Processing order????
-
Going to break in the buffalo (bambi) chopper this weekend. I’m thinking, grind block thru 3/16 plate, add to bambi chopper, add seasoning, binder,cure, hickory powder, and pellet ice. Chop till I get protein extraction. Transfer to stuffer and put in 4" casing. Thermal processing will be sous vide.
Sound like a plan???smokinbubba
I am so jealous. Wish I had one. Please post some pics. -
I wondered about the chopper or like a food processor because I have a well made fairly large food processor I thought about using the emulsify the meat, but I have a line on a hobart Buffalo chopper for only 600 with a 5lb capacity I believe, so thinking of maybe getting that for a better product
-
I wondered about the chopper or like a food processor because I have a well made fairly large food processor I thought about using the emulsify the meat, but I have a line on a hobart Buffalo chopper for only 600 with a 5lb capacity I believe, so thinking of maybe getting that for a better product
RJ Adventures said in Processing order???:
I wondered about the chopper or like a food processor because I have a well made fairly large food processor I thought about using the emulsify the meat, but I have a line on a hobart Buffalo chopper for only 600 with a 5lb capacity I believe, so thinking of maybe getting that for a better product
I tried 5 lbs in mine today and it was a big disaster. Meat squirting out everywhere. Ended up doing 4lbs at a time and it was perfect.

-
Well, the maden voyage went well. 40lbs of bambi bologna. The sweet spot was 4lbs meat, about 2.5c water and 2c ice. Chopped the $hit out of the meat! Very happy. Sausage came out a little wetter than I like so curious how it will turn out. Ran late so didnt get it in the sous vide tonight, will cook tomorrow.
-
Well, the maden voyage went well. 40lbs of bambi bologna. The sweet spot was 4lbs meat, about 2.5c water and 2c ice. Chopped the $hit out of the meat! Very happy. Sausage came out a little wetter than I like so curious how it will turn out. Ran late so didnt get it in the sous vide tonight, will cook tomorrow.

-
smokinbubba
I will be interested to see how much meat you can load into the chopper bowl.When I use my chopper, I always blend the dry ingredients with the meat between the first and second grinding and before chopping
After you begin chopping you should hear a noticeable change in the chopper speed as the protein extraction takes place and the mixture gets stickier. You will also be able to tell when you have reached the limit of the bowl’s chopping capacity.
processhead I did things a little differently. I ground thru 3/8 plate then 1/8" plate. Added meat to hobart. Mixed dry ingredients with 2.5c water and poured into hobart bowl. Started her up and added 2c ice. Chopped for 3 min or so. Everything was sticky but thin. Kinda like yogurt. Delicious hickory flavored yogurt. Stuffed in 4" fiber casings. Skipped the mixer altogether. Sous vide romorrow
-
processhead I did things a little differently. I ground thru 3/8 plate then 1/8" plate. Added meat to hobart. Mixed dry ingredients with 2.5c water and poured into hobart bowl. Started her up and added 2c ice. Chopped for 3 min or so. Everything was sticky but thin. Kinda like yogurt. Delicious hickory flavored yogurt. Stuffed in 4" fiber casings. Skipped the mixer altogether. Sous vide romorrow
smokinbubba said in Processing order???:
processhead I did things a little differently. I ground thru 3/8 plate then 1/8" plate. Added meat to hobart. Mixed dry ingredients with 2.5c water and poured into hobart bowl. Started her up and added 2c ice. Chopped for 3 min or so. Everything was sticky but thin. Kinda like yogurt. Delicious hickory flavored yogurt. Stuffed in 4" fiber casings. Skipped the mixer altogether. Sous vide romorrow
Looks like your got it done, can’t wait to see how it looks once you cut one after you are finished with the cook! Great job.
-
Thanks Paul. Will be my biggest cook to date.
-
Yes definitely curious to see how it looks with the cook! Now you just sous vide the entire cook? What’s your process like for that?
-
Yes definitely curious to see how it looks with the cook! Now you just sous vide the entire cook? What’s your process like for that?
RJ Adventures I add hickory powder per the conversion chart. Stuff in 4" cases. Start water at 125deg, bump 10deg at a time every 1.5hr until water is 175deg. Cook to 160it. Ice/water bath then bloom, cut in 3rd’s and package. My 1st batch in feb was 15lb and it is gone. This batch is 40lb. Cooking in a 70qt coleman cooler this time.
The smoker puts a “rind” on the exterior which is fine for ss or trail but I want a soft edge on my sandwich bambi bologna. Oh meet block is 50/50 bambi / pork butt -
RJ Adventures I add hickory powder per the conversion chart. Stuff in 4" cases. Start water at 125deg, bump 10deg at a time every 1.5hr until water is 175deg. Cook to 160it. Ice/water bath then bloom, cut in 3rd’s and package. My 1st batch in feb was 15lb and it is gone. This batch is 40lb. Cooking in a 70qt coleman cooler this time.
The smoker puts a “rind” on the exterior which is fine for ss or trail but I want a soft edge on my sandwich bambi bologna. Oh meet block is 50/50 bambi / pork buttsmokinbubba said in Processing order???:
Start water at 125deg, bump 10deg at a time every 1.5hr until water is 175deg. Cook to 160it.
I’m just curious, but why use a complex sous vide schedule? Why not just set the sous vide to 160 F and let it do its thing?
Are you worried about fat out? I haven’t seen any in the sausages I’ve cooked solely by sous vide. Granted, I haven’t cooked anything as large, but I don’t know why it would make much difference.
-
smokinbubba said in Processing order???:
Start water at 125deg, bump 10deg at a time every 1.5hr until water is 175deg. Cook to 160it.
I’m just curious, but why use a complex sous vide schedule? Why not just set the sous vide to 160 F and let it do its thing?
Are you worried about fat out? I haven’t seen any in the sausages I’ve cooked solely by sous vide. Granted, I haven’t cooked anything as large, but I don’t know why it would make much difference.
TexLaw Fat out is exactly why I step it up slow. I had a bad fat out in a batch of bambi dogs once and been shy ever since. I took 9 hrs to do the last batch of bambi 4" bologna and had no problems. At hr 7 now and should be about done. I know the two major reasons for fat out is cooking too fast and protein extraction. Since I was using my hobart for the first time, wasnt sure how good the protein extraction was. (used to the mixer, easy to tell) so I didnt want to chance it on a 40lb batch. Plus this batch was WET. crossing my fingers.
-
TexLaw Fat out is exactly why I step it up slow. I had a bad fat out in a batch of bambi dogs once and been shy ever since. I took 9 hrs to do the last batch of bambi 4" bologna and had no problems. At hr 7 now and should be about done. I know the two major reasons for fat out is cooking too fast and protein extraction. Since I was using my hobart for the first time, wasnt sure how good the protein extraction was. (used to the mixer, easy to tell) so I didnt want to chance it on a 40lb batch. Plus this batch was WET. crossing my fingers.
smokinbubba cannot wait to see the pics of the finished product! I may have to try this next time I make some dogs, some people don’t like any bite to them like you said with the smoker putting that small rind on there that gives even a skinless a slight bite… do you run 2 units on your cooler or just 1? I would think just 1 in a cooler would not be rated for enough water heating
-
Fat-out is a concern and that is why everyone tries to limit the max temperature the meat is exposed to 175-180. The good thing about sous vide is you usually have good control over the heat and can keep it under the limit. Much easier than most smokers can do it.
I would not hesitate running the temperature at 160. I think in most cases with sausage, once you have finished smoking, there is no real advantage to extending the cook cycle longer than necessary. You are aren’t going to be drying the product while its in a water bath. -
smokinbubba cannot wait to see the pics of the finished product! I may have to try this next time I make some dogs, some people don’t like any bite to them like you said with the smoker putting that small rind on there that gives even a skinless a slight bite… do you run 2 units on your cooler or just 1? I would think just 1 in a cooler would not be rated for enough water heating
RJ Adventures I run a elcheapo yissvic unit from the Amazon.com. I think it was under $70 1000w I think. With such a large load of meat, there isnt really that much water to heat. Using a cooler keeps the heat in.
-
RJ Adventures I run a elcheapo yissvic unit from the Amazon.com. I think it was under $70 1000w I think. With such a large load of meat, there isnt really that much water to heat. Using a cooler keeps the heat in.
smokinbubba sounds good! I have the anova, but looking at waltons sous vide circulators as I’m in need for more space to do it!! Need another smoker or 2 as well for those days where I need to make 100 lbs of sticks or summer sausage!
-
Well, results are OK at best. The bambi bologna came out spongy not firm. Very moist and squishy. Flavor is spot on but the texture is troublesome. What I learned using the buffalo chopper is that 5lb is too much meat per batch. You need to add too much water to keep the motors thermal overload switch from tripping. With 4 lbs meat and 2.5c water, the mix is too soupy. Need to fine tune my process with the hobart and should be fine. I used suregel and it definitly did its job. Retained way too much water. Bologna should be firm and rubbery, not wet and spongy. I packaged everything in vac bags after an air dry. I may try to throw a single log in the sous vide for a few hours to see if it tightens it up.
-
Sorry it did not turn out as expected. You can always slice and pan fry it for sandwiches. That may improve the texture a bit?
-
Yeah, that’s a shame. Still wondering if dry thermal processing would have helped with the excess moisture vs. in the sous vide?
If you had to add that much moisture to keep from over-loading the chopper, your emulsion might not have been able to bind up all the extra water.Maybe next time try a mix with less water and split the batch in two separate runs through the chopper.
-
Yeah I’m wondering if maybe 2-3lbs each run would be better and at that point, is it even worth having the chopper…? For what they cost…or are there emulsifiers that would work better?
Hello! It looks like you're interested in this conversation, but you don't have an account yet.
Getting fed up of having to scroll through the same posts each visit? When you register for an account, you'll always come back to exactly where you were before, and choose to be notified of new replies (either via email, or push notification). You'll also be able to save bookmarks and upvote posts to show your appreciation to other community members.
With your input, this post could be even better 💗
Register Login