Don’t use #'s and oz.'s… use grams…
1.29#'s per gallon = 586 grams per gallon (1.29X454=586 gms)… Divide by 2 = 292 grams per 1/2 gallon…
1 gallon = 16 cups… 586 / 16 = ~37 grams per cup of liquid… save money and supplies…

roosterndad That’s correct… Base your additions on the weight of the meat and weight of the brine… May I suggest you reduce the brine amount to 50% the weight of the meat… Now you have ~2#'s chops and ~1# of water… Add all the extra ingredients based on 3#'s of stuff… You will need to use a zip bag…

Lost River Jones … Afternoon… when I use my collagen casings, I open the pack, remove what I need and reseal the pack with the heat bar on my vac-pack machine… Don’t know if that helps or not, keeping them fresh, but it seems to work for me… Also I keep them in the refer… Below is the end of the wrapping being heat sealed…
I use Walton’s 21mm casings… I will not switch… they provide good a crisp bite but they tear easily, which is why they are great casings… AND… don’t try to let air out of them by pricking holes in the casings… they don’t like that and will tear where you poke the holes… You can still make short sticks from ones you do tear… they eat the same… delicious…

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jbird, afternoon… That stuffer has a large piston… It’s a physics thing… Large piston, small tube and casing, will not push meat through the tube… Use a bigger tube and bigger casings…
Are you trying to make sticks ???
Also, season, grind and stuff immediately is a good practice to make stuffing easier… No time for the proteins to grab together… Let the completed sausage rest/bloom in the refer for 12-24 hours then smoke/cook…

Newbe … Afternoon… Keep the meat BELOW 40 degrees F… Bacteria is growing while the meat is warming up… then again when cooling down… The LAST thing you want or need is a batch of meat that has been warm for an hour or longer… One good way to do that is double bowl the meat… Ice in the larger bowl and the smaller bowl, with the meat in it, on ice… You don’t want your family to get food poisoning… Dave