Is the meat in this “chili cook off” required to be domestic beef or can the chili be made of a more natural meat like chili was originally made from? Talking Elk here.

Put down a layer of bacon, then baby spinach leaves, spices and wrapped this pork tenderloin.
Been on the traeger since 2pm at 225.
Just kicked the heat up to 325 to start the bacon browning.

Soup in the deer stand for dinner today, although breakfast was elk, jalapeño, cheese and garlic sausage with Walton seasoning in natural casings. Smoked on the Traeger.
Sadly, no pics.

deweymeats said in Calibrating thermometers:

dennishoddy

What about barometric press. I’m thinking that has an effect too. Just be aware, a few degrees either way is ok as long as you’re consistent and love the final product. Cheers

Barometric pressure certainly has an effect, but it’s small compared to altitude.

chippewa be sure to adjust your temps for your altitude. Water boils at different temps at different altitudes.

Parksider

I have the cool pack on my carnivore grinder. The purpose is to keep the neck super cool and allow the meat/fat to flow through it easily. I’ve used it on and then taken it off. What I noticed is the fat will cling to the walls with it off. If I start with a cold neck and cold meat, it runs much cleaner.
I like it well enough that I bought a spare to cycle them and keep frozen. P

Joe Hell

We spend about 1/2 the year traveling this great country of ours in our RV and the Blackstone grill is incredible. We have the two burner tabletop model, and we can cook for a lot more folks than us two. Hint: the Blackstone has an H shaped burner, the cheaper ones have an I shaped burner. The cheap models will have hot and cold spots.The Blackstone pretty much has even heat unless it’s windy. There is a gap between the grill and the burners so one has to keep that in consideration when cooking. I built some aluminum z bar wind deflectors to help with the wind but keep in mind the bottom is open so a lot of heat goes down. Don’t cook on a plastic table. Don’t ask me how I know this… That being said, getting the griddle seasoned seems to be a challenge for some, but is really easy. It takes awhile when first buying one, but it lasts a lifetime as long as you don’t try to run it in the dishwasher. Fry some bacon, or use some veggi oil and let it sit on the griddle. It will smoke like crazy. Let it smoke until it quits. Put another layer of oil on it and let it smoke until done. Repeat all afternoon until the griddle is a dark black, and your done! We have a factory cloth top for ours and sometimes forget to leave it on when cooling and then get a rain during the night. No rust, and just fire up the griddle and let it steam the water off. There is a little tray and opening in the back to scrape off excess oil, water, bits of cooked stuff, etc. I also recommend buying the Blackstone griddle set of tools including the 12" dome. Break three/four extra large eggs next to each other, let them set for a minute, then squirt some water from the bottles and put the dome on top. Instant perfect eggs with a hard white and a runny yoke. I can’t heap enough praise on the Blackstone Griddle.

Long time jerky recipe of mine is to cool the venison until its firm, slice thin, or a little thicker if you prefer it that way.
Mix:
1 cup soy sauce,
1 cup teriyaki sauce
1/2 cup lea and Perrin worchester sauce
Marinate for 2 hours, arrange on the dehydrator racks. Then sprinkle the wet strips with black pepper, garlic powder, and onion powder.
If you like a little heat, sprinkle with cayenne powder as well.
Keeps for months in the fridge.

twigg267
Crushed red pepper works well to add some heat. The same stuff you put on pizza.

Sous Vide is the only way we do steaks now.
4 hours is the max as after that it just gets too tender. As meatgistisc said, it turns into a roads that has been overcooked.
We use our slow cooker with a temp controller for a cheap version of the commercial model.
https://www.amazon.com/Inkbird-Itc-308-Temperature-Controller-Thermostat/dp/B011296704/ref=sr_1_1_sspa?ie=UTF8&qid=1523250745&sr=8-1-spons&keywords=inkbird+temperature+controller&psc=1
This unit is under $40. Its very accurate for keeping the water temps within 1 degree.
Its also capable of being calibrated if your don’t trust it. We have one and love it.

I want to make bun length sausages from my elk and pork.
I bought a set of hog ring pliers, but they don’t squeeze down enough to seal off the end.
I’ve used twine which is totally time eating.
I saw a TV program once that showed a “butchers twist” , but they didn’t show the technique.
What is Waltons suggestion?

What is recommended for a lube to get the casings on the stuffer tube if vegetable oil is not good?
Perhaps it was the old casings being the issue, but the casings were very difficult to get on the tube without some sort of lube. Bacon fat?
Bacon makes everything good! LOL.

 I'll have to admit the casings were old. Probably well over a year at our house, and no telling how long they were hanging in the store. Pretty tough getting them on the stuffer tube even when coated with some vegetable oil.

Next batch will be with fresh casings.

We recently visited the Waltons West store in Wichita and purchased the jalapeño snack stick mix, several spices, hi temp cheese, and a small stuffer. Enough for 25lb of snack sticks.
I already had some brand XXX edible collagen snack stick casings from a name brand supplier at the house so decided to use them instead of buying more.
Using ground elk with 10% pork fat added at the processor, decided to add some cheap pork sausage for additional fat content and seasoning.
After cooking on the Traeger, monitoring the internal temps with a blue tooth thermometer, brought them in and cooled in an ice bath according to instructions.
Conclusion: I wish we didn’t add the cheap sausage. The flavor was of excess fat, not meat/seasonings.
My mistake.
The edible collagen casings ended up extremely tough. So tough they are just about not able to be eaten. Why so tough?

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.

Sous Vide is the only way we cook steaks. There is no more perfect way to get the proper internal temperatures in a fine ribeye. Put meat in a zipper bag full of seasonings, and squeeze out the air.
Even a tough ribeye is tenderized by leaving it in the controlled water temperature a little longer.
1 hour for a USDA prime, 2 for choice and 3 for grass fed at 129 degrees.
We finish the steaks in a hot cast iron skillet with some bacon and sausage drippings left over from breakfast. Zero grey meat under the surface of the steak.

How do you vacuum seal the meat/marinade without freezing it first?
I’ve tried that method before, with moisture being leached from the meat and cooling off the sealing area to the point it won’t seal.

Looks awesome!

I have two Elk tenderloins that I’m looking into using a ham cure. Last elk camp one of the guys brought some for snacks and it was incredible. Tastes just like ham with a more rich flavor.
He said it was a brine method, and didn’t remember where he got the cure, so the search is on.
Not really looking for the 3 week method, as these tenders are about 2 lb each. He said he tried the bacon cure on one batch, and it was too salty, then tried the ham cure and it turned out great.

dennishoddy checking in. I’m an outdoor fanatic, and past competition BBQ cook off competitor. Sold the big wood smoker, and use a cookshack now for convenience.
Been using Waltons Hi Temp Cheese and casings for deer sausage. Looking for more recipes to try.