Page 1 of 192 1231151101 ... LastLast
Results 1 to 10 of 2009

Thread: What was your prep of the day?

Hybrid View

  1. #1
    Just this guy Inor's Avatar
    Join Date
    May 2014
    Location
    Fire land
    Posts
    12,644

    Ranks Showcase

    Thanks
    32,910
    Thanked 34,019 Times in 10,450 Posts

    What was your prep of the day?

    Every prepper site HAS to have a "prep of the day" thread. So I'll start one here.

    Last Sunday and Monday I tried out a new recipe for venison sausage and broke in my new propane smoker. Both worked out better than I had hoped. So now we have another 15 pounds of venison sausage in the freezer!

    BTW: For any of you guys that are meat-heads and into making sausage, I found that using a 50/50 mix of bourbon and water, instead of just water for mixing in the spices gives it a really nice smokey flavor throughout the meat. I used Maker's Mark because that is what I had on hand. I do not know how cheap bourbon would work. But I expect it would be fine since all of the alcohol is cooked off during smoking; what we are after is the "aged" flavor that comes from aging it in the casks.

  2. The Following 6 Users Say Thank You to Inor For This Useful Post:

    bigwheel (04-30-2021),Gambit (05-28-2016),Just Sayin' (05-29-2014),Kfilly (03-24-2018),Mister Mills (05-07-2019),RWalls (05-29-2014)

  3. #2
    ədˈminəˌstrātər RWalls's Avatar
    Join Date
    Jan 2014
    Location
    Roswell, GA
    Posts
    2,577

    Ranks Showcase

    Thanks
    1,266
    Thanked 2,685 Times in 1,171 Posts
    Blog Entries
    1
    Bought some ASE today.
    Admin for the BEST gun site on the web! WELCOME TO THE OTP!

  4. #3
    Dinky Dau Just Sayin''s Avatar
    Join Date
    May 2014
    Location
    Mississippi
    Posts
    557
    Thanks
    232
    Thanked 408 Times in 220 Posts
    The hardest thing I've found about getting my venison sausage right is the ratio of fat to lean meat and how the temperature can affect that. My smoker has to be constantly tended to to keep the temp in the 170-180 range, so I typically start mine in the oven and then finish it on the smoker.

    My prep today was putting 4 cases of beans, flour, and quick oats into the supply from the LDS Store. The highlight today was explaining to my daughter all the different reasons we might need such a supply. And the icing on the cake, was when she went to the pantry to get some mac & cheese, and someone had used the last of it, pulling some out of our backups. I think she understands a little better now.

  5. The Following 3 Users Say Thank You to Just Sayin' For This Useful Post:

    bigwheel (06-24-2021),longrider (12-25-2014),MrsInor (05-29-2014)

  6. #4
    Just this guy Inor's Avatar
    Join Date
    May 2014
    Location
    Fire land
    Posts
    12,644

    Ranks Showcase

    Thanks
    32,910
    Thanked 34,019 Times in 10,450 Posts
    Quote Originally Posted by Just Sayin' View Post
    The hardest thing I've found about getting my venison sausage right is the ratio of fat to lean meat and how the temperature can affect that. My smoker has to be constantly tended to to keep the temp in the 170-180 range, so I typically start mine in the oven and then finish it on the smoker.
    I use at least 20% fat by weight. Then I also leave them in the fridge for 12-24 hours after I have stuffed them but before I smoke them. But, try the bourbon trick. It is awesome!

    I know what you are saying on tending the smoker. My big wood smoker has to be constantly baby sat. I have also found that it is MUCH easier to control the smoker temp, when the outside temp is 40 degrees rather than 80. The final test of the new smoker is tomorrow. I am doing ribs. I do not expect there will be a middle ground with how they turn out either. They will either be as good as the Commissary place you took me to when I was in Memphis last spring or they will suck worse than Dickies.
    Last edited by Inor; 05-30-2014 at 12:29 AM.

  7. #5
    Dinky Dau Just Sayin''s Avatar
    Join Date
    May 2014
    Location
    Mississippi
    Posts
    557
    Thanks
    232
    Thanked 408 Times in 220 Posts
    Quote Originally Posted by Inor View Post
    I use at least 20% fat by weight. Then I also leave them in the fridge for 12-24 hours after I have stuffed them but before I smoke them. But, try the bourbon trick. It is awesome!

    I know what you are saying on tending the smoker. My big wood smoker has to be constantly baby sat. I have also found that it is MUCH easier to control the smoker temp, when the outside temp is 40 degrees rather than 80. The final test of the new smoker is tomorrow. I am doing ribs. I do not expect there will be a middle ground with how they turn out either. They will either be as good as the Commissary place you took me to when I was in Memphis last spring or they will suck worse than Dickies.
    I've found that it's not only the fat content (by percentage), but what kind of fat you use. Our local grocery store will save all the pork trimmings and that has worked the best, but we also use bacon ends occasionally. You're right about the outside temperature affecting how easy or hard it is to regulate the smoking temp. Another aspect that I've found to affect the quality of the sausages is the grind of the meat and the fat. Courser grinds and grinding the fat at almost freezing temps seems to produce the best summer sausages, while the "snack sticks" seem to do better with a little finer grind.

    Ribs are hard to cook consistently, period. They always either turn out fall apart in your mouth good or like an old Cocoran boot sole. I'm beginning to believe that size matters when you talk about grill size and ribs. Let us know how yours turned out...

  8. #6
    Just this guy Inor's Avatar
    Join Date
    May 2014
    Location
    Fire land
    Posts
    12,644

    Ranks Showcase

    Thanks
    32,910
    Thanked 34,019 Times in 10,450 Posts
    Quote Originally Posted by Just Sayin' View Post
    I've found that it's not only the fat content (by percentage), but what kind of fat you use. Our local grocery store will save all the pork trimmings and that has worked the best, but we also use bacon ends occasionally. You're right about the outside temperature affecting how easy or hard it is to regulate the smoking temp. Another aspect that I've found to affect the quality of the sausages is the grind of the meat and the fat. Courser grinds and grinding the fat at almost freezing temps seems to produce the best summer sausages, while the "snack sticks" seem to do better with a little finer grind.
    You are absolutely right. When we use either bacon ends or rendered bacon fat, they always turn out great. Using fat from a port roast is a challenge. We do usually grind our meat with a fine grind, but we also grind it semi-frozen. That seems to work well for pork and venison. Beef, on the other hand seems to come out "gritty". I.E. It has the consistency of eating gravel. I have not found a solution for that yet. What do you do?

    Quote Originally Posted by Just Sayin' View Post
    Ribs are hard to cook consistently, period. They always either turn out fall apart in your mouth good or like an old Cocoran boot sole. I'm beginning to believe that size matters when you talk about grill size and ribs. Let us know how yours turned out...
    Okay, I was wrong again... I said the ribs would turn out either absolutely awful or "out of this world, I will do crime to get one more, stupendous". They did neither. They tasted great. But that was more a function of Mrs Inor's brine and her dry rub. (I will try and coax her to post the recipes.) In terms of consistency, I like ribs that are not fall off the bone mushy, but I also do not like shoe leather. These did not hit either of those. But... I also like ribs that are firm and pull easily away from the bone in one chew. I did not hit that either.

    I think I heated them too high, too early. I smoked them at 170 (about the lowest my propane smoker can go) for about an hour. Then, I brought the smoker up to 200 for and hour. Then, I brought the smoker to 220 for and hour. Then I turned smoker off and left ribs in it for an hour, before finishing on grill.

    In all, they were not awful. But I have done better. I think next time I will try 170 for 2 hours then 200 for an hour, and sit for an hour. They were far from dry and awful, but they were not really good either.

    Guess I'll just have to practice more...

  9. #7
    Dinky Dau Just Sayin''s Avatar
    Join Date
    May 2014
    Location
    Mississippi
    Posts
    557
    Thanks
    232
    Thanked 408 Times in 220 Posts
    Quote Originally Posted by Inor View Post
    You are absolutely right. When we use either bacon ends or rendered bacon fat, they always turn out great. Using fat from a port roast is a challenge. We do usually grind our meat with a fine grind, but we also grind it semi-frozen. That seems to work well for pork and venison. Beef, on the other hand seems to come out "gritty". I.E. It has the consistency of eating gravel. I have not found a solution for that yet. What do you do?
    I can't help you there, Bud. I have not done anything with beef, only pork and venison. If I had to guess, I would think that it more a matter of the cut of beef, but I really don't know. Maybe adding a tenderizer?

  10. #8
    Little Miss Chatterbox
    Join Date
    Dec 2014
    Location
    Fort Worth, TX
    Posts
    1,056

    Ranks Showcase

    Thanks
    1,511
    Thanked 1,433 Times in 679 Posts
    Its easy to figure out. For every pound of Bambi's Mama you got add a pound of pork butt. That is the shoulder but now they call it all kinds of odd things. Then do what you want. lol

  11. #9
    VIP Member!
    Join Date
    May 2014
    Location
    Arizona
    Posts
    497

    Ranks Showcase

    Thanks
    463
    Thanked 950 Times in 342 Posts
    Finished canning twenty pint jars of split pea soup and 4 jars of ham.

  12. The Following 2 Users Say Thank You to MrsInor For This Useful Post:

    bigwheel (04-30-2021),Broncosfan (07-25-2021)

  13. #10
    Little Miss Chatterbox
    Join Date
    Dec 2014
    Location
    Fort Worth, TX
    Posts
    1,056

    Ranks Showcase

    Thanks
    1,511
    Thanked 1,433 Times in 679 Posts
    Sounds yummy.

Page 1 of 192 1231151101 ... LastLast

Posting Permissions

  • You may not post new threads
  • You may not post replies
  • You may not post attachments
  • You may not edit your posts
  •