Just banged out 60# of Black Run venison sticks (20# plain, and 40# with habanero powder and pepper jack cheese), 25# each of habanero brats, holly breakfast, mild italian, and blue ribbon with cheddar. Smoked sticks and breakfast and finished in turkey fryer water bath. Made up some label from a wine bottle label template for the finish.

If any of you follow my posts I CONSTANTLY complaining about manual meat mixing, meat mixers that break…blah blah blah…so this weekend I think I found the answer. My brother in law came through in a big way!!! Got this beauty as a belated Christmas present, Hobart A200 mixer and it even came with the Hobart cart!!! I can’t wait to cram 25# of meat in this and watch it extract some serious protein!!! So pumped!!!

Jonathon Austin :man_raising_hand_medium-light_skin_tone: How can we have so many awesome people on this wonderful community and have the worst emoji’s ever!?! There isn’t even a sausage…how can I get my message clearly across to my meatgistics brethren without proper selection of emojis…just sayin’ haha apparently emoji isn’t spelled with an “i” …:face_with_tears_of_joy: :face_with_tears_of_joy:

Jonathon Joe Hell Wait till I get the Hobart mixer officially into the rotation and you’ll get to see a sweet video of a Weston 44 mixer packed with Tannerite!!!

Just because you’re paranoid doesn’t mean they aren’t after ya!!!

Joe Hell There is something about fire that meat just likes…

Jonathon
I’m going to take the 20# and 44# mixers out back and put them down!

This weekend was the dawn of a new day, pretty sure the earth stopped rotating for a split second here in ROC yesterday. I used the Hobart A200 mixer for the first time on a test batch. GAME CHANGER!!! I started hand mixing like everyone else and up through every mixer known to man with limited success becuase I like making sticks with cure in them and it turns to cement quickly. So I was able to score this mixer for free and knowing what I know now, I would have dropped $1,000 on one a while ago, even before upgrading the grinder. I’m not sure I’ll be able to keep up stuffing the big batches with this thing running behind me! I know they aren’t cheap but if you do any volume at all this truly is a game changer! #hindsightis20/20

I know this thread started something about working opening day…so my trigger guys have been busy here in Western NY. This is #8 to hit the cooler, it’s been cold here so we haven’t used the new walkin cooler much but did come in handy for early archery. So far we have a 10 point dressed out at 156# in the lead this year. Clubhouse record was last year a 12 point dressed out at 192#, that thing was a beast! Goal is to process 25 this year. Now that gun season is open they’ll be dropping like flies soon enough. May seem like a lot but we never tag out. Our deer management region is in the high rent district so not much hunting pressure so we get a ton of tags. Just trying to thin the herd before winter hits!

Tex_77 Jonathon That’s because I have them all!

Tex_77 Uh no…I’m not mature enough to own a piece of pottery that big…I would be in pieces in the driveway before I knew what happened. If I do pellet it will be a Weber. Bit of a Weber fanboy.

KenfromMI It’s all a function of time and temp, search the videos and meatgistics for thermal processing. You’ll want them at least 155F then into some cold water shower to quickly stop the carry over cooking process. You’ll end up north of 160F before it will start to drop. Then into the fridge. I would review the water bath or sous vide processing tips to shorten the cycle time. Save yourself some time on the learning curve.

pr0wlunwoof We used a #32 grinder that my dad put a flywheel pulley on and belt drive to an electric motor that was on a plate with a hinge. Plug in the motor, tighen a C clamp to add tension and the grinder would go to work. Well…that thing was scary! i could fit my whole hand in the throat as a kid so we were “instructed” in the “safe” operation…drop the meat into the grinder…it became a game for my brother and I to see how high we could drop it from…kids… That looks like a very nice safety feature!

Ok folks need some help here…I have a Weber Smokey Mountain that i use a BBQ Guru PartyQ to regulate the temp on and it does a great job. Here’s the dilemma, I have a Weber Summitt Charcoal and I’d like to use a Guru on it but I’m TERRIFIED to go drilling a hole in the side of the double walled kettle. Anyone out there using one on a weber summitt?

Tex_77 Should have taken a swing for $100… the grinder head is usually on the left side and there would be an “L” off the end where the grinder head would attach. This model doesn’t have it.

Sad day today fellas…Got some stuff going on and I’m thining the herd… The PK 100 hit to road…It was a great piece just don’t have space and I love my WSM too much to part with that… Going to a good home and I made a new friend today Art, the owner of Lento’s restaurant in Rochester.

PapaSop We have a 40 year old 10" Hobart I wouldn’t trade it for the world…That this is a beast! Scary part, it doesn’t even have a switch!!! WTH…I wear a chainlink cut glove when i run it. Terrifying but awesome!

All I can say is when Temple Of the Dog is on the playlist or Christmas Vacation is on tv while we make sticks they just come out better…

Not long enough…

That’s what we use now. I’d like to lay the sticks flat because they bend trying to keep them vertical.