Clay Like Austin, I have good luck using thigh meat for chicken sausage. Their Mango Habanero seasoning pairs very well with chicken for brats, but it does have some heat.

Growing up everything was wrapped in freezer paper and it seemed to work well. It won’t be long term storage plus the freezer paper will be easier to write on. Labels don’t stick very well to the plastic vacuum bags and permanent marker is so-so.
Thanks for the input

What do you feel is the best way to freeze meat, in particular venison.
Ground will go in poly bags, but what about whole muscle meats?
Vacuum sealed, freezer paper, or food film and freezer paper?

Hey Austin,
I did some bananas last night and did dip them in lemon juice. They still had a fair amount of browning but I didn’t do any without for comparison. I will say the lemon juice added a tartness that I think went well with the sweetness of the banana although my wife didn’t care for it.
I also took the opportunity to point out we needed a bigger dehydrator with a timer

I made a batch of their Maple Sausage Seasoning this summer and it was a hit. You should give that a try sometime.

Thanks Austin!
I watched the video and have a question; why do you not dip the fruit in lemon juice or something similar to help prevent browning? I realize it’s more aesthetics than taste, but still surprised me.
Thanks,
Greg

Which dehydrator for home use does everyone (or anyone) recommend? I’m not talking about a real heavy use item, probably a few times a year but maybe more if find a jerky recipe I really like.
TIA, Greg

I just read an article listing the 17 best things to buy on Labor Day weekend; while grills did make the list, charcoal did not. Must have been written by a vegetarian.
I’ve seen that both Lowe’s and HD have the Kingsford twins packs for $9.88, probably other places as well for those of us who like to stock up.

That could be, it’s at least 10 years old. I thought there would be enough fat in the pork I used to keep it from sticking but it didn’t.
I’m not sure I can talk the CFO into a new one though. LOL

yes, the dehydrator trays. I mean really stuck

I did a little experiment yesterday. I wanted to make some ground and formed jerky using the Mango Habanero Brat seasoning, I should have bought some lean ground beef but just used some ground pork I had on hand so it was a little greasy. I used the seasoning at the same ratio for the brats and added the appropriate amount of cure, formed into strips and heated in the oven prior to going in the dehydrator. Next time I’ll use the smoker for the precook but I was short on time. The jerky has a pretty good texture, and looks great. The sweetness is less than it was in the brats but the heat is just about right for a good jerky. Will definitely be worth doing again.
My biggest issue was the jerky really stuck to my plastic trays, any suggestions for that?!

Just the single hole. It’s not ideal but it does work. I like the multiple hole needles for turkeys and such, but try injecting a trimmed chicken thigh with one.

Thanks!
We normally just use veterinary needles from the farm supply stores.

Is that a Luer lock needle? Or are there extra needles available?
We normally use much shorter needles to inject our competition meats.

You could use cooked barley or quinoa as a filler. I do that for a mock Haggis sausage I make for some Scottish friends a couple times a year and it works well.
Thought #2: No bake cheesecake stuffed into summer sausage casings. Chill and slice. You could add whatever you want; fruits, candies, nuts, etc.

Gomez said in Meatgistics: Better Bacon Potato Pie, High Temp Cheese, Meat Hacks at WALTONSINC.COM:

Man, that Better Bacon Potato Pie got my wheels turning! What a great idea.

This weekend I did a breakfast version of this:
pressed breakfast sausage into a 9" pie pan to form a “crust”, added about half a pound of potatoes O’Brian, 9 scrambled eggs, cheese, and topped it with 2 layers of thin slice bacon. Baked at 350° for 90 minutes.
It turned out very good, the only thing I would do different is use a deeper pan because you can see where the eggs boiled over the edge.

Habanero Mango chicken brats, natural hog casings. The test patty was initial sweetness from the mango followed by the heat of the habanero. And whoever said they aren’t very hot is tougher than I am

I should have another 50# or so of pork trimmings by the first of November and hopefully some deer meat so I’ll have more flavors to try.

and have 10# of chicken trimmings, 60# of pork trimmings, and 6# of ground venison. We do competition BBQ and I save my chicken and pork trimmings just for sausage making.
The plan is for 25# Summer Sausage, 15# each of medium and maple breakfast sausage, 10# of Blue Ribbon Brats from pork and 10# of Habanero Mango brats from the chicken. The SS will be divided, half with Hi-temp Cheddar and half with Hot Pepper cheese.
Gonna be a busy weekend!

I would do something like this: http://diyready.com/diy-smoker-pallet-smokehouse/
A hot plate or small propane burner for a heat source and a smoke generator like those from A-Maze-N products and you’re set! maybe…