Retired157

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ND Mike

Thanks! Stay Safe! I did 8yrs in the Air Force, 24yrs with the GFPD, and about 10yrs as an investigator with the state… Retirement is the best gig I’ve had.

johnsbrewhouse

Hey John… check out my 'Home away from Home. Built this myself while I was on the department in anticipation of ‘hunting’ my retirement away. I have 20 acres that borders National Forest… remote! She operates on Solar & Propane. In the spring & summer, it’s a 45 minute drive from town. Winter access as you can see requires ‘tracks’ but it’s a hell of a lot more fun getting there!

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craigrice

Nope… no dogs; just a four leg’ed son! lol

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ND Mike

Hey Mike… I’m a retired cop & veteran.

Hey everyone, it has been just a little since I’ve been here. The last time I was here I received LOTS of good information from everyone with respect to me beginning my Summer Sausage ‘making’. One of the pieces of advice that I received was a piece of equipment… a PID. Now, I knew nothing about a PID and am no electrician but I began doing a bit of internet research and am happy to report… I learned something. So, I jumped into this ‘Smoker Upgrade’ full bore! I now have my Smoker fully equipped with all the bells & whistles. Additionally, I, after reading all the comments about the benefits of using a Sous Vide cooker, I also followed that lead. Here are some pics of what I have been up to and how I actually got to this point… the point where I should simply get to making some Summer Sausage!

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johnsbrewhouse

Ok John… as I sit here waiting on the mailman, I’ve been getting things laid out in the garage and running around town a little. Here’s my ‘stuff’ as I prepare for the big day tomorrow.

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Just trying to make sure that everything I will need is out where I can get to it. I have all the grinder parts in the freezer so they’ll be cold. Do I lube them before the freezer trick or after… ?

I’ve got all my meat out and thawing. I’ll watch it as the day goes on and put it in the refrigerator before it completely thaws… trying to keep it frosty.

Got my wood, Hickory, ready for the smoker when the time comes. I’m going to use those ‘disposable’ baking pans for water/humidity for the smoker. Went and got a couple of sponges to aid in the evaporation process; even ‘equipped’ them with two ‘wicks’ each… just thought it might help keeping that ‘upward’ draw. Here’s a pic…

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Yes; I even made myself a ‘fake’ SS… just trying to get the ‘fit’ right both here in the smoker and also my Sous Vide cooler cooker.

Just about ready to measure/weigh out my spices & additive’s. I have to run back to the store and grab two bags of ice; forgot that as I was out but hey, I did remember the beer!

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If you think I’m missing anything, speak up now or forever hold your beer!

johnsbrewhouse

Yes we do! Back when I first came to Montana, there were no rules on running 4wheelers & motorcycles in the NF but all that changed. Have to admit though… they may have done us all a favor! You put a set of tracks on your 4wheeler and you’ll see just how much fun a guy can have in the snow… awesome! My project for the cabin this year will be to get my shower house done.

So, you have ‘critters’ too I see. Do you run any trail cameras? I have ten standard cameras and one cell camera. It’s amazing to ‘see’ just what critters are out there. It’s addicting!

Here are a couple of ‘catches’ I got this past year…

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Hey everyone… looking for some help and review/suggestions. Disclaimer: I am NEW to smoking and have yet to make any Summer Sausage. That said, I have been reading all the postings you have been making with respect to ‘The Process’ of making Summer Sausage here on this site. Additionally, I have been watching about every ‘video’ I can find on the subject. Now I guess it’s time to ‘poo or get off the pot’. After all the research I have been doing, it’s pretty obvious that there’s NO ONE WAY of setting up a Cooking Schedule. So, I tried to come up with a Cooking Schedule from the various ‘schedules’ I’ve found out there. I’d appreciate any & all ‘critiques’… suggestions. My goal is to make Summer Sausage out of my venison & elk. The Cooking Schedule I am looking at following is as follows:

1hr @115F… Top/bottom vents open all the way
1hr @125F… Top vent @1/2- bottom vent @1/2
1hr @125F… Top vent @1/8 - bottom vent @1/2 - add humidity & smoke
1hr @140F… Top vent @1/8 -bottom vent @1/8 - (humidity & smoke)
2hrs @155F… Top/bottom vents closed - (humidity & smoke)
Remove and finish in a Sous Vide cooker… 3hrs @155F
Finish with a 1hr ice bath, 1hr @room temperature, refrigerate over night

I have a SmokinTex smoker that I have made a couple of modifications to that seemed ‘necessary’ for the smoking process. Here’s a pic…

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Guess that’s it… just need to know if I am on the right track or am I about to ‘kill’ myself doing something wrong.

stephenmterry

Hey no problem. First, I went with the Anova - 1000w - Sous Vide… so all my ‘measurements’ are specific for it. I bought cooker/cooler from Home Depot… 48quart Coleman. I also bought my Schedule 40 PVC from HD which I used to make/modify my cooler’s lid to hold the Anova. So, here goes…

First, I used 3" PVC for this modification. I bought one (2ft) section of 3"… they sell 2ft sections so you don’t have to buy a full length. Then, the only other thing I needed was a 3" cap… easy enough.

Next, thing I needed to do was ‘mark’ dead center (bottom) of my 3" cap. Then, using a 2-3/8" hole saw, I drilled out the cap… this hole now allows my Anova to slide in… nice & secure. After drilling this hole, I cleaned it up nicely with a rattail file.

With the hole done, I glued my 2ft length of 3" pipe in… all the way - bottom it out. You will note in the pic that in addition to gluing these parts together, I also used two sheet metal screws (small @1/2" - 180degrees out from each other) to ensure my two ‘pieces’ never come apart.

Then, I had to decide where I wanted to locate my Anova (its home) on the cooler/cooker lid… I went for that upper left location. This allows me to open & close the lid even with the Anova ‘in place’. A word of caution here… NEVER allow your Anova to be ‘ON’ and ‘removed’ (out) of the water. Apparently this is a sure fire way to burn up a Sous Vide cooker… so don’t open your lid with your Anova ‘On’.

Using a 3-5/8" hole saw (which I did have to buy @HD), I slowly & carefully cut the hole in the lid… it actually went/cut without any issues. Now, you are able to ‘feed’ the 3" pipe in from the side of the lid… be sure to bottom out the cap to the underside of the lid… NO Gap. From here, I had to decide just how much of the 3" pipe I actually was going to need ‘above’ the top side of the lid. I marked the pipe ‘flush’ to the lid and decided on I think… 1" higher. Now I marked & cut the pipe to length.

From here, I did not want my ‘creation’ to fall back into the cooler, so, with it fitted tight to the underside, I marked three spots on the pipe… @ ‘12’, ‘4’, and ‘8’. Then again using some small metal screws, 1/2" again, I screwed them in deep enough to hold but out enough to rest on top of the lid… now, the PVC ‘holder’ can’t be pulled up or pushed down… it’s secure!

Almost forgot… Pilot Holes are required to screw into the PVC

Now, you can see in the pic, I have a ‘slot’ cut in the back of the PVC pipe sticking out above the lid. This allows the Anova power cord to slide down to allow the Anova to be as low (down) as possible in the cooler/cooker. I wanted to make SURE that the Anova was always IN water and that it hung plenty ‘deep’… and it does!

From here, I used epoxy to seal/secure everything… top & bottom. Then I used silicon to ‘pretty’ things up.

You know that ‘black’ pipe insulation they sell for going around copper pipe (water heaters)… I had a piece of that laying around… 2". I cut a 1" piece off and it is a perfect fit/way to secure the Anova when in place… NO shake, rattle, or roll!

Done. Hope all that makes sense. I hope you have the pics you need. I tried ‘foaming’ the inside of the lid (spray can) for added insulation value as per a You Tube video. I found this to be a total waste of effort and NOT worth it… don’t do it. So yes, I had some additional holes to ‘seal’… wish I could do that over (or NOT OVER!)

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bocephus

Hey… any of you guys out there doing this for the first time and using this ‘forum’; hang on. You’ll get so much info you won’t know if you’re ‘coming or going’! Good news though, it’s all useful and you can develop your own “Working Guide”… courtesy of Papasop!

johnsbrewhouse

Yep… I bought a chamber sealer as well. I figured if I was going to take a life, deer or elk, I wanted to make sure that after processing it myself, it would be around long enough for me to enjoy.

Everything is measured out. Time for one more beer and then wait; in the morning, we ‘go’. By the way John… that was one hell of a ‘sealing’ job on that binder!

PapaSop

Thanks for all the advice & encouragement. Like anything else I guess, the ‘first time’ is always the hardest… ufda; lots just went through my head there! Guess the good news is this… I follow directions really well.

Hey… Thanks to everyone!

Time to bag up that binder…

samspade

Yep… I’ll guess I’ll end this ‘conversation’ tomorrow with some pics of what I made! Nothing like PRESSURE!

Bob Stehlik

I’m trying! I hope u r right.

johnsbrewhouse

10-4… afterwards it’ll be. I am all caught up now…

Look what I just got!

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Thanks buddy! As soon as I’m done with this beer, I’ll measure out this one last item… Summer Sausage here I come.

johnsbrewhouse

Ok John… as I sit here waiting on the mailman, I’ve been getting things laid out in the garage and running around town a little. Here’s my ‘stuff’ as I prepare for the big day tomorrow.

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Just trying to make sure that everything I will need is out where I can get to it. I have all the grinder parts in the freezer so they’ll be cold. Do I lube them before the freezer trick or after… ?

I’ve got all my meat out and thawing. I’ll watch it as the day goes on and put it in the refrigerator before it completely thaws… trying to keep it frosty.

Got my wood, Hickory, ready for the smoker when the time comes. I’m going to use those ‘disposable’ baking pans for water/humidity for the smoker. Went and got a couple of sponges to aid in the evaporation process; even ‘equipped’ them with two ‘wicks’ each… just thought it might help keeping that ‘upward’ draw. Here’s a pic…

/Users/Ron/Pictures/Ron’s Photos Library.photoslibrary/resources/renders/9/92A45C39-9270-40C0-9E95-EF54C0FD556A_1_201_a.jpeg

Yes; I even made myself a ‘fake’ SS… just trying to get the ‘fit’ right both here in the smoker and also my Sous Vide cooler cooker.

Just about ready to measure/weigh out my spices & additive’s. I have to run back to the store and grab two bags of ice; forgot that as I was out but hey, I did remember the beer!

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If you think I’m missing anything, speak up now or forever hold your beer!

johnsbrewhouse

Just checked now and it’s listed as ‘Out for Delivery’. Our mail usually arrives later afternoon so I think I will spend some time today ‘laying’ things out… organizing. My wife says she’s going to Lewistown today to see her girlfriend for a few days, so it would be a perfect time for me to get this Summer Sausage thing done… and have a beer! : )

I’ll keep you posted but it appears that the ‘time’ has come.