I had the same issue— untilll…when they get close, put a water pan on the burner an they will steam to temp. this will soften em up some an make em softer,
this will not take long, stem works fast,and I am famous for “over smoking” lol, that will always lead to tough caseings

Thanks ya,ll
got her percolating right now empty, amazing whats happened thus far, with two probes, 1 in the center of the chamber an one next to the smokers built in probe It is within 3 degrees now, with the water pan plumb full, it took an hour or so the stabilize, I have nver had those two spots that close in temp… seems to be improving…

Thanks to all, even after 30 years of sausage I still am learning, stuffing the only thing left I,m not good at , yet, this place is a wealth of info,
Got em in the smoker, watching them like a mother hen,

 

twilliams
sounds like a “behmoth” smoker there, mines a sausage maker 50 lb elect- works good but it aint no 50 ln smoker,
It does behave pretty continently- I,ll post a pic tomorrow,
Thank you for the help,

That binder would be Butcher /Packer special binder- it makes everything I use it in almost unusually firm/stiff, I used 1/2 the amount this trip- I have used non-fat dry milk

• not the grocery store variety but the real stuff, much like sur-gel, I got some to be sure, I think it has 1 other additive over what I had, (sur-gel) yes, I mix an stuff right away, with everything real cold, I never let anything un-stuffed sit,fingers crossed

Mine never shrink to date, and I hardly ever use a binder, I will tomorrow but likely bp- not milk,Been doing the ice bath , Plan on just removing em from smoker to air out this trip,always takes lots of water to get em through the stuffe, has not been an issue if I hang em to get em to room temp,

Roger that,These are collagen, Looking up me a stuffer, now if my smoker were a little more steady, its kinda spikey, lol
Always something I guess, Thanks man

Jonathon
now I,m getting somewhere, many thanks, amazing how long it takes to figure this stuff out without good info,

looking forward to the next batch,
Thank you,

The wave is what bothers me the most, I can get it to settle down in about 20 minutes after I raise the temp , 10 deg. increments might work pretty easy but it,ll take forever to get it up high,on the other hand my new 11 lb waltons stuffer arrived today, here we go,

mrobisr
Thank you, I really prefer that kind to all others … just doing some checking,

I understand some have issues with the use of this substance, I have binder with it as the main ingredient, an I must say-it is far and away better than anything with milk of any sort as I always taste the milk, a deal breaker for me, an I care not for soy either , at least used in the amounts suggested by the manufacturer ( sausage maker) from the old days, I am curious as to any possible health/safety
concerns, lay it on my ,don,t hold back,

TY

Exactly, thats where I have been hanging the remote probe, its quite a bit different throughout the cooking session, probably need a fancier smoker,lol

I can move it but, It,ll require my toolbox, l

Interesting,
Mine has a digital controller an it came with an inkbird, the sensor is 2/3 the way up on the back wall, sounds like I might need to move it close to the heat ? Did you have to hard wire yours into your appliance?

The wave is what bothers me the most, I can get it to settle down in about 20 minutes after I raise the temp , 10 deg. increments might work pretty easy but it,ll take forever to get it up high,on the other hand my new 11 lb waltons stuffer arrived today, here we go,

pepaw,
Dried is one I have down pat, very easily salt/pepper/fresh garlic, cure ( usually #2) if you need hot, cayeene, or jalapenos ,or both,I have never ever used a drier,
stuff em , smoke the chit out of em, hang em in my gar till I cant squeeze em much, usually 7/10 days, depending on weather, done, I have never made anybody sick an been doing that one for over 15 years, hope that helps,

Badex,
Not an a*s atall, actually its electric with a digital thermostat, but I concur, we always wanna be making it better, bout to get it where I can live with it without it burning stuff,made a steel heat baffel
And added a water pan, when its fully warm it stays generally within 10 deg. Of the target temp, prolly time to lay my hammer down an make some links,

Thanks ya,ll
got her percolating right now empty, amazing whats happened thus far, with two probes, 1 in the center of the chamber an one next to the smokers built in probe It is within 3 degrees now, with the water pan plumb full, it took an hour or so the stabilize, I have nver had those two spots that close in temp… seems to be improving…

Jonathon
now I,m getting somewhere, many thanks, amazing how long it takes to figure this stuff out without good info,

looking forward to the next batch,
Thank you,