Jamieson22 that is exactly what I am hoping to get rid of is that slight “crumble” feeling as I mix with cold hands also. Your post made me order the Walton’s 50lb mixer as I have the LEM #12 and it should match up…thanks

Forgot to add vent settings…

First hour-open vents.
During smoke, 1/3 open.
During the last step, closed with no smoke.

Jamieson22 by the way, I used 1/2 pan of hickory saw dust and it was perfect for smoke.

Jamieson22 definitely not regretting purchasing Walton’s 50lb mixer. I used it for 21 lbs of Jalapeno Cheddar sticks yesterday. WOW! Hooked it up to my LEM Big Bite #12 with ease. Mixed for 6 minutes, I did stop it every 2 minutes and scrape down the sides, and helped the ends along where the paddles seem to leave a little layer once in a while. Also, the clean-up is way easier than I expected. Easy to remove and clean the paddles and unscrew 4 wingnuts and put the whole thing in a large sink and wash it up in less than 5 minutes total. The sticks turned out great as well.

This is what I did:
1 Hr @ 100 to dry vents fully open
1 Hr @ 130 vents 1/3 open. Added full pan damp hickory funneled out center
1 Hr @ 155
1 Hr @ 170
1.5-2 Hr @ 180 vents closed until IT of 155
I did give them a quick 30-second ice bath and then put them on a towel in the fridge spread out to dry them a little for about 5-6 hours. They were fantastic. I never removed the sawdust pan, just let it go until it was done which was about 3 hrs after I put it in. Good smoke flavor, but a little much for my wife. I think next time I will do exactly the same, but use 3/4 pan of sawdust funneled out in middle.

ziek same here, exact same process as Jamieson and never had any fall out.

Jamieson22 I actually did the exact same thing with a silicone spatula, just didn’t want to admit it online . Agreed on some sort of quick release…I am actually considering buying regular hex heads and just using a cordless drill to speed up the process to remove them.

ziek same here, exact same process as Jamieson and never had any fall out.

Jamieson22 I do. I probably put in about 1 or 1-1/2 cup of water with half a pan and mix it up real good with my hands. I did have some areas of the smoker that didn’t get as much color as the rest and I seem to have that issue anytime I do more than 12-15 lbs of sticks or more than 25 lbs of sausage. I think a small circulation fan could help that. I have tried a small computer USB fan once and it worked well to keep a constant temperature throughout, but I don’t recall the color.

Jamieson22 by the way, I used 1/2 pan of hickory saw dust and it was perfect for smoke.

Jamieson22 I actually did the exact same thing with a silicone spatula, just didn’t want to admit it online . Agreed on some sort of quick release…I am actually considering buying regular hex heads and just using a cordless drill to speed up the process to remove them.

Jamieson22 definitely not regretting purchasing Walton’s 50lb mixer. I used it for 21 lbs of Jalapeno Cheddar sticks yesterday. WOW! Hooked it up to my LEM Big Bite #12 with ease. Mixed for 6 minutes, I did stop it every 2 minutes and scrape down the sides, and helped the ends along where the paddles seem to leave a little layer once in a while. Also, the clean-up is way easier than I expected. Easy to remove and clean the paddles and unscrew 4 wingnuts and put the whole thing in a large sink and wash it up in less than 5 minutes total. The sticks turned out great as well.

Jamieson22 that is exactly what I am hoping to get rid of is that slight “crumble” feeling as I mix with cold hands also. Your post made me order the Walton’s 50lb mixer as I have the LEM #12 and it should match up…thanks

Jamieson22 just curious if you had a mixer before, or were you mixing by hand? If by hand, did you notice a constancy difference with this batch?

Jamieson22 look great, how do they taste?

Look awesome!

Jamieson22 Everyone has their preference