My first turkey, he’s not the biggest fella but it doesn’t matter it was an awesome hunt with a great friend.

Something else to keep in mind, if you have the ability to control the level of vacuum on your machine it is a good idea to turn it down to about halfway. The reason being is I have found if I vacuum pack Fresh sausages on the maximum level they will flatten as they thaw out. Another way to combat that problem would be to just cut open the bag when you pull them out of the freezer, but I never remember to do that so I don’t use the max vacuum when I package them.

I cooked some brats I made a week or so ago for a snack. My wife and girls went out shopping and told me to fend for myself. I cooked some chicken Sunday for dinner but forgot to take pics.

I was born and raised in Louisiana and have tried the Excalibur Boudin seasoning and it turned out great. I’m not a huge fan of liver so I only used a pound and I pureed it and added about 8 cups of cooked rice to it. I cooked to butts in the seasoning in my crawfish pot outside until the bone fell out then mixed that with the rice and a little of the juice and stuffed into 32/35 mm hog casings. I’ve also used that seasoning to make a cured/smoked sausage as well as fresh sausage and it has been great every time I’ve used it.

Departing Contestant Gonna brag a little bit … She’s in three different choirs but also has a 5-2 Muay Thai Kickboxing record and a championship belt, trains Jiu Jitsu and MMA. She has already been accepted into a couple different Universities and wants to be a Psychologist. Needless to say I’m extremely proud of her.

willie6378 I want to say it was around 17-18 pounds of Pork Butt, around 7 pounds of cooked rice the a couple pounds of green onions, bell peppers and celery and white onions when I made it as actual Boudin. When I made it as a Fresh and Smoked sausage I made 10 lbs of each and adjusted the seasoning for that batch size.

Big Buck back strap, well half of one. Injected with the Cajun Soluble seasoning, and sprinkled a little of the sweet basil, oregano and rosemary shaker and finally a few sprinkles of the Ultimate steak and roast shaker. Cooked to an internal temp of 135 and then let it rest for about 10 minutes before slicing. Turned out delicious, it was the first time I’ve used that injection but I will definitely be buying more from Walton’s!

twilliams Meat will only take so much smoke, that’s one reason why I said I wouldn’t smoke Snack sticks for that long, after a certain point it isn’t adding anything else to them. What smoker do you have, I’d imagine that the manufacturer has tested the recipes and validated that they work. I’m smart enough to know that I don’t know everything and I’d probably try it just to see how it turns out. I’m always open to learn something new, I’ve been smoking meat for 30 years but still trying to perfect my process.

UDave Dave, you don’t want smoke for the first hour or two. Once you bump your temp upto 140-155 the chips will start smoking.

Used the Cajun sausage seasoning and it turned out great, I only made 10 lbs of it but that is plenty.

mikesr SureGel would not be the best option for a fresh sausage, I would recommend Carrot fiber for that. I use about half the normal amount when using Carrot fiber on a fresh sausage like bratwurst or breakfast sausage and that has been perfect for me.

How much seasoning did you use? Should of been 12.8 oz for the Sweet Maple and 15.2 for the Mandarin Teriyaki. I think 16 oz of water per 10 lbs may be a little high, I’ve always used between 6-8 oz and haven’t had any issues, that could possibly be why it took so long to reach 160. One thing you can try next time is use a bowl of water with some sponges in it to increase the humidity in your smoker and that should speed up the cook. How long and how did you mix the meat? I have the Walton’s 20 lb hand crank mix and if I am making a cured and smoked sausage/snack stick I mix between 8-10 minutes and I don’t have any issues with fat out. I think you have a couple issues combined, probably just a touch too much water and fat out, remember fat equals flavor as it helps to transfer the seasoning for a better/stronger flavor.

sbtech I must’ve gotten lucky with my Masterbuilt because I have never had any issues with it and the temp between the top and bottom have never been more than 2-3 degrees apart. I don’t smoke stuff very often and when I do it is usually sausage, or snack sticks, summer sausage or something like that and as long as I did the processing correctly I haven’t had issues with the final product. Hopefully you get it sorted out and as far as using the Green Mountain to smoke sticks or sausage is concerned, you can do it but you will have to play with it a little (propping the lid open) to get the temps low enough for the beginning of the cooking process. But what I really like about it is it’s so easy to use and control and if you buy the grill grates for when you are just grilling it will sear the meat.

sbtech I have a Masterbuilt 30 smoker and have made snack sticks, salami and summer sausage in it with no problems. As far as the Green Mountain goes, I have the Daniel Boone Prime w/Wifi model and bought the grill grates for it and it works great. With those grates on there you can sear your meat with no problem at all. If you can buy a Green Mountain in your area I highly recommend them, since I bought mine I tend to grill a little more often than I did prior. It is just so easy, it takes maybe 10-15 minutes to get up to temp once you turn it on and with the Wifi I can check the meat while sitting in my recliner.

bcompton53 I have the Weston 20 lb mixer that Walton’s sells and it works perfectly for 8-10 lb batches. The least amount I’ve been able to successfully mix is about 6 lbs and the most I’ve mixes is 15 lbs. I very rarely make a 25 lb batch of sausage but when I do it is usually a Fresh sausage and I don’t need my mixer for that. Hope this helps.

Another good choice if it is still around is Thunderbird or Night Train.

Mad dog 20/20

RON PARRISH Nice bird.

I love the Greek Cyclops, I’ve used it on beef, pork and venison. A couple others I use often are the Red Wine Pepper marinade and the Butter flavored roast beef pump.

Joe Hell I usually mix fresh sausage by hand as well, you just need to mix long enough for the seasoning (and water if you add some) to be thoroughly mixed in. Anything beyond that is too long.