Subcategories

• Seasonings and Additives

  Learn the science behind why, when and how to use different seasonings & additives to make the best product you can.

  
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  Sam O. That’s a matter of some debate! I know a deer processor who includes his seasoning and his water in his meatblocks weight, so like 20 lb of meat plus 3 lb of water and 2 lb of seasoning for a whole 25 lb batch and people do rave about his sausage but I have always gone with 25lb of meat and fat and anything that adds on to that is just added on. I have tried factoring in the water and seasoning/additives two times and I liked it less both times.
• Fresh Sausage

  Learn the science behind why, when and how to use different seasonings & additives to make the best product you can.

  
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  Chef A fresh sausage like breakfast or bratwurst has a certain texture that getting protein extraction would interfere with. It isn;t going to do anything to effect the flavor but think of the difference between a snack stick and a bratwurst. You expect to have some of the larger particle size in the bratwurst and having a homogenous piece that bits like a snack stick would throw some people off. No, I don’t the ink it would necessarily be moister, when you are cooking sausage at grilling temps the fat is going to melt to a certain degree no matter what you do.
• Cured Sausage

  Learn about the equipment, casings and processes necessary to make Snack Sticks, Summer Sausage and Smoked Sausage and then watch as we go over how to process each type step by step.

  
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  Cole1996 I have seen people do it before, as long as you sterilize everything and that is the main use of both the bucket and the mixer it should be okay. Now, obviously this won’t fly if you are doing this to sell your product.
• Jerky

  Learn about the equipment, best cuts of meat to use and seasonings and additives to use to make jerky.

  
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  JerkyIsMySalad I’d be interested to see the water activity and pH of that jerky. I’d imagine it is shelf-stable as it is packaged in what looks like hanger bags that usually just sit out at room temperature. We can try this at some point for sure!
• Sausage Casings

  Learn how to choose the correct casings for your sausage, how to prepare it for use and the advantages and disadvantages of each type.

  
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  Sausage Casings: 201 Tips for Stuffing Collagen Casings Attend this Intermediate level class from Meatgistics University by watching the video, reading the article and post any questions you have! The Basics Learning how to stuff collagen casing can be as much of an art as it is a science. The first thing you can do to make this easy on yourself is to use the correct stuffing tube, you should use the largest stuffing tube that your casing will fit over in its shirred form. For example, a 23 MM casing will fit over both a 10 MM and 12 MM tube but you want to choose the 12 MM tube as this will allow the casing to come off the tube more naturally. Also, you should note that collagen does have a direction, one end of the strand will be fully open and the other will have some of the casing folded slightly over the center hole. The open side is what should be loaded onto the stuffing tube if you lose track of which side was the correct one look at how the collagen is stacked, it looks like bowls stacked in a cupboard, you want the bottom of the bowl to be facing towards the stuffer so the casing comes off as if you are un-stacking the bowls. Right Amount of Pressure Making sure that you are using the right amount of pressure to hold your casing on the stuffing tube is very important and takes some practice. Too little pressure and the casing will come off too easily and you will end up with an under stuffed casing which can create a wrinkled, unappealing product and will not hold its form through the cooking process. The other side of that is that if you use too much pressure you can end up with blow outs or backflow. A blow out is when your casing splits from internal pressure, it forces you to stop stuffing, fix your casing and put your meat back into the stuffing cannister. Backflow is when your product comes back around the stuffing horn instead of going into the casing and creates a host of problems including possible contamination and defects in the texture of the sausage. Also, an overstuffed casing has a tendency to burst during the cooking process You want the casing to feel firm but not so firm that when you try to twist it the casing splits, it is going to take a little bit of practice to master this but once you do it is like riding a bike, you will never forget how. A good way to judge if you are stuffing to the proper amount is if you can just faintly see the swirl line along the casing, you want to be able to just faintly see it. If it is obvious then you are under stuffing, if you can’t see it as all then you have overstuffed. As you are stuffing try to get your sausage into a coil to make it easier to handle. Up to You! Now that you have the sausage stuffed into the collagen you can either hang them in the smoker, cut them into sausage sized sections or twist them into links and then hang them for smoking or vacuum seal them for future use. Now you can smoke, grill or pan fry them. If you made a fresh product and want to vac seal them for future use make sure you freeze them first for at least an hour. If you try to vacuum seal a fresh sausage the vacuum that your machine pulls will crush your product flat. Shop waltonsinc.com for Collagen Casings Shop waltonsinc.com for 11 lb Sausage Stuffer
• Deli Meats

  Learn about common additives, choosing safe deli meat from the store and how to process your own deli meat at home.

  
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  Deli Meat: 202 Additives For Homemade Deli Meats Attend this Intermediate-level class from Meatgistics University by watching the video, reading the article and post any questions you have! Phosphates In Deli Meats 103 we went over some common additives that are used in commercially processed Deli Meats, most of them are harmless and are aimed at increasing the freshness of the meat, the shelf life, taste and appearance. However, most of these items are not things you are going to have in your home, or have easy access to. However, there are a few additives that are easily available and will give you a nice reformed deli meat that can be sliced almost as thin as a true deli. It doesn’t matter if you are making homemade deli meats or buying it from the store, some sort of phosphates will almost certainly be present. The phosphates raise the pH of the meat and allow it to hold more water. Commercial processors do this because a) water is much cheaper than meat and b) consumers want cuts of meat that are juicier. We recommend you use Cold Phosphate as this will dissolve easier in cold water than some other types. An important note on phosphates is that if you are injecting it you need to mix this in first so it can suspend in the water. I’d recommend you add phosphates to any deli meat you are making but it is especially important when making low fat deli cuts. Binders Binders, especially in low fat cuts, are going to be very key here when making a reformed cut of deli meat. Without it you will have a hard time getting everything to stick together tight enough to let you slice it deli thin without it crumbling. Carrot Fiber isn’t a traditional binder but it holds 26 times it’s weight in water so it can help with a juiciness, if you are going to use carrot fiber, like I do in future videos, is to use it in conjunction with cold phosphate. Super Bind is going to give you carrot fiber and potato starch, so you get the best of the carrot fiber plus the potato starch forms a gel at the same temp as the meat really starts to expel water. The only problem with this is that in a homemade deli you are going to have some voids in your meat. Having no voids with a hand crank stuffer is extremely difficult and those voids will be filled with this gel. It can be very unappealing. Sure Gel or Soy protein blend can also be good choices. Sodium Lactate Sodium Lactate is used by commercial processors to extend the shelf-life of meat products. It is sometimes used as a powder but is most often used in its liquid form. It increases the shelf life of meat products by regulating the pH of food and reduces the effects of bacteria spoilage. In its liquid form you would use it at a rate of 1.5% of your meat block, so for a 25 lb batch you would use .375 of a lb. As we sell it in gallons you can see that it would last you a long time. Sodium Nitrite & Sure Cure Another option for deli meat can be using sodium nitrite or sure cure. We’ve talked about it exhaustively in the past but using nitrite helps fight botulism spores. Its important to use when smoking meat as you are often creating the perfect environment for the growth of botulism and other bad microorganisms. It can also assist in increasing the shelf life of the meat and preserving the color and flavor. Watch WaltonsTV: Deli Meat: 202 Additives For Homemade Deli Meats Shop waltonsinc.com for Additives Shop waltonsinc.com for Cold Phosphate - Sodium Phosphate Shop waltonsinc.com for Sodium Lactate
• Smoked Meats

  Learn about different types of smokers, using different varieties of wood and best practices for smoking your own meat at home.

  
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  C

  I like to use hickory on poultry and beef for pork I use apple
• Cured Whole Muscle Meats

  Learn about the equipment and cures needed to process your own hams and bacon at home and then follow along with our step by step videos.

  
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  Tex_77 Argh! I changed the information in the post.
• Specialty Sausage

  Learn how to make specialty sausages such as Braunschweiger, Lebanon Bologna or Blood Sausage.

  
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  Jonathon Agreed! I have to drive about an hour to find an ‘exotic’ market like that but it’s worth it just to browse the oddities. Lots of weird bugs, grubs and unidentifiable creatures. Also dehydrated frogs.
• Meat Processing Equipment

  Learn about the importance, functions and abilities of meat processing equipment.

  
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  Chef Got ya, sorry, I misunderstood. Those are probably not going to be around until sometime around the Holidays. There is still some more work to be done and tested but once the have shown they have made the adjustments we will order and get them in as quick as possible!
• Wild Game

  Learn the science behind why, when and how to use different seasonings & additives to make the best product you can.

  
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  Wild Game: Venison Summer Sausage Learn how to make Venison Summer Sausage with Walton's and Meatgistics. Watch the video, read the guide, and then post your questions or comments below. What is Venison Summer Sausage Venison Summer Sausage is a semi-dried sausage that is typically stuffed into a larger diameter fibrous casing and made from venison and pork or pork fat. It can be made from beef, pork, wild game or some combination of meat. Some people are intimidated by making it but the most basic steps can be done by almost any home processor. Meat Block 6 lb venison 1.5 lb pork fat Ingredients H Summer Sausage Seasoning Sure Gel Encapuslated Citric Acid Grinding Grind all meat twice, first through a 3/8 plate and second through a 1/8 plate. Make sure your meat is very cold before you begin grinding, not only is this going to keep you away from the “danger zone” (40°-140°F) but it is also going to speed up the grinding process. Putting your meat back in the freezer between the first and second grind can actually save you time depending on the sharpness of your plate and knife and the power of your grinder. Mixing Before mixing you are going to want to determine how much seasoning and additives you need. We have breakdown charts for seasonings, cures and additives HERE But a simple way to do it is to take the weight of your seasoning and divide that by the batch size (in most cases 25 lb of meat) and that will give you the lb of seasoning you need per lb of meat, then multiply that by the number of pounds of meat you are making. Then, multiply that by 16 to get it in ounces and then multiply that by 28.2 if you want to figure out the grams from the ounces. Add meat, seasoning, water and cure to the mixer and begin mixing. You want to get protein extraction here so you will be mixing for around 8 minutes. During the last 60 seconds add your encapsulated citric acid and cheese, this will prevent the citric acids encapsulation from rupturing and being released too soon and it will prevent the cheese from smearing. Stuffing Choose the largest stuffing tube that your casings will fit over and stuff until the fibrous or collagen casing is full, smooth and firm. Then clip the open end closed with a Hog Ring or a Bag and Casing Clipper. Smoke Schedule 120° for 30 minutes with dampers wide open and no water pan 135° for 60 minutes, add smoke and humidity 150° for 60 minutes 175° until internal temperature is 160° Wrap Up If you aren’t going to add pork fat or pork to your venison then you can add Carrot Fiber and Cold phosphate to increase the water holding capacity of the meat. However, this is going to increase the pH of the meat, meaning A) the shelf life will be shortened and B) you cannot use a cure accelerator such as Encapsulated Citric Acid as it will be counteracted by the Cold Phosphate. Other notes If your meat had already been ground once at a processors, you only need to grind it one more time through the 1/8" plate. Shop waltonsinc.com for Camo Fibrous Summer Sausage Casing Shop waltonsinc.com for Summer Sausage Seasoning Watch WaltonsTV: Wild Game: Venison Summer Sausage