding. I added a German Paulaner Hefeweizen when making it and I think it really added to the flavor.
10. Beer Bratwurst Seasoning A great mild brat seasoning, you can definitely pick up on hints of beer when eating. To get more beer flavor add beer when making it.
11. Jambalaya Brats if you like jambalaya, you will love this brat, the taste is spot on. In addition to the normal ground pork, it also calls for ham and rice in the recipe.

Breakfast Sausage**

1. H 110-C Probably my favorite breakfast sausage seasoning, it has a nice kick to it. It goes great with biscuits and gravy.
2. 1504 Not has hot as the H-110, but def. has a great flavor to it!
3. Dixie Style Has good flavor, is mild, no heat to it.
4. W-110 To me this was pretty bland, with less flavor than the Dixie.
5. Holly , is Walton’s top seller. It’s a good all around breakfast sausage that should please everyone, on a heat scale its on the mild side.
6. #147 This is a great breakfast sausage, good flavor with a mild to medium heat to it. Probably my third favorite behind H-110 and 1504.

Italian

1. Mild This is great sausage for any Italian dish, its great for kids as there is little heat.
2. Hot - Just as good as the mild, but with some heat. Add some cheese to it and you will have a great sausage to add to some pepper and onions for a nice Italian sandwich.

Marinades

1. Argentinean Style BBQ Marinade This is my favorite marinade for skirt or flank steak! You can use to make fajita’s or just as a grilled steak marinade. The flavor is awesome! Don’t let the Argentinean name scare you off, they know a thing or two about beef down there! Pair your steak with a chimichurri sauce and you will have a meal fit for a King!
2. Fajita Marinade This marinade is great on flank or skirt steak, it will give you the flavor of fajitas from a restaurant, it has a nice slow burn to it, you won’t be disappointed with this.
3. Cyclops Greek Marinade This is great on chicken, it will give great moisture and flavor.
4. Pa’s Black Bull This is great on roasts, pork chops, etc. It makes meat meatier if that is even a thing. It is also Jonathon favorite marinade.
5. Butter Garlic This has a great flavor is great on roasts, pair it with the butter garlic rub on a Sunday roast and you are in for a real treat.

Excalibur Seasonings

1. Ultimate Steak and Roast Rub This is a great rub on steaks, roasts, or pretty much anything. It is Walton’s favorite seasoning for steak.
2. Better Burger This makes a great burger with that classic burger flavor, you can’t go wrong with it.
3. Butter Garlic Pair this with the Butter Garlic Marinade and you have a great seasoning for roast. This goes well on grilled shrimp or vegetables.
4. Pork Roast and Chop Rub This is rub is great on pork. Use Pa’s Black Bull to marinade a chop, then season it with this you will have one of the best pork chops you will ever eat.
5. Mexicali Taco Seasoning This is a great seasoning for making taco be it beef, chicken, or pork.
6. Rosemary, Basil and Thyme Seasoning this is a great seasoning to use with chicken or turkeys.
7. Cinnamon Toast If you like Cinnamon Toast you will love this seasoning, it even has some cocoa powder in it.

Spiceology Seasonings

A quick note on seasonings from Spiceology, in my experience and opinion these seasonings can all use some extra salt. Is this a bad thing or deal breaker absolutely not. If you look at most commercial rubs sold the first ingredient listed is salt, which means its the primary ingredient and most of what you are paying for, who wants to pay a premium price for salt? So when you buy a Spiceology seasoning you are paying mostly for other premium ingredients and not salt.

1. Gaucho Steakhouse Rub This rub is one of my favorites for steak. It has a real South American flavor profile to it, its similar to the flavors you would find at a Brazilian Steakhouse. Even Austin likes this rub so you can’t go wrong.

2. Chad White’s Brisket Bomb this rub is very much in the style of a Texas brisket rub. It has a strong black pepper flavor and hint of coffee to it.

3. Sriracha Candied Bacon this rub has it all a nice blend of some heat, sweet and bacon. I’ve had this rub on dehydrated bacon, and it was awesome!

Casings

Brats
32 mm Fresh Collagen Casings These are a great casing for those just starting out that don’t want the extra work of fresh hog casings. The only real draw back of this type of casing is that it will not hold a twist, but don’t let that be a deal breaker. This casing has a nice clean bite to it.

Tubed Natural Hog Casings 30-32mm These casings are the easiest to use hog casings because they are already pre-rinsed and untangled on a tube, so all you have to do to use them is soak them. This will give you the classic curvature of brats you are most likely use to seeing, and will hold a twist. The bite on these casing provides a nice bite with some snap to them.

Breakfast Sausage
21 mm Fresh Collagen Casings These are my go to breakfast sausage casings, and what I would recommend everyone use.

Snack Sticks
19mm Smoke Collagen Casings

Jerky Seasonings

1. Pepper and Garlic Jerky Seasoning This is my favorite jerky seasoning, and that is because the flavor is great, and it reminds of the jerky that my grandma made. Its got great flavor, there isn’t a lot of heat but there is some from the pepper.
2. Cajun Jerky Seasoning This has a good Cajun flavor to it, with a nice heat to it.
3. Walton’s Bold Jerky Seasoning This seasoning is based of Willie’s Snack Stick seasoning, it has some heat, but isn’t over whelming, its a good all around flavor.
4. Sweet Chipotle Jerky Seasoning This is a great seasoning for making tender jerky using Walton’s tender jerky method. It’s sweet and not much, which lends itself well to tender Jerky.

Grinders

It’s hard to recommend just one grinder, because it is really going to be dependent on how much product and how often you are making it. The best advice I can give is to buy the largest grinder you can afford, you won’t regret having to much power, but you will not having enough. With that said I would recommend you buy a Walton’s grinder. If you are heavy user or small commercial processor you may want to step up to the Pro-Cut line.

Stuffer

11 lb Sausage Stuffer This is the best all around stuffer for most users. Even heavy users swear by this stuffer. It is great for making Snack sticks.

Knives

In my opinion you can’t go wrong with Victorinox, I would recommend a chefs knife, various boning knives, breaking knife, and a slicer.

Knife Sharpeners and Steels

If you need to put a quick edge on knife the Swiss Sharp Handheld Sharpener is great choice, it is a pretty aggresive sharpner so you should use it sparingly. If you know how to use a sharpening stone and have the patintce to use them that is a great option for sharpening, you will want a course stone, and fine stone, and honing stone, Walton’s carry’s several tri-stone sharpners, so check them out. Now if you have some money to burn the best sharpener, and Jonathon’s favorite sharpener to use the Tru Hone Knife Sharpener it will put a professional factory quality edge on your knives.

As for steels there a two that I would recommend. The first is the 10" Smith’s Diamond Steel which will quickly bring a dull knife back to sharp and you won’t break the bank buying it. The second steel I would recommend if you are looking for a step up from the Smith’s the 11" F.Dick Multicut Flat Steel is a good choice. It will not only get your knife back to sharp, but it can also take small knicks out of your blade.

Portable Kitchen Grills aka PK Grills

PK Grills are some of the best charcoal grills you will find on the market right now. From the PK Original, PK 360, and the all new PK GO you can’t go wrong with these grills. The made out of aluminum so will never have to worry about them rusting out. There are many of these grills still going strong that are 50 years old or older. The PK 360 is an upgrade from the PK Original, and the PK GO is designed for tailgating, camping, etc and is ultra portable. Having both the PK 360, and the Original I can tell you they are both great grills, if you think you need extra room go with the 360. Grill grates are must have upgrade for these grills PK 360 Grill Grates or PK Original Grill Grates they transform these grills into steak cooking machines. The Original is a favorite of many SCA Cookoff teams, and are a favorite of the likes of Aaron Franklin and Alton Brown. If purchasing one, i would recommend that you get the graphite colored ones as they will show less grease splatters, etc.

Instant and Leave in Thermometers
In my opinion of the best and most important tools you can have when cooking is a good thermometer. A thermometer will all you to cook to the proper donenesss as well as monitor your cook as it goes. For an instant read thermometer I would recommend the Escali Folding Digital Probe Thermometer.

For a leave in thermometer there are several things to take into consideration. Do you want Bluetooth control, WiFI enabled, radio controlled, wireless probes? If you aren’t worried about hooking your thermometer up to your smart phone the Maverick XR 30 Remote Thermometer is a good choice. For a smartphone connected Thermometer I would go with the Grill Eye Pro which is WiFI enabled which makes it far superior to Bluetooth. For a wireless thermometer the Meater Thermometer Plus is the way to go. The Meater is an essential item if you are doing any sort of rotisserie cooking.

Other Equipment

Poly Bag Sealer - Stainless Steel If you are making bulk sausage and putting it in poly bags this is a must have, much easier to use than hog rings.

Marinade Express Vacuum Tumbler - Pro This is great to have for marinating various meats, or for jerky. It will save you from having to marinate meat for long periods of time, and really gets the marinade into the meat.

Walton’s 660# Scale This is the scale to have if you are weighing out large quantities, such as 25# batches of meat. The remote readout is extremely handy for being able to see the readout with a meat lug on the scale. I like that it can be plugged in or ran off batteries, has 2 modes for small or large wieghts, and the read stores in the bottom of the scale naking for easy storage. This pick replaces the Weston 330 pound scale.

Walton’s 30ML Auto Injector This is the best injector I have ever used, the thing is a beast and makes injecting so easy. For a slightly less expensive alternative check out this Walton’s Automatic Syringe Injector This is the second best injector I have ever used. It makes injecting a breeze. Be careful when cleaning and disassembling as their are small parts that can be easily lost.

Vera Precision Digital Scale This scale is extremely handy for measuring small quantities and it will measure down to the fraction of a gram. It very useful when not making full batches of products.

Chicken On the Run Breading and Chicken On The Run Marinade are an absoulte must try if you love fried chicken! The breading also works well for Chicken Fired Steak, mix it with some corn meal, and you also have a great breading for fish.

Meatgistics Leather Apron this is a great apron, it’s heavy duty and functional and should last a life time. Your processing friends will be envious if you have one and they don’t.

Walton’s Artisan Apron This a great light weight apron that is good for every day use. The two front pockets provide a handy plave to put instant read thermometers. Would work great over the top of the Meatgistics leather apron to keep it clean.

Hard Surface Sanitizer this is a must have for sanitation be it for counter tops, equipment, cutting boards, etc just follow the directions and you will be good to go.

Walton’s Complete Turkey Cure this is must have for making a turkey for those special occasions. I have used it twice and both times everyone who has ate the turkey have raved about how it is the breat turkey they have ever ate. It will give your turkey a nice hammy flavor.

Soluble Turkey Injection This a great injection, it will take your turkey to the next level! The flavor is very much that of turkey would get from a deli.

Walton’s Fresh Vac Sealer This is a great entry level vsc sealer. I like that you can clamp the bag into the machine, it has dry/liquid modes, and also includes a canister vac.

Walton’s Chamber Vac Sealer let me just start by saying that chamber vac sealers are far and away better than your standard vac sealears and are worth the extra money if you seal a lot of stuff. I’ve had this unit for several months and have been nothing but impressed with it. You can also use these machines for marinating and making pickles!

Grill Grates
These are a must have for anyone wanting to do steak cookoff competitions. They will give you perfect grill marks. They can be flipped to the flat side and used as a flattop griddle as well. They are highly versatile and can be transferred between grills and ordered in custom sizes to fit any grill perfectly.

Walton’s Stuffer Flusher This is a must have for clearing out the throat of your stuffer, it words great!

Stainless Steel Bowls these are must have for any kitchen. I have all of the sizes and use at least one or two of them weekly. The largest size is great to use when making sausage!

Smokehouse Cleaner This stuff is amazing, I got a new to me smokehouse and it cleaned it right up. Spray on, and basically wipe clean, it seems after the first use this bottle should last quite a long time! Proof is in the pictures.
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Austin Austin Walton Jonathon

[Chef]

Tex_77 Great Job. This is a fantastic place for beginners to start.

[ND Mike]

Tex_77 fantastic post Tex! This will be helpful to lots of people including me!

[lkrfletcher]

Awesome Tex - Thank you for your input. You know I need to fill up my cart now. A+

[slyoder]

Tex_77 This is very helpful for a newbie like me. Thank-you!

[Jonathon]

Tex_77 Great job man, thank you! This is probably more helpful to new users than anything we would give. I know I take more stock from something a customer says than something an employee says! Agree with almost everything BUT on the Weston 330 lb will soon be replaced, we have a 600 lb platform scale coming that will be in the same price range and it will have a low weight setting for being able to get accurate readings at under 5 lb!

Glad to hear you like the Argentinian marinade that much, one of our commercial salesman just asked me about it and though I have used it, I used your love of it as a recommendation, so that was helpful.

[Tex_77]

Jonathon I’ll probably need to test that scale out. You need to try the Argentinean marinade how I said to use it, and I think you will come around to loving it. Also feel free to pin this post, so new users can easily find it.

[PapaSop]

Tex_77
Nice job!

[Bob Stehlik]

Tex_77 Thanx Tex Great Info.

[jpurol]

Awesome job Tex.

[processhead]

Well written, Tex. Nice review of what works and a starting point for someone shopping for seasonings,

[Jonesy]

Tex_77
That is a pretty spectacular list. I’ll be referring to it often, I’m sure. On a side note: nice Clint Eastwood pic. The Outlaw Jody Wales was one of many, many movies made better by starring Eastwood…my absolute favorite actor. (I probably shouldn’t be writing this here, but I’m new, and don’t know any better. )

[ND Mike]

Jonesy i wouldn’t worry about it. A lot of times topics go down rabbit holes.

[Denny O]

Thanks Tex_77, I’m going to have to table this info and digest them in the future! I’m always look’in fer new concoctions to dilly dally with! Gundabar to you for the info!

[Snacks]

Tex_77 Thank you…!! I’m a new user and this post is so helpful, I’m definitely going to print a copy for reference. I don’t post much but always reading/learning all the great info from everyone here In Meatgistics.

[GWG8541]

Tex_77 thanks for taking the time to do this. As I keep adding to my arsenal of meat processing at home, this will be valuable. Thanks again.

[cdavis]

Tex_77 great post. Lots of good information I’ll be using. Thanks for taking the time to write this up. I especially like knowing the heat levels of the seasonings because I have young children that aren’t so fond of the heat. Thanks again.

[Tex_77]

Updated to add Chicken on the Run, PK Grills, Grill Grates, Hard Surface Sanitizer, Leather Apron, Jerky Seasonings, Walton’s Complete Turkey Cure, Rosemary, Basil, and Thyme Seasoning, Knife Sharpeners and Steels. Austin Jonathon @Team-Blue @Team-Orange @Team-Grey

[Joe Hell]

Tex_77 whoa! Nice reviews! I added the ghost chili cheese and roasted hatch chiles to a brat this week. So good!

[Midwest_kc]

Nice list! Definitely some things that I will need to try out!