Meat Processing

@Parksider 1 Gallon of water weighs 8.34 lb and 1 qt is about 2 lb.

Newbie question, has anyone used the bourbon and brown sugar marinade for jerky or ground and formed bacon? Any thoughts appreciated.

Thanks Austin,I thought that may be the case, they act like hot hands but just wasn’t sure. Didn’t want to burn down the clubhouse…

0_1513529979226_20161218_174902.jpg Yes Austin I cook-smoke my summer sausage and snack sticks in the smoker. I do not cook or smoke my ground meat jerky. Seasoning and cure I stuff it in a casing put it in refrigerator for a couple of days put it in the freezer for a hour or two them on the meat slicer cut 1/4" x 2 1/2" medallions put them in the dehydrator for about 20 hours or till it gets the texture I like.

@Parksider @Orvil Parksider is right on with how the dehydrators typically work. For temp and length of time in the oven, 170 to 200 degrees is as low as most ovens go, so as low of a temp in there as you can reach. Then, you want to hit an internal temp of 160 on snack sticks which will probably be several hours in the oven, really just depends on what size of snack sticks you’re making. Really small sticks may be 2-3 hours, or larger sticks could be 4-6 hours. Just throw in a thermometer probe, and when it hits 160, take them out and start cooling.

I wish…everybody and their brother’s uncle stops by and wants to try some, then its can i take some home I have a buddy that would love this stuff…We did 40# of bologna, 40# breakfast, 25# habanero brats, and rest was pressed into 1/4# patties stuffed with pepperjack cheese and then pressed again to make stuffed 1/2 burgers, and a bunch hit the grill for “testing”… Here’s the bins just after stuffing and our latest acquisition, a 3-compartment sink for easy clean up. [image: 1512670309327-bologna-resized.jpg]

@angel4us Yes, I would use the same exact process and steps for Cotto Salami as I would Summer Sausage.

@rodneycaudill We make a lot of sticks and use a hydraulic stuffer, even with that stuffing into 17 or 19mm casings can be hard. We have stepped up to the 22mm collegen smoked casings. It’s so much easier for the cheese to pass through the tube and less stressful on the stuffer and whoever is cranking for you too. I shot my buddy with a cheese chuck that got stuck in the tube of the hydraulic stuffer, he was standing at the end of the table linking…he went down like a soccer player…lot of drama and I hear about it every time we do stick now…

@Jonathon Thanks Jonathon. That’s exactly what I was looking for!

@Bacon-Acres-Farm Thanks

If you have family members that just can’t get past that the meat is wild game, consider grinding and mixing pork butt with a 50-50 ratio. Butts are cheap, and if a picky family member just can’t take venison, this will change their attitudes.

@Darren8167 Smooth Acid does have encapsulated citric acid in it, as well as some lactic acid and other ingredients. However, while it will work for your purposes, it will not have as much tang as regular Encapsulated Citric Acid. As the name implies Smooth Acid is designed to impart a smoother taste.

@rodneycaudill Been using pork for jerky for a while now and love it. I get the boneless loin and trim the tenderloin out of it and use. I slice it a good 1/4 inch thick. It tends to shrink to half its thickness when done… I like a oriental flavor fresh garlic and ginger work well and puree a few habeneros for some heat. I do a wet maranade and let it set for 36 hrs. and try not to get it overdone.

@guido69 There is no reason that you should not be able to smoke your bratwursts as long as you add the correct amount of sure cure, which is 1 oz to every 25 lb of meat. Since you are smoking them your process is going to have to change a little. You are going to need to get some protein extraction during the mixing stage or you run the risk of fatting out during the slow smoking process. Fatting out is when the fat separates from the meat and renders out of your sausage leaving you with a dry less tasty sausage. Fatting out happens when you are cooking your product at low temps for a long time like you do when smoking. So, make sure you get enough protein extraction and consider adding a binder like carrot fiber or sure gel. For more information on this check out this video https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wStH-RtQUY8 Let us know how they turn out.

@Parksider Glad it’s working out for you! I’ll check out that instagram post for sure, go to https://www.waltonsinc.com/weston-22-meat-grinder-pro-series-1-5-hp and post your review and you might be send a coupon to use on your next order!

@angler I was glad to be able to help. If you have any questions after watching that video let me know!

I do this every year. Takes half the time to cook and it literally flies off the plate. There are rarely leftovers, but when there are, slices freeze great if vac sealed and make great, easy dinners. I don’t use netting. I truss it up with butcher’s twine. I also make sure not to nick the skin or have any pieces that are separate. I always start at the breast of the bird. I get the carcass pretty clean, but what I don’t get off the bone goes into the stock pot. I don’t bone out the last two joints of the wing either. Those I just throw in the roasting pan and snack on them when they are done early. Here is a great video of the process link text. He has some great butchering videos. I also brine all my birds and either use an herbed butter or full blown stuffing inside when I roll it up.

You may have hit the problem, very possibly a water quality issue… That actually is a difference from last time I used these casings… I will look into this (process another batch) later this week… Thanks! R…

@bluehornet75 You can make snack sticks in natural hog casings without any real issues. It might slightly change the flavor due to a larger diameter but I can’t imagine it will be really noticeable at all. The only thing I’d caution you on is the bite difference with a natural casing that has been smoked and a collagen casing that has been smoked. As for finishing your product up in a dehydrator, you could do that but we do snacksticks from beginning to end in the smoker and it has always worked out well for us! For our process check out this video https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3D4_SyN4TX0 Anyone else have a different opinion?

@SierraPete I’m glad you enjoyed the Brat, that was me who was cooking the Brats and I always like to see if there are any customers in the retail store who might want to try them! I will be editing that video and I’ll have it up on our youtube channel in a few weeks. I will pass this along to the store manager as well.