Howdy, folks. New user here from Houston, TX.

My experience in meat processing is mostly with wild game. My family has been processing down our own deer for decades. I also grew up on a cattle ranch and we run a small flock of sheep as well, so we butcher a sheep or two a year. We use a local processor for all of our beefs.

TBD determined on my favorite seasoning. Ordered quite a few different ones already to stock up for hunting season. Can’t wait to try them and report back.

The smoker I use is the Camp Chef XXL Vertical Pellet.

Jerky (deer) and sticks (duck) went really well over the weekend! Ended up going with Habanero BBQ for the sticks.

Tex_77 I am pretty late to this thread but wanted to put some feedback on this comment.

My grandmother has a recipe for what she calls “One Day Pickles”. It is one of those recipes that is written on an index card and there is no telling when this thing was put on paper.

Her recipe calls for green grapes (unripe) and grape leaves. We have a ton of wild grapes that grow like wildfire in our part of Texas. We call them Mustang grapes. My mother still puts up quite a few jars of these pickles per that old recipe when the grape vines start to produce. We also put up a ton of mustang grape jelly every year.

I did not know the function of the leaves in the recipe, but your comment about the crispness makes complete sense. These recipe does produce a distinct crispness versus dill pickles.

scott farm I tried to get on the waterfowl jerky bandwagon but it has not stuck. I think the texture just does not quite get to where I want it, so now we snack stick most of the birds. If they did not take a lot shot damage to the breasts, we will keep the fat on and breast out pintails, gadwalls, mallards, etc.

We jerky a lot of venison though, so that also factors in to why we snack stick the birds.

lkrfletcher that looks great!

Less concerned using the OAs with the snack sticks. I do not have a chamber sealer but I am always very particular about having everything very flat with the sticks so that I get a really good vac and seal.

Chef I am planning on smoking the jerky to dry and temp it. In my experience it is always a little tougher to get that nice “air pocketless” vac and seal with jerky due to the rigidity in the meat sometimes.

I also saw the OAs on the Walton’s website and thought that may be a good thing to have for these things.

Chef lkrfletcher also, I am planning on doing close to 25 lbs. of jerky next weekend, so if anyone thought it would be a good additive, I have this week to get it in from Walton’s.

badfire2625 I would agree with you. That first bite really gets after you but it really adds a lot to the sausage once you kind of ease in. I also do not find it to be a unbearable, make you sweat kind of hot.

TexLaw keend0 my plan was to definitely use the cooking liquid to go back into the product. Thanks for the input. I think I’ll start at 25% and edit on another run in the future if need be.

My only worry is getting a bland sausage with going in blind on the salt content. But I think I will go lighter on the rice for the first batch as well as a trial to try and combat that.

processhead good question since they are so different haha.

It will be wild duck breast meat.

Looking for tips and guidance on making boudin.

I am going to be utilized skinless duck (so no fat from that protein) and most likely chicken livers.

What percentage of fat should I use? I will be using pork backfat.

It looks like the Excaliber Boudin seasoning is well liked, but do I season the meat with it prior to cooking, or in the final step when mixing all of the rice and meats/veggies together?

Is there a breakdown of the seasoning somewhere on the website? I would like to see how much salt is contained in the seasoning pack.

badfire2625 I would agree with you. That first bite really gets after you but it really adds a lot to the sausage once you kind of ease in. I also do not find it to be a unbearable, make you sweat kind of hot.

What is the heat level difference between the Ghost Pepper Hi Temp Cheese and the Hot Pepper Hi Temp Cheese?

I just made a batch of elk summer sausage using H Seasoning and the Ghost Pepper and it was very good, but I could see how some may not want that much spice. For my buddy and I, I would say it is right on the nose for the spice level we were looking for.

Just wanting to see if Hot Pepper is still too hot for some people you would consider intolerant to spiciness.

TexLaw I’m right next you. Live just south of the Galleria but just north of Bellaire!

erich52 may try the cheese on the next batch of HBBQ. I do not think the flavor is hot on its own. It has a little back end kick, but I think the sweetness probably offsets a little of that heat.

Jerky (deer) and sticks (duck) went really well over the weekend! Ended up going with Habanero BBQ for the sticks.

Chef I’m sure y’all have those wild grapes growing around Sealy as well.

Tex_77 per the card:

5 garlic pods
4 hot peppers
3 onions
6 green grapes
3 grape leaves
2 TBS of pickling spice

6 cups of water
1 1/2 cup of vinegar
1/2 cup of salt

These typically do not get sealed the way we do it. We reuse those old, big dill pickle jars and throw the lid back on and put in the fridge.