Jonathon So this may seem like a really dumb question, but how do you hang the meat in the smoker. I assume I just loop over the smoke stick and then make one big continuous loop across the stick alternating up across and down from side to side over the smoke stick until I get it all on there? I assume if I cut prior to cooking my 30% fat to meat ratio would mean it would heat up to melt the pork fat and I would have meat running out of casings to the bottom of my smoker.

Jonathon I got through my pack of beef bacon and opened the turkey. I think the flavor was better. Definitely leaner. It definitely has a different texture than the beef. I didn’t do pork, but now have something else to make.

Pre-cook of imitation bacon and final product browning up. Turkey is the lighter loaf, beef is the darker one and in the skillet.

Kind of rubbery prior to frying up in my go to cast iron skillet. I fried some up and it wasn’t bad. Even though I sliced as thin as I could with a really sharp knife I think a slicer would give a uniform thickness to avoid this.

I made a 2lb batch of both turkey and beef imitation bacon. I followed the online recipie exactly. It seems rubbery. The only thing I can see that may be different is I sliced it as thin as I could with a Sharp knife. I also used a kitchen aid mixer to mix in the seasoning and get to the protein extraction stage.I am wondering if I mixed it to long causing it to become rubbery?

Jonathon Good news. I fired up my T pellet grill and messed with it on the smoke setting. I can adjust the P-setting which controls the off time of the auger. I got it to run at 125 and should still have enough adjustment with the p setting to bump up the temp prior to hitting 225 setting (if needed). I am using encapsulated citric acid so thanks for the advice. I didn’t know that.

So I am going to make a batch of snack sticks and summer sausage . I don’t have a regular smoker. I only have a wood pellet grill/smoker to smoke the product on. It only has a smoke setting usually runs around 160 and then the next setting is 225. I know both of your recipients state to start low and stage up. Do you think starting on smoke and then going up to 225 to finish would be ok? Or should I partially open the door to regulate the temp for the first few hours?

This was probably the most entertaining and disappointing video you guys have done yet. I was hoping it could make beer even better, but I will definitely not waste a good beer trying this. No need to reinvent the wheel.

Jonathon I used the Excalibur tomato basil brat seasoning. I figured this would pair well with pasta dishes etc. during winter. I think the supreme pizza will be next on my list to try. I would love if Excalibur made a Muffaletta Pizza brat seasoning. I think it would be a big hit for sure.

Jonathon So I made a half batch of tomato basil brats with the 50/50 thigh/breast mix. I went with 1.5lbs of cold water. I think I could of been able to get away with more. I didn’t have any cold phosphate on hand like you recommended, but plan to try some with the next batch.

I stuffed brat casings with my new stuffer thanks to Walton’s 12 days of Christmas sale. It made the process really easy. I cleaned out the little bit of meat left in the stuffer and saved it. I made three small patties, coated two with bread crumbs and fried them up with breakfast this morning. The are AWESOME…and they passed the taste test with my wife and picky son. They weren’t greasy at all and were really moist! My only regret was not making a whole batch as I sit here listening to my wife pick who she is going to give these to as presents. My family always expects my cold smoked cheese and peanuts so these will be a nice healthy addition!

I am going to halve my seasoning packet and carrot fiber binder. Can I assume the rough amount of water is 1lb.? obviously depending on amount of moisture in the chicken.
Question 2 is after linking should I cut links apart or is there an easy way to keep the collagen casing twisted so I don’t lose contents? I am new and this is my first run on brat making so going small and also going 50/50 on boneless skinless breasts and thighs with skin.

I want to say thanks to everyone for their comments and advice on grinders. I was travelling through Wichita yesterday for work and decided to stop by the store for a hands on look at grinders. When I saw the grinders in person it was a pretty easy decision. I went with the #12 butcher series and the guy working the store was really helpful. There wasn’t the typical salesman push at all!!! It was on sale and fit my budget. I even got to try a piece of an experimental brat a worker brought out from the test kitchen. Can’t wait to get grinding.

Bacon Acres Farm
How did you like the big bite grinder? I live in a rural area and went to the big city last week and was able to look at the bigbite and carnivore grinder at basspro/cabelas respectively. I like the idea of the bigbite auger, but not sure if it really works as stated? Seems both brands were well built. Overall seems like the solid box around the bigbite would be easier to wipe clean. I think I could get by with a #8, but am going with a 12 like you suggest. I am having a hard time justifying anything bigger than a 12. Still torn between bigbite or weston.

I am looking for a good quality meat grinder to process a few deer a year and maybe an antelope every so often. I also plan to make other meat products like my own sausage, brats etc. I have done a bunch of research and have settled on either the weston bucher series, weston professional or the LEM all #12 size. All are 3/4hp other than the weston pro which has 1hp. Best I can tell is all are similar and all have 5yr. warranty. The LEM claim to fame is the big bite auger, but I am not sure about its actual functionality. The weston seem to come with more attachments and high speed auger. I also like they are sold by Waltons a couple hours away from me and if I ever need parts or help they will be there to help. Any recommendations based on experience or ideas?