Well last Friday night i injected all 150lbs of pork butts for the wedding reception. My neighbor insisted i use his big smoker and i was not going to turn that down. I got all 150lbs on that one smoker and then i did 1 for myself on the smoking brothers.
My wife made her self sick on pulled pork Saturday helping too shred and pack it!


I definitely failed in the picture department but every time i wanted a picture my hands were gross with pork or seasonings!

Ok Here is the Finished Product. It was Amazing 10/10 would recommend!
about 24 hours in the Pa’s Black bull, Seasoned Stuffed and Netted then Smoked at 325 for about 2 hours.

Got to do a little home processing this weekend. Made some deer sticks 70% deer 30% pork fat and some Deer brats same ratio.
The brats i used a Custom blend recipe and i have to say i dont think i could get a deer brat any closer to a traditional brat flavor. they where great!
The Sticks Started with Pepper Stick and added a few other spices along with Sodium erythorbate, sure gel, and sure cure. I opted out of citric acid just for something different. The Sticks come on slow with a smoky flavor ending with just the right amount of kick! I stuffed into 19mm casings and smoked on the green mountain. I was surprised it only took 2 hours to smoke the sticks.

waltp ECA is a cure accelerator. What your seeing is uncured spots. Next time add just enough water to carry the cure and spread as evenly as you can. Mix until proper protein extraction with all your seasonings except ECA then mix in the ECA and Stuff.
With The ECA you want to cook soon but you have an hour or 2 to hold it and let the cure work no issues.

Id Like to add that it has also been noted that the virus can not survive temperature and that cooking to 160 should kill it.

processhead To elaborate on my first answer. I don’t think its so much the sugar in the brine as the dryness of a dry brine bacon vs a wet brine. My thoughts is the extra moisture picked up in a wet brine helps dissolve the sugars and keep them from caramelizing. I think having that extra moisture also helps with cooking.

Dave in AZ & Austin I recently did a test Using both ECA and ELA in 2 separate 25lb batches of the same product. As a commercial processor I’m shooting for a PH in the 4.7-4.9 range for a shelf stable product.
I used equal amounts ECA and ELA in both batches.
The ECA resulted in a PH of 4.66 and the ELA resulted in 5.10. The ECA is much more effective at dropping the PH but I much preferred the taste of the ELA.
I think this is why you see both in many products. ELA cost considerably more so less is used to get the flavor profile and then a small amount of ECA is used to set the PH without making is so tangy.
I’m not sure I will try this at this point since the customer preferred the ECA anyway. If I do ill let everyone know the results.

Jonathon I never would have guessed it would pair so well with Chicken But its quite amazing I will be trying some other things with it for Sure!

@tmeiners82 Ive interchanged Snack Stick and Summer sausage with good success. Ive also Made quite a bit of summer sausage with Jalapenos and ECA with no issues It would just come down to your Preference.

hazelwood I would use Something like the blue ribbon Bratwurst seasoning. I would use this at 5-10% more than the recommended usage on Venison as the strong taste can take a bit more seasoning to get the flavors to pull through.
I would also add Carrot fiber and the appropriate amount of water & 10% high temp cheddar. I prefer to use canned jalapenos in my stuff but be sure to drain all the juice you can as it will denature the meat and make it crumbly.

Dave in AZ No Problem, It was a learning experience for us as well. And not the results I expected.

Dave in AZ & Austin I recently did a test Using both ECA and ELA in 2 separate 25lb batches of the same product. As a commercial processor I’m shooting for a PH in the 4.7-4.9 range for a shelf stable product.
I used equal amounts ECA and ELA in both batches.
The ECA resulted in a PH of 4.66 and the ELA resulted in 5.10. The ECA is much more effective at dropping the PH but I much preferred the taste of the ELA.
I think this is why you see both in many products. ELA cost considerably more so less is used to get the flavor profile and then a small amount of ECA is used to set the PH without making is so tangy.
I’m not sure I will try this at this point since the customer preferred the ECA anyway. If I do ill let everyone know the results.

Miller How long did it take to hit 130? I once had a commercial smokehouse mfg tell me to bring the meat up in steps much like you did except to wait until the IT of the meat 135 to start pushing it to finish. Im not sure that is the case Just an idea.

Miller I have a couple thoughts.
#1 you probably could cut that first step down to 30-40 min. Not a big deal but it plays into #2.
#2 the meat looks lean like it is straight elk. In my experience you need a little fat or you will get wrinkles. The longer drying in step 1 could amplify this.
#3 And Judging by the cut surface this is not the issue. is lack of protein extraction. Generally a dead giveaway for this would be a sausage that crumbles when cut.

Tex_77 Exodus outdoor gear makes some good cams.

Tex_77 thats great news! I’m about out of there sauce!

maurermeat We have a pro smoker and have fought the same thing. What is your fan speed? I recently turned ours from 55hrz to 45.5hrz and so far I have not had this issue come back. for us it was only on shelf stable sticks with cheese.

maurermeat Did they have cheese and if so was the white around the cheese? Also could you add any info as to your process from start to finish including the smoker?

Tex_77 Woodys and Knackies in McPherson is decent. Roys shut down due to health just a few weeks ago. There is a possibility that they will reopen in the future.

Tex_77 I have not had a chance to listen yet but i have set through a few seminar’s that Fansisco has put on that were very good.