Time for some summer sausage during the SD winter.
9.5 lb batch, 5 lb 85% beef (it was on sale, so used it instead of 80%) and 4.5 lb of my own ground pork butt.
The spice and meat lineup.
(http://imageshack.us/a/img541/7502/20130223145114450.jpg)
Stuffed into two 3 lb (but long one is 3.5 lb) and two 2 lb casings (with 1.75 and 1.5 lb filled).
(http://imageshack.us/a/img801/1652/20130223154645162.jpg)
Into the fridge until Monday, when the temps will be ~25F. Plan to smoke, then finish off with hot water bath in my new 22 qt roaster.
This is the first time I've mixed ground meat--I normally cut my own roasts/butts, then mix in spices/cure and let the grinder do the mixing. I can say I might not mix ground meat again--wow, what a thick, sticky goo. Maybe a meat mixer is in my future.
That pile of spices looks familiar. Waiting for the finished shots.
KC
Looking good!
0looks good
Quote from: pikeman_95 on February 23, 2013, 04:24:36 PM
That pile of spices looks familiar. Waiting for the finished shots.
KC
Yep, its a junior version of your big batches. ;)
Big or small batch, they should all taste the same. I just had some earlier this afternoon and mmmm good.
It sure smelled good when I put it in the stuffer.
I just pulled off the grill a patty of it from the bottom of the stuffer.
Should make a tasty treat this evening once it cools down.
Did I ever send you the auto excel version of that recipe?
Yep!
Thanks!
Smoke's rolling with 9 hickory pucks!
I hung the 2 smaller diameter casings in the back, so the pic doesn't work real well.
And the hot water bath roaster is cooking away so I can have it stabilized when smoking is done (my first roaster water bath, so I'm giving myself plenty of time to dial in the magical 160 deg temp setting).
The newly added rack rails need some smoke!
(http://imageshack.us/a/img580/5457/20130225093938444.jpg)
Cant wait to see and here about the finished product
so far so good... now the money shots.
Nice looking chubs.
Sent from my iPhone 5 using Tapatalk
Ran 3 hours of smoke, and left them in another 1/2 hour. Big ones were 135 deg at that point.
Hot water bath went well.
55 minutes for the small ones and 1:50 for the big ones, which is longer than I thought it would take from reading others posts saying "keep an eye on them, it goes pretty fast".
Then cold bath for cool down.
Tastes great! :) They seem a little too moist, so I'll remove the casing and let them sit in the fridge overnite.
I waited too long to make more SS. My smoking log says Christmas '08 was my last batch. :-[
Thanks again to pikeman for the recipe.
OK, here's the pics----
(http://imageshack.us/a/img716/9524/2013022517213621.jpg)
Close up money shot. 1976 vintage harvest gold countertop looks good too!
(http://imageshack.us/a/img191/5738/20130225172237326.jpg)
drano
They look good. You could hold the water at 165 with out any issues. This will cut the bath time a little. The pork fat starts to melt in the 170's. A couple of days in the fridge the and the moisture content will drop.
KC
This was my first hot water bath, and some people are cautious above 165, so I stuck with 160-162. Now that I know how it holds temp, I can shoot for 163-165 next time.
I got just a bit of fat on the outside of the casings, but I'd guess thats normal. Clearly no fat-out from the pics.
I like the 2 lb casings because they will take less water bath time (at any water temp).
I removed all the casings, cut them into halves or thirds, and put them in the fridge until they dry a bit. Then wrap and freeze. Rather than vacuum pack, I'm going to try tightly wrapping in plastic, then wrap in aluminum foil.
Thanks again for your inputs, and for everyone's comments.
Something new for me, never heard of the water bath. Will that work for all sausage?
I have had good success with the plastic wrap when wrapped tight and then foiled to keep the plastic wrap in place while in the freezer. I will easily last a year or more in the freezer. It probably will not last that long anyway.
Quote from: SmokinSignals on February 25, 2013, 08:17:06 PM
Something new for me, never heard of the water bath. Will that work for all sausage?
I've only done this once, but from other posts, they say it works well on everything except collagen casings--which can let water inside--but others say if you pinch off the end, then smoke, it will seal off well.
So fibrous, natural, and cellulose casings are good. Collagen can too, but be careful to ensure the ends are sealed. Keep water temp 160-165 to prevent melting the fat.
Pikeman has the Binford 5000 souped up model.
Here's one thread. Search should find more.
http://forum.bradleysmoker.com/index.php?topic=30415.0 (http://forum.bradleysmoker.com/index.php?topic=30415.0)
Looks great...I like all the mustard seeds in it.
Well done!
Sent from my iPhone
Good lookin sausage!!
I like to let the sausage hang in the fridge, still in the casing, for at least 48 hr before sampling
Helps cut down on the moistness ;D
Thanks guys!
Yea, lots of mustard seed. When I weighed it out, I was thinking I measured wrong! But the wife said it doesn't have too much flavor, so no danger is loading it up with mustard seed.
OU, too late on hanging in casings--they're already naked. :-[
I'll cut one of the chunks Wednesday and see how it is, and wrap/freeze when its ready.
When we developed this recipe all the participants enjoy lots of mustard seed. It is more for oral entertainment then flavor. We all like the little pop they make when you bite them. How about one more shot after you take it out of the fridge in a couple of days. I just had a few slices of the last of my supply with my Ritz crackers and it just taste great.
Here it is after 2 days in the fridge on a cookie sheet.
Moisture is way down, and I'd say its perfect.
Flavor is still outstanding. Time to wrap and freeze most of it, and leave a chunk in the fridge for snacking.
Thanks again for comments and suggestions.
(http://img835.imageshack.us/img835/5076/20130227132026765.jpg)
NICE!
Now thats what Im talkin about,,,,,,,,,,,,,great lookin money shot!!
Not sure if it had anything to do with the stickiness of your mixture, but those chubs usually contain the LFTGB, also known as "Pink Slime" (lawsuit by Tyson Meats in progress), and is low quality compared to the 10 pound clear tubes available at most stores...compared on the same advertised ratios.
The finished product does look great though, and I'm sure tastes great too.