1st post/Sous Vide/Cellulose

[BobSmith]

I joined this forum about a week ago and have been reading the posts almost all day every day since. I can not believe the amount of knowledge I’ve gained from this forum.
I made 25lbs of Willies snack sticks with 50/50 pork and deer last week. It stalled at 147 degrees like it always does. After about 10 hours , my patience got the best of me and I increased the temp from 175 to 190 and then to 200. Ended up ruining about half of them.
Had never heard of the Sous vide solution of finishing in water till I joined this forum.
Bit the bullet and bought an Anova Precision Cooker Pro Sous vide. Found it on Walmart’s website for $238 and free shipping. It’ll be here on the 3rd of March at which time I’m planning a 25 lb batch of Polish Sausage using Walton’s seasoning and L*m’s Free bind with 32 mm cellulose casings ( the wife don’t like the “skin” of collagen) I will be trying the Sous vide finish.
My Questions;

1. What size cooler would you recommend I buy for 25 lb batches and is it better to have short and deep or longer and shallow cooler?
2. Will cellulose work with Sous Vide finish (Vacuum packed of course)?
3. Has anyone tried putting a wireless thermometer (ie. MEATER) in the meat in the vac bag to monitor the temp? I could tightly wrap the ambient tip with Saran Wrap and tape so hopefully it wouldn’t get wet. Just a thought.
4. Any tips on the finish with the Sous vide and cooler would be greatly appreciated.
5. Do Cellulose casings react to the same smoke schedule as collagen?ie. Dry then add smoke and step up slowly to 130 or 140 then into the Sous vide till 160, ice bath, rest and strip casing and into the fridge to be vac packed the next day.
6. Again, this is best forum I’ve ever encountered. Can not believe the amount of knowledge that gets shared on here

[Tex_77]

BobSmith Welcome. 1. Lots of people use coleman party stackers for sous vide coolers, they are very inexpensive. I’d say wider is better.

2. Not sure.

3. That will work, the tip getting wet i don’t think will matter much if at all.

4&5. Dave in AZ processhead

[BobSmith]

Tex_77 Thanks. I searched the topic and got most of my questions answered on the Sous Vide but would still like to hear any info and tips on Cellulose casings.

[kyle]

BobSmith welcome to the community Bob. The great thing about sous vide is the meat will not get any hotter than the water temp, so I don’t feel there is a need for a thermometer. If you set your temp at 160, thats what the meat will stop cooking at. That being said, I have not finished sticks yet with my sous vide, but have made many steaks, chicken and shrimp with my Anova Pro and it works great.

[Mcjagger]

BobSmith first of all welcome…this is what I use with my Anova sous vide … it’s awesome !!!

[gus4416]

BobSmith first of welcome I never used a sodas vibe so I can’t help you there I allways leave my sticks in the smoker til done but I don’t do 25 pounds at a time I do Walton’s smoke schedule and use a water pan with no problems so welcome aboard

[Dave in AZ]

Mcjagger duude! Every 3rd post from you causes me to buy some perfect piece of equipment I needed but didn’t know the exact thing! I love thise racks, I’ve been jerry-rigging…

[Dave in AZ]

BobSmith said in 1st post/Sous Vide/Cellulose:

I joined this f***m about a week ago and have been reading the posts almost all day every day since. I can not believe the amount of knowledge I’ve gained from this f***m.
I made 25lbs of Willies snack sticks with 50/50 pork and deer last week. It stalled at 147 degrees like it always does. After about 10 hours , my patience got the best of me and I increased the temp from 175 to 190 and then to 200. Ended up ruining about half of them.
Had never heard of the Sous vide solution of finishing in water till I joined this f***m.
Bit the bullet and bought an Anova Precision Cooker Pro Sous vide. Found it on Walmart’s website for $238 and free shipping. It’ll be here on the 3rd of March at which time I’m planning a 25 lb batch of Polish Sausage using Walton’s seasoning and L*m’s Free bind with 32 mm cellulose casings ( the wife don’t like the “skin” of collagen) I will be trying the Sous vide finish.
My Questions;

1. What size cooler would you recommend I buy for 25 lb batches and is it better to have short and deep or longer and shallow cooler?
2. Will cellulose work with Sous Vide finish (Vacuum packed of course)?
3. Has anyone tried putting a wireless thermometer (ie. MEATER) in the meat in the vac bag to monitor the temp? I could tightly wrap the ambient tip with Saran Wrap and tape so hopefully it wouldn’t get wet. Just a thought.
4. Any tips on the finish with the Sous vide and cooler would be greatly appreciated.
5. Do Cellulose casings react to the same smoke schedule as collagen?ie. Dry then add smoke and step up slowly to 130 or 140 then into the Sous vide till 160, ice bath, rest and strip casing and into the fridge to be vac packed the next day.
6. Again, this is best f***m I’ve ever encountered. Can not believe the amount of knowledge that gets shared on here

Hi, welcome!

1. Haven’t done 25 lb, defer to Tex
2. cellulose WILL work, but it is a plastic casing that you later strip off the sausage and don’t eat, intended for hotdogs and such. If used, I would not even vacuum pack, just dump into water bare.
3. Meater wireless probe… don’t waste your time. I was going to buy to seal into vacuum bags for sous vide. Read reviews, if the probe gets wet it fails. I called Meater and talked to their product manager about a sous vide capable probe, the short answer is it can’t do it. I agree with Kyle, the sausage comes up to the SV water temp very fast, and due to low controlled temps there is almost zero concern for overcooking or fat out. Just look at some time charts, let it sit in there an extra 10 min, test one with a poke and it will be good. I have now decided, through experience, that I absolutely don’t need an in-bag SV temp probe.
4. Will post a thread link below
5. Yes, just as you described. They take smoke well, they are basically for smoked and SV hotdogs.

Here is a thread I did on casings. Unless you are going skinless, I recommend natural hog casings. Way less hassle than all the others.
https://meatgistics.waltons.com/topic/5827/opinions-help-on-clear-collagen-casings-vs-hog-for-brats/20?_=1670620948082

I think most of my relevant sous vide comments have made it into this thread, along with tons of good experience and points from others:
https://meatgistics.waltons.com/topic/5160/meat-sticks-with-sous-vide-finish-in-bags

[djman69465]

BobSmith - This community is great! I went looking for a the “party stacker” cooler last month, it seems like a very rare find, or expensive. So I purchased the Igloo 48 qt. Laguna Ice Chest Cooler from Wal mart. It was $26 and seems similar in dimensions, though bigger. I bought the 2in coupler, cut a hole and installed it the lid as explained from previous post from this community. It looks perfect, but have yet to try it though. I am expecting it to take awhile to heat that much water.

[glen]

djman69465 Did the exact same thing with a party stacker years ago, works very good and heat retention great!

[Dave in AZ]

Here’s a tip on getting the sous vide machine low enough in your cooler to not have to fill it with unnecessary water. See the little plastic tray they come with, I cut a hole in it to hold machine?

[djman69465]

glen - I was hoping the insulation factor would help offset the larger size when it comes to heating the water. I hope I am right. I assume the party stacker cooler is discontinued? Every website was sold out, fake or way to expensive. Not to mention people who own them seem to know that and asking $80 for a used one.

[djman69465]

Dave in AZ - I saw your picture and my wheels were already spinning. Thanks for posting it, because it was the only thing I didn’t like about my set up was the device sat pretty high, requiring the cooler to be full. Mine as pictured, the MAX line is in the lid. I can the it lower by removing the clamp, but it looses stability. Not sure it that going to cause an issue or which is the worst of two evils.

[djman69465]

BobSmith - here is the link on what led me to making the cooler.
https://meatgistics.waltons.com/topic/3483/how-to-make-a-sous-vide-tank-for-snack-sticks?_=1677363928223

[glen]

djman69465 Cooler definitely helps hold temperature

[deweymeats]

My wife made the choice for me, Bonsenkitchen, SV3002, 1300 watt, auto off, low and hi water, waterproof, no WIFI but only $65 amazon, will be easy to upgrade if desired. Modified a Coleman removable top cooler, inside 19x11x9, about 8 / 10 gallons. Long enough for the snack sticks I make, will upgrade when I get better at summer sasauge.
I used 1/4 inch white poly from the Plastic Plus shop, will not bend at the 180 temp, it fits on the cover ledge when cut to size. Cut 2 1/2 inch hole for the heater and 5/8 for the clamping device on the support plate. Used 2 different support plate and cover plate for ease of loading and keeping the heater in the water while loading and checking temps. A 5/8 inch finger hole in the second top cover for ease of removal. Doing it this way I am able to use the cooler as normal when not cooking in it. I am going to attempt to add pictures so
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[Dave in AZ]

deweymeats sounds good. If I try to add more than 2 picture, it fails for me. 1 pic if on cellular.

[Grimpuppy]

Ya, looks like the party stackers price has gone crazy. I bought mine a couple years ago pretty cheap and it has worked great for me.

[BobSmith]

Grimpuppy Ya, I could only find one in all my searches and it was $109 for a 24 qt. I just ordered a 70 qt Coleman from Amazon. Kind of pricey ($60) but I’ll make it work. Thanks

[cdavis]

BobSmith welcome aboard. Glad to have you here.