Posts made by no_eyes_processor

I am truly touched by the reception of my podcast with Jonathan and Austin. Thanks to all. Not totally sure on how to post and all. I saw a message by Tex77 about the andouille and stuffing it into the casing. I use either the .5 inch or the .75 inch plate to grind the meat. If you perfer you can cube it into 1/4 inch cubes but that takes me for ever. I use larger than normal casing. I think like 42 milimeter casing and a Waltons 11 pound stuffer. I have no problem getting it stuffed and hung. Just working with the temps, smoke schedule, and taking notes to that when I get it right I can duplicate. Boston butt is relatively inexpenssive to experiment with. I’ll get it right one day. Again thanks to all for kind remarks on the podcast.

Ok, I purchased the pk100 about 2 months ago. I made bacon and all went well. I attempted traditional andouille today. First I have a meater thermometer. It just stopped working. Tried pairing with other devices and no luck. Not even the light on the meater plus is working. Next I moved on and used a grilleye pro. I inserted a probe on one of the racks and one in a link of andouille. All was well until I got above 130 or 140. The smoker said the temp was 130 132 133 so I wasn’t to concerned. I then tried to go up to 155 and couldn’t get that to happen unless I switched the wattage to 1250. I still havbe the andouille in the smoker as of 8:12 P.M. Product has been in the smoker since about 11:00 A.M. this morning. Just checked the temp with the switch on low and I am around 150, thats what the grilleye says. Not sure where the wattage should be increased from 625 to 1250 degrees. Then there is the andouille, it should be a sort of dry sausage. Mine seems to be moister than it should be. I obviously have a lot of questions about the pk100 and the product I am trying to make. IF there is anyone out there that can help I would totally appreciate it. I do have difficulties using the meatgistics site with screen reading software and braille. I’d really like to get all of this figured out. A phone call, email exchange would be great. That would illeminate the difficulty in posting to meatgistics. Wouldn’t even mind if the emails and questions were posted, just difficult to navigate to post, read posts and respond.

I am ordering the pk100. It is on back order from what I can find on the Waltons Inc. site. I am not sure how to go about ordering it. There is something about whether a lift gate is needed and if it is business or residential. Which options do I select? It is a residential delivery. Which carrier brings it and do they take it off the truck for you or what? Anyone who has ordered or who knows, any info would be totally appreciated. Thanks!! ALso happy new Year to all.I got the pk100 in last week. My son and I assembled and what a nice smoker it is. DIdn’t get to use it because we were moving my son out of his house. REally well built and neat the way the product screens are held. On the youtube video Jonathan mentions not scrubbing the walls. Jonathan do you take the screen holders and clean them or do you just leave it in and clean the drip pan and bottom of the smoker? I can’t wait to rry the pk100 out if it works as good as it is built I will be totally satisfied.

Well I received my PK100 yesterday. I am hel[ping my son move and won’t get to unpack and assemble for a week or 2. I am reading what ever I can from where ever I can to decide what will be the first thing I smoke. Being totally blind and all I chose the PK100. Every where on youtube I read about stick burnters. That isn’t an option for me since I can’t see to control the fire. Most say it’s the only way to go. I will either try pulled pork or brisket first. Can’t wait to contribute to the community.

lkrfletcher I am by no means an expert. I would have bumped the temp on the pk100 to about 225. I’d spray the butts with apple juice after wrapping them in foil. I use the grill eye pro and set a target temp and drink beer or take a long nap. They should eventually be done and the closed foil with the apple juice will keep them from drying out.

Caught up on reading some of the posts. Burboun is usually my drink of choice. I decided on the pk100 and went to order it. It’s out of stock and won’t be back until January. I waited this long what’s a few more weeks. I figure my first love is smoking and I’ll let the bgqing to others. As said before I totally appreciate everyone helping in the group. This weekend it’s tamales and sausage making. The sausage will be green onion and the second kind will be pickled jalapenos with pepper jack cheese. The second is a big hit with my wife and my nephew. I am also wanting to smoke some chickens for the traditional Christmas Eve gumbo. Any ideas on time and temp? I always seem to take them out way to early and they are ok but could be better. Thanks again to all and here’s to hoping everyone has a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year.

TexLaw So since I’ve never seen, the smoke taste is there, just not the color?

There seems to be a new camp chef that is a vertical smoker. I have read the replies and it seems to me like the pk100 is for me. I like the lower temperature. I will be making my own traditional cajun andouille if I ever get the process correct. Smoke sausage, andouille, snack sticks, ham, jerky and probably smoked chicken from time to time. I like being able to hang sausage and andouille and I also like the fact that the pk100 is what I would consider a premium smoker where the camp chef is considered an economy smoker. Since I can’t see, I much rather low and slow over get it done. That’s why cajun cooking lends itself perfectly to blind people. Chinese cooking as well as others is about cooking fast and usually the faster you cook the hotter the fire. Using an occational finger to check doness is forgiving if the temp is lower. Thanks to all, I do agree with Jonathon. THis is a great group of people. Everyone has been supportive and for that I am very greatful.

I took the opportunity to checkout some reviews and info online about the camp chef smoker that Jonathon mentioned in new products. Seems ok but the differences that stuck out to me is that the camp chef starts at 150 degrees. It does however go up to 350 degrees where the pk stopf at I think 250. The camp chef is not insolated and isn’t stainless steel where the pk is. The use of pellets seems to be easier that the extra fine wood chips and the wifi option on the camp chef is a great idea. Tottom line you have to decide if the camp chef or the pk 100 will meet your specific needs. I for 1 am more unsure as to what I really want to do. At a third of the price I just don’t know. I wish I were like Jonathon and could test both. I’ve been wanting the pk100 for as long as I have been shopping with Walton’s inc.

Got a few comments back on andouille. The first batch I made a few weeks was great. I gave it a shot yesterday. Since I am blind I didn’t know but my wife told me that the andouille wasn’t dark ibn color like the successful one was. This batch didn’t dry out, they stayed soft and there was a large amount of grease on the outsides. I used oak, pecan, and hickory and they really didn’t pick up the smoke taste that well. I misread an email that was sent and didn’t get them to 153 degrees as was suggested in the email. I can’t help but wonder if the extra time and heat wouldn’t fix the problems I had. Maybe I rushed things. Good thing is that it was from some pork that I got for .99 cents a pound. SO nothing but time and wood chips was wasted. I used the grill eye pro to keep track of the temp as I did before. I am learning that you shouldn’t try smoking projects when you are limited on time. I’m also going to purchase the pk100, probably before the week ends.

I smoked andouille Sunday. I used beef middle casing. THe temp was in the 60’s and it was raining. I used sure gel and the amount of water that is used in snack sticks. I started at 120 degrees and went up 10 degrees each hour. I got the internal temp up to 132 and had the temp of the master built smoker at like 180. I waited for over an hour and the temp wouldn’t rise. I took the andouille links out after about 6 hours in the smoker and finished in the oven because the middle of the sausage didn’t seem done enough and my wife said the color wasn’t dark enough. They didn’t look the same as a successful batch I did a few weeks ago. Any ideas on what could have happened?

I viewed the video on youtube for tinder jerky. I noticed that sugar was used to make the jerky tinder. It seems like a lot of sugar. Won’t that change the tasee of the final product? Also, Jonathon says to use a tumbler. I don’t have one so I was thinking about putting the jerky in a vacuum bag over night. Will this help? Just a note, I don’t care how jerky is, tough or not. My wife and others rather it not be tough.

On October 24 I made traditional andouille sausage and smoked it. It came out perfect. On October 31 I tried to duplicate it again. Same process and grind as before but this time shen you slice the andouille the meat falls out of the casing. I used beef middle casing and tried to follow the same smoke schedule. In places andouille is made just as sausage is. The product that you purchase in La. for the most part has chopped boston butt rather than ground. I used the plate that goes on my #32 drinder. The plate has 8 holes. Like I said the first time perfect the last time no so perfect. Still tastes good but just not right. ANy thoughts or ideas for next time?

Just wanted to let all who assisted with the pk100 questions know I have a few exciting solutions. There is always asking for sighted assistance to set the temperature. I found 2 other solutions. With the iphone, there are apps (seeing a i and be my eyes.) These are like face time. You call the number and get a sighted person to read the display on the smoker. The use of the meater thermometer will work too. Just one q2uestion, I’d like to have multiple probes in the smoker, with the way that the pk100 is made, can the wires on the grill eye pro thermometer be passed through while the door is closed or is this not a good idea?

Thanks for the info Jonathon. I’m not going to let the temp thing stand in my way. I do have the meater thermometer that I purchased from walton’s inc. I’ll just use the app on my iphone and adjust according to the reading of the ambient temp. While doing this I will just have to keep in mind that the temp can vary from what the unit is set on. It’s workable. I don’t want to give up getting a quality smoker just for this problem. I appreciate everyones patience. There may be times that someone is around and I can always ask but knowing what I am up against I can be prepared. Thanks again.

I was talking to some of my friends and the discussion came up that as people who lack vision it is up to us to express our needs and our need for independence. When asking for information about the pk100 smoker I failed to do this. I went back and read the answers that were provided. I have narrowed things down to 1 request for information. Since I am unable to see the display on the pk100 I need to know, after pressing the set button twice, the up and down buttons are then pressed. When these buttons are pressed, does the smoker go up to 250 and wrap around from 60 and up again? or does it stop at 60 and you can’t go down any more. An example of this is, my sous vide cooker starts at the temp of the water. If you hold the up button down it goes up. When it reaches the maximum temp it starts at 100 again. Given this situation I cannot use the cooker without sighted help and I have to give up my independence and ask for help which is something I absolutely hate to do.
I debone and grind my own meat, mix and stuff my own sausage, package label and freeze my creations. I also cure, smoke and slice my own bacon. The reason I mention all of this that some how some way if the pk100 can be used by blind with yall help I will make it happen Sorry for the long post

Ok so Waltons Inc. has the wood sawdusts that I need. Now the wife wants to know if there is a way to hang sausage and smoke sticks in the pk100. Being that I am totally blind I have heard Jonathon and Austin speak about hanging on smoke sticks. Which ones are needed for the pk100 and where do they go? Again I know this is an easy question but not seeing pictures don’t work. Any help is appreciated. ALso, I asked a few questions about the pk100 to Jonathon and he answered. I now have another and wonder if anyone can help. THe smoker that I am using now starts at 100 degrees. When you unplug it and plug it back in it is at 100. How does the pk100 work? Does it go back to the lowest setting? Does it go to the last setting used? Can you press the down arrow repeatedly until it gets to the lowest setting? I need to know this since I will often be alone when using the smoker and really don’t like to ask for help unless totally necessary. I guess posts to the list are ok about this but if anyone would rather I can be reached by email at [email protected]. Again, any help is appreciated. One more thing, I made authentic cajun andouille last weekend and am trying andouille snack sticks this weekend. If they work I would be happy to share the recipe.

I was looking at the sawdust that is available for smoking. I found hickory and I think oak on another site. I haven’t found pecan though. I did find some pecan extra fine shavings. Can these be used? As mentioned in my post yesterday, the andouille turned out just as good as the real thing that we use in gumbos and jambalayas here in south east Louisiana.

I am getting ready to purchase the pk100. Probably within the next year. I made some killer andouille this weekend in the masterbuilt 30 inch smoker with the smoke generator. I am curious to know if the pk 100 will make a heavy smoke that is required to make true cajun andouille. I use 3 different types of wood, hickory, pecan, and oak to make the smoke for the andouille. The combination of wood is necessary to get the desired saste. The final product is very close to what is sold by a few local merchants.

Green onion sausage. Here in south Louisiana, there is a store that sells a mix for green onion sausage. It calls for 25 pounds of meat but I use a bit more and use the entire pack with 20 pounds of meat. Email me ag [email protected], I can probably send you a pack