So, I asked during the Livestream about finishing sticks in the souz vide. You smoke them for awhile to 130*. Then vac pack and souz vide. Do you have to let the sausage bloom then? Do you have to take them out of the bag to bloom and then re-bag? What I would like to do is smoke summer and sticks, then bag and finish in a soux vide bath…and be done after the cool bath. Thoughts? Comments? Thanks.

Jonathon So when you let them sit out, do you remove them from the bag or leave them vacuum sealed?

So what do most of you use for grinding plates? I have a 10mm (3/8’) and then grind through a 7mm (1/4’) plate. Sometimes I find the 7mm is too fine of a grind for hamburger. Do most of you just grind it twice through a 10mm? Asking for beef burger in this case.

I will need to take a photo sometime.

I add a lot of water to the product. 10lb batch, maybe 2 quarts of water?!? I don’t measure it. It has to be wet to go through my 30lb stuffer. Even then, it tries to bust my stuffer from the pressure. (need to get a 11lb for the smaller casing stuff).

I don’t know the internal temp when I pulled from smoker.

It is likely due to understuffing as mentioned above. Hope to make more in a coming weeks.

twilliams I agree with your comments. Like it or leave it! I am a small business owner. I tend to give sausage bundles to clients as gifts at end of the year. I also donate meat to the local Optimist Club for a basketball tournament. I bring the sticks and summer sausage to our local Pheasants Forever meetings. No one complains about the flavor…EVER! I am just somewhat of a perfectionist. I want the investment in time, hard work, and money to look great when it is finished. I am just asking if there is a simple adjustment I can make to take it from just ok to WOW!

Had this problem last weekend with 30 lbs of sticks. Smoked for 3-4 hours. Started at 125, 140, 155 after each hour. Then vac sealed and placed in Soux Vide . Water cooked at 162 for 1 hour. There was a lot of juice in bags. Casing looked fine until the ice water bath. Now they all look like a frightened turtle. Sausage taste is good…presentation is awful! I can not give them away as Christmas gifts unless I want to hear a bunch of jokes. Ideas? Not stuffed tight enough? Not smoked until internal temp was hot enough? Don’t water bath in bags? Other ideas?? Thanks.

Jonathon So when you let them sit out, do you remove them from the bag or leave them vacuum sealed?

So, I asked during the Livestream about finishing sticks in the souz vide. You smoke them for awhile to 130*. Then vac pack and souz vide. Do you have to let the sausage bloom then? Do you have to take them out of the bag to bloom and then re-bag? What I would like to do is smoke summer and sticks, then bag and finish in a soux vide bath…and be done after the cool bath. Thoughts? Comments? Thanks.

Made two batches today. 5 lbs in each batch. 4 lbs of deer and 1 lb of pork. On one batch I used 1/4 cup of sugar. Stuffed them into the big 4.6’’ red casings. Will smoke them in a couple of days. Also made some salami that will need to be smoked. Thanks for the quick response.

Coming to Wichita East store in the morning. Wanted to try to Lebanon Bologna, but really want a Sweet Lebanon taste. Do you have an idea of how much sugar to add to the recipe? Brown, white, or dextrose? I guess this question is not a 911, but would like to know if I need to pick up anything while in Wichita in the morning. Thanks.

I have not made chicken sausage. Wonder if you grind the dark and white to get the correct fat content?!? I don’t know about grinding the skin…maybe that is the way to go? idk. I just looked in my go-to sausage book. not many chicken recipes…but there was one for turkey sausage. It used 7.5 lbs turkey, 2.5 lbs pork trimmings.

If you are using whole birds, get some in the 5 plus pounds range…they may have enough fat on them to use. Broilers are great for growing your own. Easy to get from a Farm Store in the Spring or a 4-Her. Only take 6-8 weeks to grow and get nice and fat. We usually grow them until 6-8 lbs…and they are usually loaded with fat. Or check with your local butcher…sometimes they will give you the fat off animals for free. Can you mix turkey fat with chicken, idk…

Good luck. Maybe Austin has a solution…

pete.

I made 20 lbs of Summer Sausage with and 20 lbs without ECA. Both batches were my normal recipe. The batches with ECA were definitely tangy…maybe to much.

I was looking for an alternative to Fermento as the recipe calls. What I have used in the past is Powdered Buttermilk. I have to hold it in the fridge for a couple of days to get the tang I want. ECA is great if don’t want to wait to smoke the meats. I usually need to mix and stuff one day…then smoke another, starting first thing in the morning. That way the batch is finished before I want to go to bed. Has anyone else used powdered buttermilk?