benj11317

1. I’ve used a KitchenAid mixer to do around 3 lb batches before. You might be able to get away with 5 lbs, or you could split it and do 2 rounds in the mixer. It seemed to work out pretty well for the small batch.
2. I think it’s technically possible, but you’re much more likely to not mix enough. Just watch a few of the Walton’s YouTube videos on cured sausages and watch how sticky and stretchy it looks when properly mixed.
3. I’ve never tried with charcoal before. I use my pellet grill which doesn’t control down to 145 either. I put a thermometer in there and prop the lid open slightly. I watch it pretty closely for the first hour or so and fiddle with the lid to try and keep temps in the right range. After that you can slowly bring it up a bit higher to finish off the smoke. You just don’t want to be too hot or you’ll run into things like case hardening, fat out (the fat liquifies and runs all over, especially if good protein extraction wasn’t achieved), and of course the outside being done before the inside.

Take it slow and enjoy your first batch! Don’t get frustrated if things don’t go perfectly. Just check back in and let us know how it went. Cured sausages can take a little bit of practice, but are definitely worth it!

Smoked some country ribs (shoulder cut) and made cast iron corn bread and fridge pickles from our first cucumber crop of the season.

bocephus
Our pizza dough is pretty standard stuff. Mix, let rise, punch down, let rise again, and then form into crusts. We usually triple it.

1 1/2 cups flour
1 1/8 tsp yeast
1/4 tsp salt
1/2 cup warm water
1 tbsp oil

And for the pizza sauce… here it is. The addition of fennel certainly gives it a distinctive taste. We typically use our homegrown tomatoes instead of canned.

I recently added to my Cast-Iron portfolio (Wagner #5, #6, #8, and #9 griddle are “new”) so I decided to use some of them alongside the stone for tonight’s homemade bread sticks and pizza (homemade dough and sauce using up the rest of last year’s tomatoes).

I’ve seen them at the grocery store cut from the loin. Don’t do it! I’m mean, not that the extra-lean pork loin meat is a bad thing, but it’s nothing like a “rib”.

Sometimes I find them pre-cut from the shoulder, sometimes I’ll cut my own. I usually cook mine using the 3-2-1 method like you’d do ribs and they turn out amazing.

Nicely done Grimpuppy! And thanks for documenting your process.

I’ve got a bunch of the 26mm cellulose sitting around that I’ve done a couple things with. I might have a to make some dogs. Or perhaps some small-diameter cured/smoked/skinless brats. Been thinking about that for a while… it’d probably be similar to hotdogs, just not emulsified and different seasoning. Any of you guys have experience doing that? I’m thinking something like these (which say they have a collagen casing, but I’m thinking of trying with cellulose).

Jonesy said in What did everyone cook today?:

WHAT? You can put potato wedges right on the grill? Anything special you have to do to them first? Soak’em? Coat’em?? I’m planning some burgers with bacon seasoning & ht cheddar, along with grilled corn on the cob for Monday. Supplies just got here today. I’m super excited. Now I’m adding wedges. They look great tex_77.

I’m no Tex_77, but I do potato chunks on the grill fairly often. I usually toss mine in some olive oil and kosher salt first. I’ll use a non-stick grill mat (or a grill basket would work) to ensure there are no casualties.

@dennyo said in What did everyone cook today?:

Ok, I received an error for all three pics, 4.39MB, 5.66MB, 4.9MB. Does this site have a limit and no auto resize?

I don’t know if there’s a limit but I’ve run into that before. So now I always resize them before uploading and they always upload fine. On Android I use LitPhoto. Not sure if you’re using that or iOS but I would imagine there are similar apps available.

Homemade venison corned “beef”, taters and gravy, carrots, and asparagus. Though none of that green stuff for me (gross!)

Rubbed up some skin-on, bone-in chicken thighs and cooked 'em hot and fast on the Pit Boss. It was hard to stop stuffing my face.

YooperDog said in What did everyone cook today?:

gChart nice looking Polish platter. I won’t show my wife that one.

Haha! We do get a lot of use out of that one. Technically a “bread tray” measuring 13x6".

processhead said in What did everyone cook today?:

How would you compare the Jerry’s Brat seasoning against Blue Ribbon Brat seasoning?

Honestly, I haven’t tried the Blue Ribbon yet. I really need to, probably will within the next year. Like the description says, Jerry’s is a “mild classic flavored” brat. I’ve got 5 young mouths, most of which aren’t very adventuresome, and almost everyone loves these.

For those that have made both, I’d be curious to hear a comparison.

Nothing fancy, just some venison/pork Jerry’s brats in collagen.

That looks great Tex_77, a true classic

Fried up some morels as an appetizer. Used cracker crumbs and butter. Can’t be beat!

Then fixed up some pork chops on the pellet grill and sweet potatoes. Used the Mrs’s new polish pottery pieces to serve (I add a piece or two to the collection every Mother’s Day).

I, too, love wrapping my green vegetables in bacon. After cooking, I eat the bacon and discard the greens.

Kidding… I wouldn’t let that green stuff anywhere near my bacon!

I know it’s no longer April, but here’s something I find helpful when putting stuff into the bags (like when packaging a bunch of ground meat): I use a wide-mouth canning funnel and put that in the mouth of the bag. Since it’s wide mouth, it’s easy to push the meat through. It keeps the opening of the bag clean and free of meat/juices. It’ll seal easier without going through and cleaning the top of each bag.

That’s crazy Spidey! Nicely done.

Here ya go!

Smoked the breasts up today. I basted them occasionally with some melted butter. They came out great, I don’t think I’d change a thing.

I harvested a wild turkey on Monday. I’ve had the breasts curing since then. I tied them up and smoked 'em up for dinner today. I’ve never cured turkey before… good stuff!