Joe Hell If Jonathon is making chili with beans in it he is causing the climate change by contributing to the increase of gas in the environment…

Sorry I don’t have pics, but did a 5 lb bone in rib roast for dinner tonight… 10 hrs @ 134, pulled from the bath and dropped it in a cooler for about 2 hrs travel time… put it in a 500+/- oven for 15 mins and ended up with med rare from end to end with a great sear… cut 2 thin slices off the ends and tossed 'em in a pan to cremate them for my GF and everybody was happy… son in law was asking all kinds of questions about SV… I believe he’s hooked… just have to make sure he doesn’t buy one before his birthday in March… He is getting one of those Weston SVs you guys ran the great Christmas sale on…

Hey guys, just watched your “Snails” video… I believe the problem is you overcooked the snails… Much like doing squid, snails need to be cooked for a very short time or they turn into inedible rubber bands…

I’m not sure this is going to pique your interest in trying this again, but when properly cooked, snails should have a consistency more like snot…

mccullen You lucked out!!! I watched three 20q mixers go for $800, and 2 others over $900 in the past 2 weeks…

I’d like to get one, and should have sprung for one of the $800 ones, but I knew that a Vacmaster 215 was coming up this week and I held out to buy that… ended up paying $520, it’s in near perfect condition, oil is clean, pump is strong, all it needs is new teflon strip over the heater wire…

A while back I had ordered some of the Holly Regular Pork Sausage spice blend, I finally got around to trying it this weekend… I did about 10 lbs of sausage… once cased, I cooked up about 4 lbs in the oven as I normally do before freezing for a quick breakfast item… I will be totally honest here, I was not impressed… I didn’t feel the flavors melded, and it ended up too salty…

The other 6 lbs I tossed into a cold smoke for about 2 hours using pecan, then bagged it up and put it in the sous vide for about 3 hours @ 165… I tried the first piece right out of the sous vide, and the result was AMAZING!!! The links stayed as plump as when I had stuffed them, there was virtually no loss due to cooking, but they were not greasy… the flavors melded beautifully and the texture was perfect… Honestly some of the best tasting sausage I have made to date!!!

This morning I nuked up one of the links, just to get it warm, (didn’t even bother to sear it), and it was AWESOME!!!

The difference in cooking made all the difference in the world… it looks like the sous vide is going to be an integral part of my sausage making tools…

Jonathan I had no idea how difficult it was going to be to try to find a marrow bone to add to an upcoming hot dog project… We only have 2 “butcher shops” in the area, both fancy themselves as high end swanky custom meat emporiums… They both wanted > $9 per lb. for a couple chunks of bone…

Finally found a Mid Eastern Grocery Store that has a meat counter in the back… turns out it’s a real butcher shop! Not only is he selling me the entire femur for $5. but he will cut it up into a few pieces on the band saw as well… Also, he said he’d throw in a nice big chunk of leaf fat at no charge… Looks like I finally found a butcher!!!

While I’m there I’m going to try to buy a Picanha… hope I’m not pushing my luck

Anyone looking to buy hog ring pliers, be sure to buy from Waltons… I bought a Dewalt set from a local hardware store and it turns out the Dewalt pliers use an 11/16" ring that is too big to properly close a bag or casing…

I forget the size, but the Waltons pliers use a smaller ring that is sized for this purpose

Austin; I have not seen what I consider to be a serious, quality horizontal stuffer either,

The stuffer I purchased was a cheap $35 stuffer… it has no gaskets and meat does tend to force past the piston. Also the piston tends to score the inside wall of the stuffer as it is used… Additionally, it has no air release valve on the piston… The stuffing tubes and front face of the stuffer are plastic, and while they are holding up for now… I expect they will be the first things to give out in a couple of years… That’s all the negative stuff…

On the positive side, the stuffer can be attached to virtually any surface, thus stuffing can be done at a table where you can sit down while doing it… 1 person can easily crank the stuffer and handle the filled casings coming off the other end at the same time… in fact, I find doing a 1 man operation is easier since you can instantly adjust your fill speed, by feel, at any time without having to interact with another person…

Having used both horizontal and vertical style stuffers at this point, I am totally sold on the horizontal style…

KnucklHed BBQ: Thanks for the offer… I actually have an 11 lb vertical that is too big for me for day to day use… I only have a “home size” sink, so it’s a hassle to wash and clean larger equipment, and since I generally just do small batches, usually not more than a single butt at a time, the 5 lb size is usually adequate… So, while I’m sure I’ll still pull out the bigger stuffer from time to time, I actually would prefer to stick with a 5 lb stuffer… (possibly if an 8 lb unit were available, I might go for that…)

Austin Jonathon There’s always a catch… Just get an A5 producer to co-sponsor your videos… Problem solved!

Thanks Austin… This is what I am hoping for!!! Aside from that the flavor of the mix is excellent, and they are going to make great Christmas presents!!!

Jonathon As a former KCBS judge, I was not thrilled with the criteria used for KCBS judging… And this would be why I am a former judge… I would much prefer if the contestants entered what they would feed their family and friends…

Jonathon Either add gluten to you dough recipe or start with bread flour instead of all purpose flour…

Spray it with food grade silicone before using it…

calldoctoday Thanks, and same to you… Started off pretty darn’d good with back bacon biscuits… and will finish up even better once the pork chops are smoked and the Italian Bread has risen!

Has anybody ever tried baking bread in their smoker?

I did a loaf of hawaiian bread last night… we sliced it up and ate half the loaf while it was still warm, finished it off for breakfast as french toast…

Joe Hell Apparently there is a different name for a pork brisket… This is pig production country, but I’ve never heard of it nor as the farmer that I’ve been buying pigs from…

twilliams Looks like they flattened out during the aging process… I age in Umai bags, and I truss the roast every inch or so with rubber bands to hold it’s shape.

Tex_77 s.a.m I have used mayo or mustard at various times, both are great for getting spices to adhere to the meat, I am not as thrilled with the crust… What develops is actually very good, but I find it to be too thin…

Tex_77 I don’t have any secrets, The baking problems you have require a solution based on your local environment… My suggestion would be to do as I did, find a professional baker in your area that has figured out the recipe modifications necessary for your locale… Probably more difficult will be finding a baker that is willing to share his/her techniques…

Jonathon When I moved to NC from PA I opened a pizzeria and had a the same issue attempting to make a decent pizza dough… The problem is the difference in atmospherics between various areas of the country… This includes everything from relative humidity to elevation…

I wish I could take credit for figuring out the answer to the problem, but it was actually a buddy that was a professional baker that also had moved from the NYC/Philly metro area.

His solution consisted of modifying the dough recipe, changing the oil/water ratio, as well as tweaking the yeast content…

While I do some baking, I am not sufficiently versed in the chemistry to be able to suggest specific modification ratios… besides, you are going to have to find a solution based on your local atmospheric conditions…