I just started fermenting hot peppers this year and it’s addicting! I don’t have any of the super hot peppers in my batches but the last one was red serranos and habaneros. I lightly rosted about a third of them to add a little bit of charred flavor and then put them in the brine-about a 2-3% salt ratio. After a little over 2 weeks I blended with some garlic and whole cranberries. My ph level was 3.9 so I didn’t add any vinegar. The flavor is great and without the vinegar taste that you get with traditional sauces like Tabasco. If you haven’t done so already check out the Youtube videos by Chili Chump. He gives very detailed recipes and instructions. R!

I’ve done the bourbon bacon and it imparts a nice bit of flavor-a bit of a smoky taste but different from smoke flavor that comes from the smoker. Hard to describe but nice! R!

That looks good-I’m referring to the frosty bottle of Fireball!

I have the same smoker and as mentioned above I use a smoker tube with pellets that I place upright in the smoker after getting the pellets going. I usually do just a half tube of pellets and that gives me about 2 hours of good smoke. It works great if you’re doing something like jerkey or snack sticks where you don’t want high heat but still want some smoke. I don’t get any smoke out of the little wood chip chamber that came with the MB unless I have the temp set for over 180. With the smoke tube I can have smoke at 125 degrees.

Simple question-what does the cold phosphate do? I’ve done more than a few briskets but have never heard of injecting with the phosphate. R!

Ok, so I googled it because I’ve never heard of it but your photo looks like something I’d like to try. Can you provide the rest of the recipe? I have a lot of beef liver but don’t know if you added that to your ingredients although the photo looks like there is some in there. Thanks, Randy.

Yeah-I talked to my son today who has a pellet smoker and he told me the same thing. Sounds like someone needs a new smoker that will start low and slow! R!

I don’t have a pellet smoker and not sure if this will work but what if you don’t put any pellets in the hopper and crack open the lid? A remote thermometer would let you know what your temp is inside the cooker. After an hour at 125 and then an hour at 145 you’d be able to add pellets and set the temp for 160 for 2 hours. Then set the temp for 175 till the snack sticks reach 155 internal. Hope you can find a way to make it work. Randy.

I like the idea of how to go about resolving something whether it’s a problem or just an inconvenience and seeing how others have overcome it. My initial post had to do with the frustration of the left over meat in the throat of the stuffer and trying something to remedy it. My first thought was putting a ball on top of the throat and then running the plunger down again. I tried the bread thing that I use to get the meat out of the auger of my grinder but all it did was mash flat on top of the meat due to the force it takes to push the meat into the casing. The lemon trick worked great and didn’t smash it. Next time I’ll put a second lemon on top of the first after the first one is pressed into the throat. As to the issue of the piston not going to the bottom of the stuffer can I’m wondering if the shaft could be reindexed at the top where the gears engage it so it would have more downward travel. I’m not familiar with the Cabela’s brand of stuffer so not sure if that’s possible. As I use to say in my cabinet shop-it’s not messed up if it can still be fixed! R!

I just hope that someday my wife doesn’t sell my stuff for what I told her I paid for it!

Smoked mushrooms-why didn’t I think of that? Think I’ll have to try those.

It’s the Walton’s 11 lb. A bit bigger than what I really need but it’s built like a tank. The instructions that come with it leave a lot of room for improvement though. Translated by someone and not done very well. Throw them out and watch the Walton’s video about how to maintain their stuffer. I can do the 16mm snack sticks by myself-just don’t let go of the handle with pressure on it. You’ll do it but only once!

Don’t know why your stuffer leaves a 1/2 at the bottom of the cylinder-mine mashes it out clear to the bottom to where I can see the beginning of the throat. You might want to put a couple of washers between the plate with the gasket and the shaft. I haven’t checked mine to see if there’s a way to reindex the shaft so it has more throw at the bottom. With my plunger all the way down I have 5/8" of the shaft protruding above the very top of the stuffer. R!

Maybe this has already been suggested but I’ll add my 2 cents anyways. I was making a 5 lb batch of snack sticks yesterday with my 11 lb Walton’s stuffer and you know how it always leaves about 3/4 lb of your ground and mixed meat in the throat? Usually I just make some hand formed sausages or use it to add to a batch of scrambled eggs but this time I made a strong jalapeno based blend with ghost pepper cheese and didn’t think the wife would like it. So, when the stuffer was done stuffing the casings I was trying to think of something to get the rest of the meat out of the throat and I saw my lemon tree was loaded so I put a lemon over the top of the throat and ran the plunger down-worked like a champ! The lemon fit inside the throat and gave me another 6" of snack stick. All that was left was a small handfull of meat that I made a patty out of. Next time I’ll put a second lemon in there when the first is all the way in. I tried some old hamburger buns the last time I made sticks but they just flattened out and didn’t get the meat out. Lemons are the perfect size! Hope this helps! R!

Benb1950 Well, I just slapped myself for not noticing the difference in spelling. Thanks for clearing that up for me. R!

May be a silly question but-is the sure gel the same stuff we use for making jams and jellies? R!

I’ll take all you can spare. 93 degrees yesterday but cooling down to the mid eighties later this week. R!

I feel your pain-N. Cal resident myself and all my deer hunting areas are ash. We lived with the heavy smoke for a couple of months but it’s finally getting better. Hang in there, it’ll get better!R!

That looks tasty! Nicely done.

That looks really good! Did you use pork tenderloin? For my last batch of canadian bacon I used pork sirloin roast and tied them up to keep the round shape. It was hard to tell the difference and about 50 cents per pound cheaper. I only kept mine in the brine for 8 days because I got tired of flipping the bags over and wanted to get going with the cook. Patience is not one of my strong suits but I used the same temp schedule you did and my Masterbuilt. It turned out great. R!