Stepping up to the “W” class
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Did my first processing with the new grinder, mixer and stuffer. My old setup was #8 grinder, #20 mixer, and #5 stuffer. 12lb batch was the biggest I had done before. I decided to do a whole 25lb batch with the new setup.
First off was the grind. The new grinder is simply a beast! The first grind, I almost could’t feed the thing fast enough. The second grind blew me away. My old grinder would have taken an hour to second grind 25 pounds. The new grinder took 15 minutes. I only had to clear it with the stomper twice. My old grinder was stomper everything on second grind. Washed up grinder head and hooked up the #50 meat mixer. Dumped in 25 lbs of meat and turned it on. Dumped in seasoning, cure, sure gel, and smoked meat stabilizer. Added 40 oz of water after a minute and let the mixer run. I can’t tell awesome it was not to have to crank that handle! Although the mixer worked great, you do have to watch the sides and scrape it down here and there. This is where a reverse would be nice but not a big deal. Being able to tilt the mixer to unload it was also great. After mixing, the tub comes off for cleaning. Surprisingly the tub fit in my sink better than the #20 and cleaning it was pretty easy. On to stuffing. I used 19mm casings for the snack sticks. I struggled with stuffing at first. The handle was extremely hard to crank. There was so much pressure when trying to crank that the handle slipped out of my hand and did 3 fast turns backwards barely missing smacking me in the face by about an inch. After checking a couple things I realize the air valve is adjustable and shipped completely closed. After opening it up things were much better. Making 19mm snack sticks was still a little tougher to crank, but adjusting the air valve took the back pressure off so the handle didn’t spin out of control backwards when you let go of it. By the last refill, I was stuffing like a pro. Overall, even though I had done grinding, mixing, and stuffing before, there was a learning curve on the bigger equipment. Overall, I did #25 in about 1/4 of the time it would have taken with the previous equipment. Looking forward to many more big batches.
Grimpuppy Thanks for sharing your experience. I’ve been thinking of doing with a larger stuffer and getting a mixer. Right now I mix by hand so an limited to smaller batches. Makes me think it might be time. Your sticks look amazing, incidentally.
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Cheesy sticks look awesome!
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It could have been a fluke of the batch but I struggled on a 19mm with 12mm tube on some sticks with cheese. Switched to 21mm casing and 13mm tube and has been MUCH easier.
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I agree 21mm would be easier, but for me, 21mm is just to big for a snack stick. I prefer 16mm which my #5 stuffer will do. I am willing to go up to 19mm but don’t want a snack stick bigger than that.
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Did my first processing with the new grinder, mixer and stuffer. My old setup was #8 grinder, #20 mixer, and #5 stuffer. 12lb batch was the biggest I had done before. I decided to do a whole 25lb batch with the new setup.
First off was the grind. The new grinder is simply a beast! The first grind, I almost could’t feed the thing fast enough. The second grind blew me away. My old grinder would have taken an hour to second grind 25 pounds. The new grinder took 15 minutes. I only had to clear it with the stomper twice. My old grinder was stomper everything on second grind. Washed up grinder head and hooked up the #50 meat mixer. Dumped in 25 lbs of meat and turned it on. Dumped in seasoning, cure, sure gel, and smoked meat stabilizer. Added 40 oz of water after a minute and let the mixer run. I can’t tell awesome it was not to have to crank that handle! Although the mixer worked great, you do have to watch the sides and scrape it down here and there. This is where a reverse would be nice but not a big deal. Being able to tilt the mixer to unload it was also great. After mixing, the tub comes off for cleaning. Surprisingly the tub fit in my sink better than the #20 and cleaning it was pretty easy. On to stuffing. I used 19mm casings for the snack sticks. I struggled with stuffing at first. The handle was extremely hard to crank. There was so much pressure when trying to crank that the handle slipped out of my hand and did 3 fast turns backwards barely missing smacking me in the face by about an inch. After checking a couple things I realize the air valve is adjustable and shipped completely closed. After opening it up things were much better. Making 19mm snack sticks was still a little tougher to crank, but adjusting the air valve took the back pressure off so the handle didn’t spin out of control backwards when you let go of it. By the last refill, I was stuffing like a pro. Overall, even though I had done grinding, mixing, and stuffing before, there was a learning curve on the bigger equipment. Overall, I did #25 in about 1/4 of the time it would have taken with the previous equipment. Looking forward to many more big batches.
Grimpuppy
Awesome. Great looking pile of sticks. How long did that take to stack?
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Did my first processing with the new grinder, mixer and stuffer. My old setup was #8 grinder, #20 mixer, and #5 stuffer. 12lb batch was the biggest I had done before. I decided to do a whole 25lb batch with the new setup.
First off was the grind. The new grinder is simply a beast! The first grind, I almost could’t feed the thing fast enough. The second grind blew me away. My old grinder would have taken an hour to second grind 25 pounds. The new grinder took 15 minutes. I only had to clear it with the stomper twice. My old grinder was stomper everything on second grind. Washed up grinder head and hooked up the #50 meat mixer. Dumped in 25 lbs of meat and turned it on. Dumped in seasoning, cure, sure gel, and smoked meat stabilizer. Added 40 oz of water after a minute and let the mixer run. I can’t tell awesome it was not to have to crank that handle! Although the mixer worked great, you do have to watch the sides and scrape it down here and there. This is where a reverse would be nice but not a big deal. Being able to tilt the mixer to unload it was also great. After mixing, the tub comes off for cleaning. Surprisingly the tub fit in my sink better than the #20 and cleaning it was pretty easy. On to stuffing. I used 19mm casings for the snack sticks. I struggled with stuffing at first. The handle was extremely hard to crank. There was so much pressure when trying to crank that the handle slipped out of my hand and did 3 fast turns backwards barely missing smacking me in the face by about an inch. After checking a couple things I realize the air valve is adjustable and shipped completely closed. After opening it up things were much better. Making 19mm snack sticks was still a little tougher to crank, but adjusting the air valve took the back pressure off so the handle didn’t spin out of control backwards when you let go of it. By the last refill, I was stuffing like a pro. Overall, even though I had done grinding, mixing, and stuffing before, there was a learning curve on the bigger equipment. Overall, I did #25 in about 1/4 of the time it would have taken with the previous equipment. Looking forward to many more big batches.
Grimpuppy Nice lookin snack sticks.
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PapaSop said in Stepping up to the “W” class:
Grimpuppy
Awesome. Great looking pile of sticks. How long did that take to stack?I’ve learned a couple tricks that keeps the pile from falling so it goes pretty quick anymore.
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Did my first processing with the new grinder, mixer and stuffer. My old setup was #8 grinder, #20 mixer, and #5 stuffer. 12lb batch was the biggest I had done before. I decided to do a whole 25lb batch with the new setup.
First off was the grind. The new grinder is simply a beast! The first grind, I almost could’t feed the thing fast enough. The second grind blew me away. My old grinder would have taken an hour to second grind 25 pounds. The new grinder took 15 minutes. I only had to clear it with the stomper twice. My old grinder was stomper everything on second grind. Washed up grinder head and hooked up the #50 meat mixer. Dumped in 25 lbs of meat and turned it on. Dumped in seasoning, cure, sure gel, and smoked meat stabilizer. Added 40 oz of water after a minute and let the mixer run. I can’t tell awesome it was not to have to crank that handle! Although the mixer worked great, you do have to watch the sides and scrape it down here and there. This is where a reverse would be nice but not a big deal. Being able to tilt the mixer to unload it was also great. After mixing, the tub comes off for cleaning. Surprisingly the tub fit in my sink better than the #20 and cleaning it was pretty easy. On to stuffing. I used 19mm casings for the snack sticks. I struggled with stuffing at first. The handle was extremely hard to crank. There was so much pressure when trying to crank that the handle slipped out of my hand and did 3 fast turns backwards barely missing smacking me in the face by about an inch. After checking a couple things I realize the air valve is adjustable and shipped completely closed. After opening it up things were much better. Making 19mm snack sticks was still a little tougher to crank, but adjusting the air valve took the back pressure off so the handle didn’t spin out of control backwards when you let go of it. By the last refill, I was stuffing like a pro. Overall, even though I had done grinding, mixing, and stuffing before, there was a learning curve on the bigger equipment. Overall, I did #25 in about 1/4 of the time it would have taken with the previous equipment. Looking forward to many more big batches.
Grimpuppy That is one fine looking stack of sticks, how long will it take you to work through them. Congratulations on that major upgrade working out so well.
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PapaSop said in Stepping up to the “W” class:
Grimpuppy
Awesome. Great looking pile of sticks. How long did that take to stack?I’ve learned a couple tricks that keeps the pile from falling so it goes pretty quick anymore.
Grimpuppy very nice pile can you smoke them all at once or in batches? Maybe need a bigger smoker? Ugh then a bigger grinder, then mixer, then… it goes on forever
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Did my first processing with the new grinder, mixer and stuffer. My old setup was #8 grinder, #20 mixer, and #5 stuffer. 12lb batch was the biggest I had done before. I decided to do a whole 25lb batch with the new setup.
First off was the grind. The new grinder is simply a beast! The first grind, I almost could’t feed the thing fast enough. The second grind blew me away. My old grinder would have taken an hour to second grind 25 pounds. The new grinder took 15 minutes. I only had to clear it with the stomper twice. My old grinder was stomper everything on second grind. Washed up grinder head and hooked up the #50 meat mixer. Dumped in 25 lbs of meat and turned it on. Dumped in seasoning, cure, sure gel, and smoked meat stabilizer. Added 40 oz of water after a minute and let the mixer run. I can’t tell awesome it was not to have to crank that handle! Although the mixer worked great, you do have to watch the sides and scrape it down here and there. This is where a reverse would be nice but not a big deal. Being able to tilt the mixer to unload it was also great. After mixing, the tub comes off for cleaning. Surprisingly the tub fit in my sink better than the #20 and cleaning it was pretty easy. On to stuffing. I used 19mm casings for the snack sticks. I struggled with stuffing at first. The handle was extremely hard to crank. There was so much pressure when trying to crank that the handle slipped out of my hand and did 3 fast turns backwards barely missing smacking me in the face by about an inch. After checking a couple things I realize the air valve is adjustable and shipped completely closed. After opening it up things were much better. Making 19mm snack sticks was still a little tougher to crank, but adjusting the air valve took the back pressure off so the handle didn’t spin out of control backwards when you let go of it. By the last refill, I was stuffing like a pro. Overall, even though I had done grinding, mixing, and stuffing before, there was a learning curve on the bigger equipment. Overall, I did #25 in about 1/4 of the time it would have taken with the previous equipment. Looking forward to many more big batches.
Grimpuppy great job. Everything looks great. Congrats on breaking in the new equipment.
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Grimpuppy very nice pile can you smoke them all at once or in batches? Maybe need a bigger smoker? Ugh then a bigger grinder, then mixer, then… it goes on forever
samspade This terrible addiction just keeps getting worse doesn’t it, always find something or better that you need.
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Grimpuppy very nice pile can you smoke them all at once or in batches? Maybe need a bigger smoker? Ugh then a bigger grinder, then mixer, then… it goes on forever
samspade said in Stepping up to the “W” class:
Grimpuppy very nice pile can you smoke them all at once or in batches? Maybe need a bigger smoker? Ugh then a bigger grinder, then mixer, then… it goes on forever
I was able to get 20 pounds in the new pitboss electric smoker and did 5 pounds in the oven. I planned on doing the other 5 pounds in the mb30 but it kept tripping the surge protector with both of them running.
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samspade said in Stepping up to the “W” class:
Grimpuppy very nice pile can you smoke them all at once or in batches? Maybe need a bigger smoker? Ugh then a bigger grinder, then mixer, then… it goes on forever
I was able to get 20 pounds in the new pitboss electric smoker and did 5 pounds in the oven. I planned on doing the other 5 pounds in the mb30 but it kept tripping the surge protector with both of them running.
Grimpuppy looks great, did you run a 4 hour smoke cycle break in period before your first batch?
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Yes I did. I actually bought the smoker about a month ago and “seasoned” it.
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samspade said in Stepping up to the “W” class:
Grimpuppy very nice pile can you smoke them all at once or in batches? Maybe need a bigger smoker? Ugh then a bigger grinder, then mixer, then… it goes on forever
I was able to get 20 pounds in the new pitboss electric smoker and did 5 pounds in the oven. I planned on doing the other 5 pounds in the mb30 but it kept tripping the surge protector with both of them running.
Grimpuppy good looking smoker. Congrats. Looks like it would hold another 5lbs. Great looking sticks
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samspade said in Stepping up to the “W” class:
Grimpuppy very nice pile can you smoke them all at once or in batches? Maybe need a bigger smoker? Ugh then a bigger grinder, then mixer, then… it goes on forever
I was able to get 20 pounds in the new pitboss electric smoker and did 5 pounds in the oven. I planned on doing the other 5 pounds in the mb30 but it kept tripping the surge protector with both of them running.
Grimpuppy Is there no drip-tray on that MB or is it just out for the picture? Also, if it is anything like my PK 100, the smoke picked up by your sausage will increase greatly once the smoker itself gets a nice dark seasoning/coating on it.
Curious - how did oven compare to smoker?
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Did my first processing with the new grinder, mixer and stuffer. My old setup was #8 grinder, #20 mixer, and #5 stuffer. 12lb batch was the biggest I had done before. I decided to do a whole 25lb batch with the new setup.
First off was the grind. The new grinder is simply a beast! The first grind, I almost could’t feed the thing fast enough. The second grind blew me away. My old grinder would have taken an hour to second grind 25 pounds. The new grinder took 15 minutes. I only had to clear it with the stomper twice. My old grinder was stomper everything on second grind. Washed up grinder head and hooked up the #50 meat mixer. Dumped in 25 lbs of meat and turned it on. Dumped in seasoning, cure, sure gel, and smoked meat stabilizer. Added 40 oz of water after a minute and let the mixer run. I can’t tell awesome it was not to have to crank that handle! Although the mixer worked great, you do have to watch the sides and scrape it down here and there. This is where a reverse would be nice but not a big deal. Being able to tilt the mixer to unload it was also great. After mixing, the tub comes off for cleaning. Surprisingly the tub fit in my sink better than the #20 and cleaning it was pretty easy. On to stuffing. I used 19mm casings for the snack sticks. I struggled with stuffing at first. The handle was extremely hard to crank. There was so much pressure when trying to crank that the handle slipped out of my hand and did 3 fast turns backwards barely missing smacking me in the face by about an inch. After checking a couple things I realize the air valve is adjustable and shipped completely closed. After opening it up things were much better. Making 19mm snack sticks was still a little tougher to crank, but adjusting the air valve took the back pressure off so the handle didn’t spin out of control backwards when you let go of it. By the last refill, I was stuffing like a pro. Overall, even though I had done grinding, mixing, and stuffing before, there was a learning curve on the bigger equipment. Overall, I did #25 in about 1/4 of the time it would have taken with the previous equipment. Looking forward to many more big batches.
Grimpuppy that is awesome! Glad it worked out for you!
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Grimpuppy Is there no drip-tray on that MB or is it just out for the picture? Also, if it is anything like my PK 100, the smoke picked up by your sausage will increase greatly once the smoker itself gets a nice dark seasoning/coating on it.
Curious - how did oven compare to smoker?
Jamieson22 said in Stepping up to the “W” class:
Grimpuppy Is there no drip-tray on that MB or is it just out for the picture? Also, if it is anything like my PK 100, the smoke picked up by your sausage will increase greatly once the smoker itself gets a nice dark seasoning/coating on it.
Curious - how did oven compare to smoker?
The bottom of the smoker is considered the drip tray but there is a water pan that covers the smoke box and burners that will catch most of the drippings.
To my surprise the oven did extremely well. I have a convection oven. I set it at 170, the lowest it would go. No rotating product and it was done in 2 1/2 hours. Except for the smoke and a little more red color, you wouldn’t be able to tell the difference between the two in texture or flavor. I was very surprised at how well it worked.
Definitely have a few more smokes to get the new smoker completely seasoned.
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