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;
- 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?
- Will cellulose work with Sous Vide finish (Vacuum packed of course)?
- 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.
- Any tips on the finish with the Sous vide and cooler would be greatly appreciated.
- 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.
- Again, this is best forum I’ve ever encountered. Can not believe the amount of knowledge that gets shared on here