Meat Processing

@vjbutler Hi vjbutler. I’m making ten pound batches in a vertical smoker. I try to stay with the guide from the Waltons videos for time and temps u til the end and then I have to bump up to around 185 to get my final up. To 160-165. I use a cabelas manual mixer for right around 10 minutes. The sticks came out soft, but not mushy. Some of the casings aren’t stuck to the meat real well. This is the first batch I’ve used a cabelas casing also. I ran out of my usual ones and had to improvise and they are closer to me. I’m not real happy with these so it may be my last time with them too. I peeled the casing off of one of the sticks that wasn’t stuck very well and there was a grease like on the meat. I was thinking that might be from not getting hot enough? Definitely a few things I’m going to change the next batch. First may be to make sure of my thermometer. Thanks for any thoughts and ideas.

Thank you, I think that’s how i’m going to go. I will increase seasoning to 5.3 oz and use citric acid as its stated I see to give it more of a desired taste. I’ll post the next time I make more that shouldn’t be to long.

@Robert-Barney Oh, and how could I forget the Habanero Mango! That’s the seasoning that first got me to try Chicken Brats…I just remembered that you are making snack sticks not brats, so that list is somewhat useless to you! Oh well, if you ever do try brats those are all good choices!

@sstory the batch I believe it was a 25 pound batch I really appreciate that I will look into it

@ed_orum 25% Humidity is very low should be more like 75-80 for the first 4-5 days then 70-75 for a week then 65-70 for a while

@jonathon Thanks again for your help. This type of stuff is the reason I tend to start off my post (questions) with “I’m new at this” etc. I had decided to go ahead and stuff a little bit a see what the final product looked like with all those things sticking out. After doing so it didn’t look near as bad as it did when the casings were still on the sleeve. Again Thank You for you help. Between the videos and this community Walton’s has really helped me.

@jonathon The product tightened up overnight in the fridge and the crumbly texture turned into a more homogeneous texture. Not exactly what I wanted, but much better than the day it was processed. As for the mixing, it was a shot in the dark I kept mixing it until all of the meat seemed to be one large sticky lump. Next time I will check to see that it stretches instead of breaking into two lumps. I did not use any ECA, nor did I use any binder agent. I have used powdered milk in the past, and will add it to the next batch (probably tomorrow). At any rate, it is getting there. I did not expect perfect results overnight, but on a positive note the keilbasa I made yesterday was cooked up for dinner and was the best I have ever tasted. Thanks for all of the advice, I really appreciate it.

@casingstuffer We add water pans to pretty much everything we do in our Pk 100 smoker, what @Boudreaux says is correct, the best time to add it would be after the drying cycle has run but if you were to add it right away that wouldn’t be the end of the world. While the water pan does add humidity it is not going to add much, especially around 120° which is where your first hour should be. Adding a water pan might only add 5% additional humidity to your smoker but it is still worth doing!

@jonathon Thanks!

I just placed an order for the Willies seasoning and I may add some hot cheese! I will have to try the Habanero BBQ next time!

@chicovt If you are trying to keep the price down, I’d recommend the Masterbuilt 40-inch electric smoker that you can pick up for less than $400. Then you can add some smoker sausage hangers (about $11 each) - they lay across a rack and have hooks to hang from below). I have 2 of those plus a bacon hanger, that I used last weekend when making venison summer sausage. [image: 1546628974211-meat2.jpg]

@thegunnut I’d also get a knife and keep the knife and plate together so they wear together. Walton’s has Speco plates and knives that can be resharpened over time, I’d say they are worth the extra $, if not they are just disposable.

@vjbutler your welcome

@hotdogwillie When I make ground venison I just add straight beef fat to it and mix by hand to distribute the fat throughout the venison. You can control the lean to fat ratio easily by weighing the venison and adding the fat to give you what you want. I usually go with 85:15 lean to fat. I don’t see any need for mixing in a mixer unless I am making sausage where I want extraction to occur.

It turned out great. No noticeable difference between the ones that I held for 2 days in fridge versus smoking right away. Thanks for the replies. I think it is probably best to wait for at least 24 hours to let the seasonings even out in the meat. Lynn

It turned out awesome. No noticeable difference to the ones that were held in the fridge for 2 nights. Thanks for the reply. Lynn

@vjbutler Is your end product a dense , firm , dry stick similar to “real” pepperoni ? What size grinder die do you use ? 1 or 2 grinds ? Thankyou very much VJ , as soon as l know your whole process l will try it myself barring the 50 degree room which is difficult to attain in Florida

@big-mike

I usually drain through a strainer then place in a ziplock back with plenty of salt, work all the air out theno put the ziplocked bag in vacuum seal bag and seal, then place in the freezer, I have had casings last this way over a year with no problems.

@TylerW One last thing! If you don’t mind spending a few more dollars on a binder then Super Bind is excellent as it gives you potato starch, which gels at the same temp as meat starts to expel water and carrot fiber which holds 26 times its weight in water. Also, I really am enjoying seeing people answering each other’s questions and helping each other out!