Kirby's Stainless Steel Emulsifying Blade

[Habanero Smoker]

I finally got to test Kirby's Stainless Steel Emulsifier Blade. As far as I am concerned the blade worked perfectly. Though there were some operator's errors, and a learning curve to get through as I learn how this blade works compared to my food processor. The blade produces emulsified sausages easily, with a mixture of even consistancy. 

I have a few projects going on, so to save time in preparation and cleanup I started with five pounds of 80/20 ground beef. Twenty percent fat is enough to make emulsified sausage. My goal was to test the blade, and since I was going to make 5 pounds I wanted a basic recipe that I could divide in half after it was emulsified; half would be bologna and half would be hot dogs, so I was looking for a fine emulsion. The method below is the way I emulsify sausage, if you have your own technique continue to use that, or feel free to use the method I use.


The set up was very easy. Since the stainless steel blade is thinner then the plastic mixer blade, you first need to attach the spacer, then the stainless steel blade.

Since one edge of the blade is curved, to lock the blade in I had to backoff one screw where the blade is curved, to lock the blade in. Once locked in I tighten the screw just enough to bring it into contact with the blade. The blade is very sharp, so when handling the blade use a kitchen towel, pot holder, leather glove, Ove Glove etc, when you are attaching and detaching it. I have a leather pot holder that worked very well, but also tested assembling the blade with a kitchen towel and Ove Glove, and both worked just as well.


In this picture you can not make out the curvature of the blade that well; but it is definitely cured.


Here is a picture of the blade fully assemble, and placed in the bucket.

As mentioned earlier I started with store purchased 80/20 ground meat. At this point I added the cure and seasoning, but withheld the powdered dry milk and will mix that in later. I lightly mixed in the seasoning, and placed it in the freezer, with the blade, for 20 minutes.


Ground meat with seasoning (minus powdered milk) prior to lightly mixing by hand.


While the meat is chilling, I fully assembled the Mixer/Emulsifier. Every thing is put together except the stainless steel blade that is still in the freezer with the meat. The drill that I am using is an electric Sear's Craftsman Professional Hammer Drill 1/2-inch. It is a two speed drill, and I have it set for drilling, at speed two.



The meat has been removed from the freezer, placed in the bucket. You start mixing/emulsifying with the blade on top of the meat. At this point I added the ice water which was at 32°F. I have never made a 5 pound batch at one time so I went with one of Kutas bologna recipe and added 1 cup for 5 pounds.


Prior to emulsifying I took the temperature of the meat. It was too hard to take a picture of the Thermapen showing the temperature, so I used my infrared thermometer to take the surface temperatue. The actual meat temperature was 34.2°F, as measured by the Thermapen. I did have plans to use the infrared to take the bucket temperature, to give me an idea of the meat temperature without taking the lid off. I soon scraped that plan, when I found out the outside bucket temperature, could be 20°F or more higher then the actual meat temperature.


So I set my timer for 1 minute and planned to check the temperature of the meat, how the meat was processing and to see if I had to scrape the sides down like I did when I used my food processor. Also when I used a food processor, it took around 3 minutes for 1.5 pounds meat to get to a temperature of 40°F. Because of the noise the drill was making I could not hear the alarm go off. By the time I noticed it, 90 seconds had elapsed. I took the lid off, and saw there was no need to scrape the sides down. I took the temperature of the meat and to my surprise it was at 49°F. Since I was close to 50°F, I added the powdered milk, before placing the lid back on.

One of the ingredients I used was smoked paprika, so the meat is dark, it is hard to tell but the meat is emulsified. It is thicker than I want it, but because I considered this a trial, and because of the temperature of the meat; I decided not to add any additional water. So I'm figuring there will be a lot of air pockets in the sausage. I later reviewed one of my hot dog recipes and that called for 6 ounces of water for 1.5 pounds of meat. So my next 5 pound batch I will start with 2 cups of ice water, and have some extra on reserve.


After adding the powdered milk, I emulsified about 20 seconds more. Took the lid off and the mixture was now up to 54°F. The milk made the mixture lighter, so you can better see the emulsified mixture, also I think the extra 20 seconds further emulsified the sausage. I don't want the meat to hit 60°F. The mixture is now ready to stuff.


Prior to stuffing, I weighed the batch, so I could divide it into half. The batch weight 5 lbs. 14 oz. To make matters easy I divided it into 3 lbs. for the bologna and 2 lbs. 14 oz. for the hot dogs. Its hard to see, but the temperature of the meat rose a little to 55.2°F. So after dividing the meat I place the batch that I was going to make hot dogs with in the refrigerator.


This is the half-batch for my hot dogs. I added a few more seasoning, before placing it in the refrigerator to keep chilled.

   .   
Here is the first half of the batch (3 lbs.) being stuffed into 2.5-inch collagen casing, and fully stuffed.


My hot dog casings haven't arrived, so used 32 - 34 mm hog casings. I took about 5 feet, and made eleven 6" sausages. Since the mixture was thick and had to be refrigerated prior to stuffing, it was a little stiff,  but workedj fine for this size casing. If I was working with sheep casings or hot dog casing, the stuffing would have been more difficult.

I was working quickly, and forgot to taste test the mixture. After everything was stuffed, I used the amount left in the tube, and stuffer to test for taste.

   .   
For emulsified sausage I prefer to wrap the sample in plastic wrap, and slowly cook at a low simmer (water temperature of 160 -  180°) until the sausage is cooked. You should not use the type of plastic that I used. When you do this avoid the "cling" or "stretch" plastic wraps. If you do not feel comfortable heating in plastic, then pan fry. The taste of the test samples had good but subtle flavor. I was concerned that the texture felt more firm than I like.


I cooked the bologna, and hot dogs in my 22 qt. Rival. As I mentioned I thought the sausages where going to be riddled with air holes, but too my surprise, when I cut into the bologna, it wasn't as bad as I had expected. The texture was fine, but the flavor was now a little bland, but I wouldn't through it away.


Hot dogs fully cooked.


Hot dogs shown in two stages of cooking. The one on the left was further cooked on the stove top, and took on a nice outer color. The one of the right is as it was when it was taken out of the hot water bath. The texture of the hot dogs were also alright. The one on the left that was further cooked, the texture remained the same. The additional seasoning gave it more flavor than the bologna, but it was still subtle.

Kirby I know it is hard to tell, but what is your opinion of how the texture looks.

I am definitely going to add more ice water next time, maybe go with shaved ice, and start with colder meat. The 5 gallon bucket ice "bowl" shield sounds like a good idea, with that I should be able to emulsify longer. If the drill can handle it, I may use a lower drill speed at the initial stage. The only time the drill seem to struggle a little are when I first started emulsifying and just after I added the powdered milk.

Over all I am very pleased, and give this two thumbs and two big toes up!!!  :)

I feel I covered most of what I had experienced. If anyone has questions please ask.

[SiFumar]

Excellent documentation!  As always, you're tremendously helpful. Thank you!

[Mr Walleye]

Wow! Excellent write up Habs!  ;)

Hot dogs and bologna look great too!

From the picture the texture looks good. Do you think it needs to be more emulsified?

Mike

[pikeman_95]

Habs
Thanks for the great write up and accurate documentation. I like the texture as it is more like old style bologna and hot dogs. With the equipment that the commercial boys have we would have a hard time matching some of there product. Though I don't think I care to.

Habs and I discussed cutting the bottom out of a 5 gallon bucket and slipping it over the 2 gallon bucket and filling the void with crushed Ice. This would be something you would want to do outside as the ice would melt slowly and make a mess in the kitchen.[ though Ricks wife is used to this and probably wouldn't mind] The point being you could keep the meat cooler which would allow you to emulsify longer with out getting the meat to hot. Like Habs mentioned he probably would add more moisture to the blend next time and that should always be done in the form of crushed Ice. I do not suggest putting ice cubes in with the meat as the blade can be dulled trying to break up the ice. I think if all your water comes in the form of ice you will be able to emulsify the mixture longer to achive a finer blend. My self I would be very happy with what I see. Habs will you share your recipes and any improvements that you make. I know you said it turned out a little mild but that probably won't be the case next time.
The only thing that I noticed in your post was that you might slow down the drill and I think I would do the opposite. I would run it as fast as it would go. The cutter blace will slice the meat easier at a high rate of speed. If I were buying a heavy drill for this process I would pick one that runs at least 1000 rpm on high speed. I would just work harder at keeping the meat cold by wrapping the bucket with Ice. You could also wrap some towels full of Ice around the 2 gallon bucket held in place with a couple of bungee chords. Then soak the towels with salt water. Now that would get cold.

For those that are reading this I think they need to know that Habs is trying to avoid letting the fat get hot enough that it starts to melt or separate from the meat. Once that happens there is no turning back. Your batch is ruined.
Thanks again Habs for testing this out. Now slam another one of those dogs in the pan and pass the mustard.

Kirby

[Habanero Smoker]

Mike;

It was emulsified enough, but I wish I have more time to make adjustments if I needed to. For example, if the meat was cooler the first time I checked it I may have added most ice water or crushed ice. That blade gave me a very consistent texture in a short time.

Kirby;

The wet blanket and bungee cords gave me an idea. I have seen ice sheet that you freeze to put in your cooler. These can be frozen, wrapped around the bucket, and secured with bungee cords. Maybe have a couple ready to go, in case the first one melts too quickly, you can change them out.
Igloo Ice Sheets.

I'll definitely will use crushed ice next time. As for my drill speed, it doesn't list rpm in the specs. I has something listed as "No. Load Speed" 0-1,000/0-2,700min. This may be the way they list rpm's.

The recipe is very bland, I not sure why. I'll send it to you, take a look at it you may be able to tell why it is bland. On the other hand, Spring is coming early this year, I have been sneezing a lot (probably leaf mold), and that may be effecting my taste buds. 

[cajunboudreaux]

Very nicely done. I am speechless.. good thing i can type.. wow ;D

[pikeman_95]

Habs
I checked my angle drill and it is 1375 rpm and has the power do do this all day. I bought it at Harbor freight and have not regretted it. It has all sorts of power.

http://www.harborfreight.com/compact-2-speed-1-2-half-inch-right-angle-drill-97622.html
Kirby

[Habanero Smoker]

That is quite a drill. There is a Harbor Freight about 40 miles from me. For the area I live in, that is not that far of a drive. If I need more power I will definitely check that one out.

[viper125]

I would think o- 1000 or 0-2700 min is minimum revolutions or rpm.

Sent from my DROIDX using Tapatalk

[Salmonsmoker]

The listing on the side of the drill means that the drill has two speed ranges, and is a variable speed drill. Low speed range from 0 rpm up to1000 rpm, and the high speed range from 0 rpm up to 2700 rpm.

[Habanero Smoker]

Thank for the feedback on the drill speed. I thought it was the Rom's. The shaft was spinning up to 2,700 rpm, so at the tip of the blade was spinning much faster. A drill with less rpms, should take longer time to rise the meat temperature.