@Jonathon
Just watched a sausage making video and wanted to get your opinion on when to add the spice pack. Last year I changed from adding spice then water to the meat in the mixer to making a slurry, mixing water and spices, then adding it to the meat. My brother likes to mix the spice into the chunks of meat before he grinds. I don’t think i’ve seen a difference other than the spice seems to suck up the water and I’m thinking that it allows more liquid to stay in the meat. Of course i have no scientific reason or proof. I’m interested to see if others have tried it different ways?

@gadahl
I’m telling you give the water finish a try you won’t be disappointed! I know it sounds odd but it really does work, we’ve been doing it that way for decades. You’ll like this one, just talked to my brother about simmering temp, he says 170F. He remembers one farmer telling him the water was hot enough when you don’t want to put your hand in it for a third time…First time-not that hot, second time-that’s hotter than i though, third time-why did i do this again! He said he temped the water with a thermometer 171F…Just to show old school still has a place. He remembers the farmer said 170F was the perfect temp to de-feather chickens, scald hogs, or whatever else you were doing. Gotta love it, just wish we would have paid more attention, who knew…

@gadahl
My only other piece of advice is don’t give up! I promise it will be worth the effort and time of figuring it out. One thing I’ve learned on this board it there isn’t only one right way…I’ve have the benefit of seeing and doing over the past 45 years, at this point we just try to polish the process. I struggle with “modern” methods, like carrot fiber, I’ve been handed down recipes that have stood the test of time and i’m reluctant to change them. We’ve always simmered the ring bologna to finish them. We always did it on a wood stove, no temp control, you’ll learn how to do it be “feel” and it will become second nature. Don’t overthink, don’t stress yourself out, this is supposed to be fun! We always mixed by hand, but now use a 44# weston hooked up to the grinder, i don’t even give mixing a second thought, i can just sort of tell when it ready. You might also want to make sure you are resting the bologna overnight before smoking so it will bloom. Then smoke one stick at a time until you get the smoking process down. Good luck and if you need any help you can always send me a PM, i’ll help any way i can.

@gadahl
If you’re using 2.4" casings 10 hours is way too long to be in the smokehouse, not a surprise that it fatted out on you. Seems like you’re mixing the meat enough, i’m questioning your thermometer at this point. Have you calibrated it or confirmed it-put it in ice water should be 32F, if not that would be my next step. Or start checking at different points in the meat or different sticks, may have a cold/hot spot in the smoker. Once you get to 4 hours the meat isn’t going to take more smoke, I’d recommend simmering them in water-like a turkey fryer to finish them just keep the water at 180F, not a boil, it will have the same effect. Good luck!

Sitting at the beach on vacation my mind has time to wander…when you’re done stuffing give them a good twist to compact the meat. I’ve also give up on string tying I use zip ties and yes I wash them most of the time. We have zip tie loops that we’ll zip tie to the casings, makes hanging so much easier then just reuse the loops. That should help with the shrinkage issue.

You may not have stuffed them enough. Sometimes it hard to stuff the larger casings and if it’s not tight the may cause the shrinking during the cooling process. Those cases are extremely durable don’t be afraid to stuff them.

Save your money and don’t spend a dime on that machine. I got the Weston #22 1.5hp pro series and it’s worrh every penny. Walton’s carries and sharpens every size plate and blade. Not the throw away ones from big box stores. Keep in mind they supply processors so you are getting pro level equipment. Buy with confidence!!!

What are you going to be using it for? And how many pounds do you see yourself doing it one time that will make a big difference. Sounds like you might want to try buffalo chopper.

@Jonathon
I picked this method of linking randomly on youtube, I really didn’t think any further ahead than I wanted to learn how to hand link. But it works very well because it locks them together, from smoking to boiling. Just a stroke of luck, not be design! Great finds are when you stumble into something looking for something else!

@jonathon
Close… I don’t pull the strand through. Just pull the loop in and take the rest of the strand up the back side so it makes a cradle and locks them together. I’ll see if I can find the video.