Jonathon Cool putting it in now!! I am on disability and have to save money any where I can or I will never be able to afford to do much of any of this.

Austin To you and yours a Very Marry Christmas and a Great Coming Year!!!

I was just looking at the Small Batch Conversion Chart! I am to say the least a little dismayed that you don not have a conversion for people that are using Grams!!! I would venture a guess that there is a fairly large number that use Metric for weighing out small batches and all batches for that matter as it is by far easier to calculate accurate amounts of any Seasoning with a simple meat to seasoning ratio! I have no doubt that more and more are realizing that it is more accurate and being base 10 across the board MUCH easier to do simple math to scale any batch to what ever size you like! Yet you do not have a Grams to meat ratio number for any of the seasonings. For example: 500g test batch, seasoning ration is say .02 to a gram of meat, that would be: 500 x .02 = 10 grams of seasoning in this example!! 628g of meat 628 x .02 = 12.56g of seasoning! Simple easy fast no interpolation no guessing if the spoon is packed, heaping, scraped level, if you have .38 of a teaspoon, ETC. you get the correct amount every time. This ratio and the simple instructions to use it should be printed on the bag of spice mix, eliminating the need to look it up , with the possibility of accidentally looking at the wrong line on the chart, or the need to take the time to do so, as everything you would need is there in your hand!

YooperDog A breaker bar would still require taking it of and putting it back on in a new position and you would still need a socket to fit the stud on the stuffer so a ratchet handle preferably a 1/2 inch drive would work great I would think as most of them are about the same length or a little longer than the original handle.

I have been looking to have fabricated a socket that will fit the lug of the stuffer crank handle. One that would fit either a 3/8 or 1/2 inch ratchet! This would allow the user to pull down on the handle instead of either taking it off and reattaching it or just trying to turn it all the way around. Pulling down is by far easier than pushing it back up on the back side of the crank and the ratchet would make it for faster than fumbling with taking the handle off and repositioning it.

Also by simply printing the ratio for a blend on the bag, you eliminate possible errors in jumping lines on a chart (don’t ask why I feel that may be an issue) and the need to go online to look it up.

processhead I have done that, but I use tin sheet pans the size of the bag so that it is flat and easier to store in the freezer. The tin pans allow you to pop out the frozen food easily and reuse them.

The Seasoning I listed is not a cure it is a seasoning which is why I said that I was using it as a seasoning that will be used on a loin that will be dry rub cured! My question was not about curing, it is about using the seasoning on a pork loin and if anyone has any input on that.

The problem is that it is only available to a Commercial Processor or to a company that supplies Commercial Processors. We as home Processors cant get it unless a company like Walton’s gets it in as a product to sell. The things on that label are mostly for binding, texture, color or curing, and a few for taste lol.

mdseaside I do not use liquid Brines much anymore. All I do is Dry these days, I can calculate exact amounts of salt and cure and have never had a single product fail or come out to salty since I stopped wet brining. The only time I wet brine is if the piece of meat is over 5 to 6 inches across then I will inject and either dry rub or wet brine. I should have listed to My Grandfather years ago when he originally taught me to cure meats.

Just a thought on buying equipment! It has been my experience that it is best to get the most you can afford to get, as I have all to often cheeped out and got a smaller or less powerful unit in order to save a little bit of money and ended up spending again to upgrade! So if this is something you see yourself continuing to do get the biggest one you can afford and don’t look back!! As it will usually be cheaper in the long run.

processhead I always dry cure whole loins, never cut before curing. I cut after smoking to 145 - 150 to retain as much moisture as I can. I used the seasoning and it turned out great. The salt level was ok. As there is no information on the composition of the seasoning blends it is always a crap shoot using one of them for other than the intended purpose on the salt. That was really my reason for asking about using the seasoning mix, was to see if anyone had used it and if they liked the results. The dry cure rub actually pernitrates faster than using a wet cure unless you are injecting. I have never had any issues with dry rub curing any piece of meat. I learned to cure meats from my Grandfather, who was a professional butcher all of his working life. The only time he wet cured much of anything, was if it was to mass produce for sale as it is faster, otherwise, for personal use he just about always dry rub cured everything as it produces a better end product according to him. I tend to agree with him. He was doing Dry Rub Equilibrium Curing 30 years ago, long before it started to become popular. Dry Cure produces a much more flavorful final product as you are not adding excess water that dilutes and pushes out the juices of the meat. There are some juices lost dry curing as well, but not as much as with wet curing. The main reason injection and wet curing are used is primarily speed and economics, not quality. A meat processor can not afford to produce a product of the quality of a boutique curing house or a home curer as they can’t compete with other processors doing it that way, it takes to long to make a quality product like that for them to be profitable.

I would be willing to bet that if you take out the sugar and the caramel coloring And the added salt for the recipe and only the curing slat is left the amount will still be 6.25% Nitrite! The amount need to be safe in the US is set by law they really can’t sell you something that is not up to regulations! As far as controlling the salt the only way you have control is to mix the cure your self! The amount of curing salt is going to be .25% of the weight of the meat no options there!!! If you need to you can adjust the amount of regular salt you add over that to your taste! The amount of salt is generally from 1 to 3% of the weight of the meat, subtract the amount of curing salt from that for the batch. The amount of curing salt is what it is to ensure safe results, DO NOT REDUCE THE CURING SALT!!! Only play with the regular salt amounts!!!

I was just looking at the Patty maker, and was thinking that it would be great if you could change out the patty mold slide to make different size patties! Like say if you were making sausage patties, a 1/3 pound sausage patty would be a little big for most people. Or if you would make the file available to make a replacement slide yourself by 3d printing or if you have the ability to fabricate out of cutting board material, ETC. I know that when I get one that I will have the slide to copy, but having the exact specifications would be great if there is no possibility of actually buying a different slide mold for it.

bocephus Yes, but not everyone would think it is easy, as many do not have the computer chops to do so.

It is a sausage stuffer the ones you get here, and you would use a regular socket ratchet handle on a specially machined socket that fits onto the stud on the stuffer for the handle that came with it. I am looking at making a 1/2 inch drive socket that way I will have just as long of a lever as the original handle provides, maybe even a bit longer. Then to stuff all I have to do is raise and lower the handle in a pumping action with all of the force being applied in a downward direction. My 11 pound stuffer even with suction feet still lifts on the up swing of the handle when stuffing, so I am constantly taking the handle off and repositioning it so as to only be pulling down. You have greater leverage pulling down so stuffing is by fare easier if you only have to pull down and it would be much faster to not have to reposition the handle and deal with the splines in the handle hub and on the shaft of the stuffer not necessarily being in the best position do do that. As far as the ratchet not moving the nut much per click, that is only an issue if you are using one in a confined space and can only move the ratchet one or two clicks, in the case of the stuffer you are free to move it as far as you like.

Most likely, I was just surprised that the information was not there as it is so basic and useful!! Also by printing the ratio on the spice bags would eliminate the need to go online to look it up.

Meat 101 I Totally agree and so does the professional cooking world!~ Using weight is the ONLY way to get consistent accurate amounts every time! It is just not possible when there is such variations in grind, texture, shape of all of the individual ingredients! By using volume you can have as much as a 40% variance from one batch to another in each ingredient by using volume measurements!

HI, just used High Temp Cheese for the first time to make some Summer Sausage. I have been seeing that around some of the Cheese in the sausage is starting to go off in color and taste. I am wondering if anyone else has noticed this. It seems to be only happening with the Cheddar cheese, the Pepper Jack is not doing it. It is all the batch of sausage, not having any issues at all with any of the rest of it, just the Cheddar. The Cheese is all new and has been kept in the freezer until it was used, other than when it was shipped, I am sure that Walton’s keeps it frozen as well before shipping.