Meat Processing

@pivodog I agree. It’s also more fun.

@doug-0 do you finish them up sous vide? I made some before, they were slightly wrinkled but after the water bath to finish, brought them out to be nice and plump!

@processhead I agree! Do a 5 lb test batch first and tune it in.

If you’re using a water bath that is up in the 175ish range, then I don’t see why precision is all that important. Since you’re set a good deal higher than your target internal temperature, you still have to babysit it, and a precise water temperature isn’t important. At that point, the only advantage of a sous vide wand is circulation. If you’re trying to do a true sous vide (where you set the water bath temperature to your target internal temperature), then precision is critical.

@mrobisr I think you are right. Some old posts have good information, and being able to do a search on a topic or issue can reveal answers to question that have been asked before. This also can bring new information or perspectives on the topic. This is a good thing!

@ksbowman83 That’s funny, Here’s what I did last time! [image: 1619364333016-7fb10828-b958-4b80-a495-f1ae69565d50-image.png]

@archeryman8 Agree with @RJ-Adventures . Unless you are slicing daily, you should be fine for a long time if you start with a sharp edge. I have one of the two-stone sharpening jigs with my slicer that rotate as the slicer knife rotates. It seldom gets used. More often than not I just lightly touch up the knife edge with a extra fine Smiths diamond stone while its rotating.

@gravity-storm I would prep, clean, dry and sauté the leeks. They can be a bit ‘fiberous’ if used raw. I just sautéed a bunch in bacon fat today for a new fresh brat sausage this weekend. I haven’t decided on the other components quite yet. I used to make a Greek loukaniko for a local restaurant that was always delivered sautéed. I’d still be making them if they would have been more reasonable to work with. Lol

@jpurol good to know, thank you. First time i used them i didnt know they needed to be soaked so i stuffed them dry. Ripped only two, didnt come out terrible, second time only soaked in water, stuffed a whole lot better. Thankful for this community to learn so much

@texlaw I used 6.7g per lb. Per the conversion chart.

@rj-adventures I would think that the cures are going to be too salty base on what they are designed to do. The Bacon Taste Boooster would help impact some flavor. There was discussions about the booster maybe @Jonathon someone else here can help with that. If I was going to use a bacon cure for sausage/sticks I would like at the ones that are use to make a pickle. Anyone else out the to keep me honest?

@kevin0715 awesome! I’ve made venison bacon 1 time before and everyone loved it…thinking about getting some imitation stuff from waltons and making some again this year

@pamelaxing I can’t seen one reason why that wouldn’t work,

@lazyjdmeat really depends on how much you wanna seal, are you using pre made bags, chamber sealer, how much is going into ground, etc… but I can say I’ve never used more than a few hundred bags on an entire beef and I like sealing all my steaks individually for sous vide purposes, and usually do about 2 lb burger packs but I also use a variety of sizes

That is the process I have settled on and have been making excellent bacon now every time. Thank you

@rj-adventures fresh is regarded the best way to go but who has those laying around when you need them? Nothing wrong with dried as long as they haven’t been in the cupboard for 3 years. Plus fresh volumes are usually 2-3x’s more over dried but if you got it, use it.

@kyle said in Adding fruit to a sausage: @yooperdog @Bob-Stehlik Wi does have it all. Great sausage, ol fashions, cheese, GB Packers and dont forget the famous @PapaSop Lol… Thanks @kyle

@bedcitty you won’t be disappointed. 2 things I’ve learned about that machine. Maintain your cooling time between vac / seals. Too little cooling time. (Less than 15sec) could cause the bag to seal before full vac. Also hold the lid down for about 3sec when starting a vac. CONGRATULATIONS

What about addition of phosphate to bacon cure? Is this common or advantageous to taste and or food safety? Thanks

@processhead I agree with @smokinbubba probably a better product than much of what is out there now. I have a collection of pumps that appeared to be good until you use them. I use the Walton’s hand pump and haven’t had any issues as long as you put it back together correctly after cleaning it