Smoking, grilling and curing foods, etc.

This sort of thing is wildly out of my league but it's fascinating to read about. I have some friends that are hunters and more into this that I might have to invite myself over for some of their stuff.
 
Wow. Just wow.

My wife and I ground the 16.5 lbs of pork in about 4 minutes. I’m sure it could’ve gone much faster if we tried. Then we used it to stuff the sausage. That worked like a dream!! A bit of a learning curve, but I got it down fairly quickly. Just one blow out. The foot pedal on backorder will help with that issue. Incidentally, the blue pot in the background is what I used to brew my first batches of homebrew in 1996. That pot has seen homebrew, chicken wings, crab legs, lobster, and now, sausage. What a good life!!
 

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Wow. Just wow.

My wife and I ground the 16.5 lbs of pork in about 4 minutes. I’m sure it could’ve gone much faster if we tried. Then we used it to stuff the sausage. That worked like a dream!! A bit of a learning curve, but I got it down fairly quickly. Just one blow out. The foot pedal on backorder will help with that issue. Incidentally, the blue pot in the background is what I used to brew my first batches of homebrew in 1996. That pot has seen homebrew, chicken wings, crab legs, lobster, and now, sausage. What a good life!!

Sweet! Is this your Hungarian Sausage?
 
Found a bacon recipe that sounds good. Put 2 slabs on cure last Friday. Should be ready to smoke about Monday. Error in recipe. Smoking temperature should be 195 degrees F.

As previously noted, the 165F for 6 hours got this pretty close to 155F internal temp. The slabs were pretty thin after removing the skin though, less than an inch in the thicker ends. Came out overly smoky and salty. A few things I would change: 1. Rather than just rinse when taking out of the cure I would probably rinse and then soak for 1/2 hour. 2. Go with Hickory and/or Apple for just 1 1/2 hours and finish without wood. 3. Either find thicker belly or leave the skin on during curing and smoking.

As is, it will be good to drape over larger cuts on the grill, so all is not lost.
 
That’s a garlic sausage, just salt, pepper, and garlic. Red wine instead of water.

Today we are making 60 lbs of Hungarian of Hungarian sausage for the family.
 
Looks like 70 lbs today. My nephew just showed up with 10lbs of meat. He said the lady at the store said someone else just picked up a bunch of meat to make sausage. He said, “I know. I’m headed to their house!” :D
 
I bought a jerky slicer attachment for my new grinder. That thing slices jerky in no time! No more calling the store to have them slice my meat, only to wait for it.
 
Never seen a jerky slicer. Is the meat ground and then dispensed in slices?
 
The meat isn’t ground. It’s cut to fit inside the chute (and you can’t force it if it’s too big, ask me how I know). Then you drop it in using tongs, and out comes perfectly sliced jerky. This video will give you an idea. It’s the same slicer I bought.

 
I need to come up with a jerky recipe that includes my homebrew. That’d be a conversation piece! I have a dream of opening up a shop where I could sell jerky, sausage, and other related meats. Less competition there than opening a brewpub, I think. (But maybe I could be next door to one!)
 
I need to come up with a jerky recipe that includes my homebrew. That’d be a conversation piece! I have a dream of opening up a shop where I could sell jerky, sausage, and other related meats. Less competition there than opening a brewpub, I think. (But maybe I could be next door to one!)

I have basted pork shoulder for pulled pork(after brining 24hrs) with a homebrew stout and it was great. You can taste the beer but not overpowering. Did one with stout and one with rootbeer, that was a full pellet grill!!
 
The meat isn’t ground. It’s cut to fit inside the chute (and you can’t force it if it’s too big, ask me how I know). Then you drop it in using tongs, and out comes perfectly sliced jerky. This video will give you an idea. It’s the same slicer I bought.


Man' that's a nice setup!
 
I think I’m going to be very happy with this stuff. I’m going to Indianapolis tomorrow for 3 weeks of work (2 1/2 hours by road). I’m bringing the grinder motor, slicer, dehydrator, and a couple other utensils, just in case the other people with my company staying in the same hotel might want a supply of jerky. ;)
 
Here’s a pic of the teriyaki jerky my wife and I made. This piece is about a foot long. I think I’m going to like eye of round when I can get it on sale. I’m gonna have to work on getting the fat and silver skin off. I’ll get there.
 

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Here’s a pic of the teriyaki jerky my wife and I made. This piece is about a foot long. I think I’m going to like eye of round when I can get it on sale. I’m gonna have to work on getting the fat and silver skin off. I’ll get there.

I use eye of round for pastrami and corned beef too. Found whole eye for $2.99 a couple of times last fall. Trying to keep room in the freezer for deals like that.
 
Raise your hand if you’ve ever had jerky made in a hotel room! I am ready to go. 14.5 lbs of eye of round total. I’ll probably get 6 lbs of jerky after the fat is trimmed and it’s dehydrated. And people wonder why jerky is expensive.
 

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Raise your hand if you’ve ever had jerky made in a hotel room! I am ready to go. 14.5 lbs of eye of round total. I’ll probably get 6 lbs of jerky after the fat is trimmed and it’s dehydrated. And people wonder why jerky is expensive.

Now that's dedication! And a love of toys :)
 
I don't wonder why it's expensive, I just bitch about it. ;)
 
My hotel room smells like barbecue. Even the maid commented. There’s no barbecue sauce in it, no tomato products (unless paprika has tomato). I’m happy with this batch.
 
My hotel room smells like barbecue. Even the maid commented. There’s no barbecue sauce in it, no tomato products (unless paprika has tomato). I’m happy with this batch.

Reminds me of a guy I worked with many years ago. Believe it or not, his name was John R. Strange. And he were. He was transferred to a shop where I worked that was 100+ miles from his small farm. He came in late the second morning and wasn't a happy camper. He explained that the manager had kicked him out of the motel the night before because he had brought a few chickens and ducks from his camper into the motel room :) I said he was strange.
 

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