Venison Hot Dog Issue
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Thank you very much!! I have ordered my sous vide equipment so next week I should be trying again.
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I was feeling pretty discouraged after my first attempt but this thread got me motivated to try again. I did a 5lb test batch last weekend using 4lbs venison, 1lb pork fat. I used the Excalibur hot dog and Bologna seasoning this time along with sure gel and cheddar cheese. My XXL doesn’t go below 150 so I put them on the top shelf above the snack sticks and summer sausage I was doing. I took them to 120-130 and then dropped them into 170 degree water (Electric roaster) It took about 20 minutes to get to 160 then ice bath. I couldn’t believe it but they turned out amazing!
Best of luck to you ToddDSheppard ! -
Pivodog - Perfect. I ordered an Anova. Looking forward to it.
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slyoder That’s awesome! This is what Meatgistics is all about! Pics when you get a chance? Also, how do you like your XXL? I’m loving ours but I am trying to learn the heat patterns near the back wall. I actually burned some jerky that way.
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I was feeling pretty discouraged after my first attempt but this thread got me motivated to try again. I did a 5lb test batch last weekend using 4lbs venison, 1lb pork fat. I used the Excalibur hot dog and Bologna seasoning this time along with sure gel and cheddar cheese. My XXL doesn’t go below 150 so I put them on the top shelf above the snack sticks and summer sausage I was doing. I took them to 120-130 and then dropped them into 170 degree water (Electric roaster) It took about 20 minutes to get to 160 then ice bath. I couldn’t believe it but they turned out amazing!
Best of luck to you ToddDSheppard !slyoder your giving me hope.
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I was feeling pretty discouraged after my first attempt but this thread got me motivated to try again. I did a 5lb test batch last weekend using 4lbs venison, 1lb pork fat. I used the Excalibur hot dog and Bologna seasoning this time along with sure gel and cheddar cheese. My XXL doesn’t go below 150 so I put them on the top shelf above the snack sticks and summer sausage I was doing. I took them to 120-130 and then dropped them into 170 degree water (Electric roaster) It took about 20 minutes to get to 160 then ice bath. I couldn’t believe it but they turned out amazing!
Best of luck to you ToddDSheppard ! -
Jonathon I’m still learning on my XXL but I really like it so far. It doesn’t cook quite as even as I was hoping it would. Back wall is definitely hotter with the back left corner being the hottest on mine. The nice thing about the XXL is the racks are so easy to pull out and rotate to help even the cooking.
I don’t have very good pics of the finished products but here is what I have
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This is a good post. I am still on the fence as to a replacement for my Bradley smoker. The more you guys are using the XXL Camp Chef the more promise it is showing. I was all hot and bothered to get a Pitts and Spitts with sidebox but the sidebox is kinds small. Now I’m back to the PK 100 or maybe the XXL Camp Chef. Also still thinking about making a homemade one out of a 40s era fridge that I can get. I really want to try hotdogs now too…lol! This site may cause me to spend lots of $$$.
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The Brat Barn …very interesting, using mustard flour as a binder…how much would one use per lb/kg and does it impart an overwhelming mustard flavor or just hang out in the back of the flavor profile.
Mcjagger said in Venison Hot Dog Issue:
The Brat Barn …very interesting, using mustard flour as a binder…how much would one use per lb/kg and does it impart an overwhelming mustard flavor or just hang out in the back of the flavor profile.
Sorry, I did not realize I missed this post until now.
We use 2C of Mustard Flour in a 25# batch of Weiners.
Does add a touch of flavor which is one of the reasons we use it. It is very subtle though, if you did not tell someone it was in there they would most likely not be able to tell.
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@NDMike I was on the fence for a while with getting a horizontal (Green Mountain Grill) with a bull rack system vs the Camp Chef XXL. In the end the capacity and the price of the Camp Chef along with the updated controller ended up making my decision. I haven’t done a lot much smoking on it other than processed products. I do have a couple of pork butts on today and so far it’s working very well. I am curious how well it will work with wings. I’ve done wings on a Trager and Green Mountain and the horizontal format works very well to turn up the heat at the end and crisp them. I do believe Jonathon has done wings on his XXL and said they turned out well so we’ll see. I can always finish them on my Komodo if need be. I tell my wife you really need a couple to do everything properly
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@NDMike I was on the fence for a while with getting a horizontal (Green Mountain Grill) with a bull rack system vs the Camp Chef XXL. In the end the capacity and the price of the Camp Chef along with the updated controller ended up making my decision. I haven’t done a lot much smoking on it other than processed products. I do have a couple of pork butts on today and so far it’s working very well. I am curious how well it will work with wings. I’ve done wings on a Trager and Green Mountain and the horizontal format works very well to turn up the heat at the end and crisp them. I do believe Jonathon has done wings on his XXL and said they turned out well so we’ll see. I can always finish them on my Komodo if need be. I tell my wife you really need a couple to do everything properly
slyoder yeah it sounds like we are similar. I also have a BGE that I love smoking things on. I find for wings though I really like a Weber kettle. I crack the lid and can get it to almost 600 degrees. The wings crisp up really well. I also have a Grilla Grills Chimp pellet grill that does a great job on wings while using their jerky/wing rack.
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slyoder yeah it sounds like we are similar. I also have a BGE that I love smoking things on. I find for wings though I really like a Weber kettle. I crack the lid and can get it to almost 600 degrees. The wings crisp up really well. I also have a Grilla Grills Chimp pellet grill that does a great job on wings while using their jerky/wing rack.
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This is a good post. I am still on the fence as to a replacement for my Bradley smoker. The more you guys are using the XXL Camp Chef the more promise it is showing. I was all hot and bothered to get a Pitts and Spitts with sidebox but the sidebox is kinds small. Now I’m back to the PK 100 or maybe the XXL Camp Chef. Also still thinking about making a homemade one out of a 40s era fridge that I can get. I really want to try hotdogs now too…lol! This site may cause me to spend lots of $$$.
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@ndmike please let us in the loop on what you decide. I also want to upgrade, but can’t make up my mind because none of the units really do what I want. I guess I’m just too picky and cheap! I want the Cadillac but only want to for the beetle! LOL
Pivodog will do…I’m with you. $ is hard to part with at times!
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@NDMike If you need a grill/smoker combo then I can highly, highly recommend the Camp Chef Woodwind, I absolutely love mine at home. However, if you are doing snack sticks and summer sausage and other things you’d want to hang then the XXL or the PK100 are great. The PK is obviously much more expensive and it doesn’t have wif-fi or the ability to use pellets but it does a really really good job in both smoke flavor and color development and obviously, the insulation is great.
Anyway you go I think you will be happy!
slyoder Any reason you laid out instead of hanging? Did it make it easier to move around to avoid that back corner too much (didn’t know it was the corner, just the back so thanks!) or is this just the way you prefer?
Get more help with your processing questions and learn more about processing meat by subscribing to our waltonsinc.com youtube page at https://wltns.link/waltonstv I am a Gorilla, love yourself
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@NDMike If you need a grill/smoker combo then I can highly, highly recommend the Camp Chef Woodwind, I absolutely love mine at home. However, if you are doing snack sticks and summer sausage and other things you’d want to hang then the XXL or the PK100 are great. The PK is obviously much more expensive and it doesn’t have wif-fi or the ability to use pellets but it does a really really good job in both smoke flavor and color development and obviously, the insulation is great.
Anyway you go I think you will be happy!
slyoder Any reason you laid out instead of hanging? Did it make it easier to move around to avoid that back corner too much (didn’t know it was the corner, just the back so thanks!) or is this just the way you prefer?
Jonathon yep I have liked the Camp Chef XXL since it came out. I also have an old 40s-50s fridge that I might convert to a smoker with an electric element and PID controller. So many options out there!!!
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@NDMike If you need a grill/smoker combo then I can highly, highly recommend the Camp Chef Woodwind, I absolutely love mine at home. However, if you are doing snack sticks and summer sausage and other things you’d want to hang then the XXL or the PK100 are great. The PK is obviously much more expensive and it doesn’t have wif-fi or the ability to use pellets but it does a really really good job in both smoke flavor and color development and obviously, the insulation is great.
Anyway you go I think you will be happy!
slyoder Any reason you laid out instead of hanging? Did it make it easier to move around to avoid that back corner too much (didn’t know it was the corner, just the back so thanks!) or is this just the way you prefer?
Jonathon, good question. I think the reason I laid out is because 1, I have very little experience with this smoker and was worried about cooking unevenly and 2, I was smoking several different products and was not sure how to get everything to fit in using the included hooks. My goal is to be able to hang products to smoke, I just need to figure out how to best do this.
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slyoder Hanging them is fairly easy to do, your XXL should have come with a smoke stick that you can use to hang them. We don’t close, crimp or tie off the endings when we hang. You might get some bulbing at the open ends but it should be a very small amount if you got proper protein extraction.
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I have found that fat out is caused by 2 things mostly. Not enough protein extraction or not stepping up temp SLOOOWLY when thermal processing. I think you had plenty of PE but you really need to find a way to step up your TP very slowly. I start at 125deg for 30-45min then go to 135,145,155,165,175 until internal temp is 160. Never go above 180’F or you risk fat out. I have been skipping the smoker altogether and sous viding my bambi dogs and bambi bologna. Add recommended ammt of hickory powder and put them in naked (the dogs that is) ice water bath and strip celulose. I make a good bit of bambi dogs and bologna. To me, the smoker puts a “rind” on the outside of by bambi dogs that I dont care for.
Oh, 30% pork fat minimum. Fat is flavor! and the venison needs it.If the women don’t find you handsome, they should at least find you handy - Red Green
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