Meat Processing

@Jonathon thanks

thanks jonathon will be trying soon pork bellys were great with this cure no rubs 4 me any more

Hi @tcfworks I can’t speak to your HACCP plan but if you are looking for a good scale for ingredients our commercial salesmen recommend the A & D HL-3000LWPN Compact Scale.

@daveomak I go the metric route myself. I will do the calculations and write them on the packages as soon as I receive my order. It sure simplifies the process!

@raider2119 First, just to cover myself here, I’m not sure I’d recommend this just because of the possibility of contaminating the mixture with something that would activate the cure. I don’t think that would happen but anything is possible. Stay away from anything with impurities like iron or copper in it, those might activate the cure and by the time you go to use it might no longer be viable. Anything that is too low (acidic) or even too high (alkaline) on the pH scale could have an effect. Sea salt is safe as sugar. Are there specific things you are wondering or worried about?

@raider2119 At the end of the electrode there is a small cap that you will fill with a small amount of the solution when they are not in use. If you don’t store it in this solution the electrodes will not work the next time you to to use them.

@daveomak yes I agree ,I will pat dry and bring to room temp. then apply low heat in smoker to dry before smoking

@deplorablenc1 Yeah you will want protein extraction for sure and I would also go with adding a binder. You didnt say what cut of chicken but I am assuming breast? That means this is going to be low on fat content so a binder like Super Bind or Carrot Fiber, even Sure Gel, will help out a lot! what @blackbetty61 says is also true, cold, cold and colder will help you out!

@Rogers I don’t know if it is the same as what PS sells or not, I’d imagine not but I could absolutely be wrong. As for the MSG question, there is a definite move away from MSG as it can be bothersome to a small subset of the population. I don’t have an issue with it and I tend to like things seasoned with it (like older chinese food…makes me hungry just thinking about it!) I believe we sell a lot more of the MSG Free version, a good part of that is probably because the one with MSG is only sold in bags that season 100lb of meat.

@ruppy41 For a bratwurst seasonings to start with I would simply use the Swiss Style Bratwurst Seasoning and then add the desired amount of mushrooms or mushroom powder like @Joe-Hell said (beautiful pictures by the way!). You could certainly do worse than taking his advice on sauteeing them prior to adding them in with the meat. To keep it swiss I would also recommend adding swiss hi temp cheese and as Joe Said 1lb to 10 lb is a good starting point, you can increase or decrease from there.

@Holden-Nyhus I can just speak for my smokers. I use a 30 inch and 40 inch and hang as many as will fit then lay any leftovers on a rack in the highest position. I have never had anything not smoke and cook internally to the same temperature at the same amount of time.

@cayenneman What @blackbetty61 says about the binders is true, it is the best thing to add to help prevent fatting out. The Sure Gel and the Soy Protein Blend both speed up and help with protein extraction as they are adding more protein to the mix and they are designed to “gum up” and bind things together. The Carrot Fiber doesn’t add any protein but it can hold up to 26 times its weight in water so it does a great job in keeping your sausage moist. The Super Bind is a blend of Carrot Fiber and Potato Starch. It gives you the water holding ability of the carrot and the potato starch turns into a gel at just about the same temperature as meat will start to expel its water, so it absorbs all of that and keeps it in the sausage. Ingredients of the seasoning absolutely play a role in forming the consistency of the sausage, this is especially true of salt content. If you are looking to firm up your sausage my first recommendation would be to follow @deplorablenc1’s advice and go with a pre-packaged seasoning. However, if you want to keep using your homemade recipe then I would use either Super Bind or Sure Gel, the Super Bind is a little more expensive than the other binders but it is worth it when trying to correct a problem. Post pics when it is done!

@dtabor Most people have really liked Carrot Fiber, a very few have mentioned that they can taste it but I have used it countless times and have never noticed any taste. It absolutely helps with moisture retention, post pics!

@erich52 thanks I need to learn more about sure gel

@Bhouin1086 OK I will have to try those thank you

@medeling32 I let the veggies cool prior to adding to the meat then chill both in the freezer for a short time before the final grind.

@pauliedmondsjr Thanks for the input. I too tend to tinker a little and have added an extra rack holder on the inside and a shelf on the outside of the unit to hold external temp. gauges. Have never done any cold smoking yet but with all the info from this community will give that a go someday. Thanks again for your thoughts. :clinking_beer_mugs:

Also, greasing the piston o-ring and the canister will improve the ease of stuffing… I use Crisco… works very good…

@kelly Hi Kelly, we don’t have a mixer that is a Walton’s brand. Are you talking about the Weston 20 or 44 lb meat mixer? The 44 lb can hook up to the Butcher and Pro Series Weston Grinders, they used to say only the #22 or larger but now they say you can do it with any size pro or butcher series. As for reverse we used to say to hold down the reverse switch the larger pro and butcher series (#22 and up have a reverse) but Weston now says not to run it in reverse for more than a few seconds and that it is designed in such a way that you only need to run it forward. You can check with Weston if you want some verification on that though!