Hi New Guys - Introduce Yourself

Talk about anything here as long as it is not against the rules.
User avatar
Bob K
Moderator
Moderator
Posts: 2232
Joined: Sun Jun 02, 2013 15:16
Location: Northwest Ct

Post by Bob K » Fri Apr 15, 2016 16:57

Do a Google search for smokehouse plans drum lots of ideas !!

By gas fumes do you mean from propane? bottled gas?
BlueMonkey
User
User
Posts: 57
Joined: Wed Apr 13, 2016 10:36
Location: Gold Coast

Post by BlueMonkey » Sat Apr 16, 2016 03:22

Thanks,

Yes, even if gas "burns" I believe it still leaves a residue, therefore Electric could be cleaner.

I have googled, and I have a fair idea of what i want to achieve, but I was hoping someone here may have already pioneered an answer.
User avatar
Butterbean
Moderator
Moderator
Posts: 1955
Joined: Mon Mar 05, 2012 04:10
Location: South Georgia

Post by Butterbean » Sat Apr 16, 2016 04:58

I use gas and have no issues. Its very easy to control the temp.
BlueMonkey
User
User
Posts: 57
Joined: Wed Apr 13, 2016 10:36
Location: Gold Coast

Post by BlueMonkey » Sat Apr 16, 2016 07:06

Thanks,

another issue is that I am looking at having it inside the drum, so only want to open to light.
Possibly could be an issue to monitor. Can you keep to reletively low temperatures? I was looking originally at a single cast iron ring that can hook straight up to a gas bottle ( via regulator of course).

Having the gas controller outside the drum via a 1.5in hole that I will seal up.

I was going to put a weber grate just above the smoke and heating parts via similar to a UDS rack with bolts, then a shovel full of gravel to spread the smoke and heat.

Feasable?
User avatar
beaker
Newbie
Newbie
Posts: 2
Joined: Fri Jan 13, 2017 01:48
Location: Leighton Buzzard

Hello!!

Post by beaker » Sat Jan 14, 2017 02:51

Hi all,
New member here. Like many, I've been lurking here for quite a long time on and off but only just joined.

I've had two of the Marianski books for a few years now "Home Production of Quality Meats and Sausages" and "Meat Smoking and Smokehouse Design" as well as some by other authors but not actually got around to making that many sausages! A situation I really must rectify soon!!

I'd love to do some cured sausages but haven't got the space for a drying chamber right now :sad:

I've made a fair bit of bacon and pancetta which always comes out very nice. I've even got around to oak smoking the last three batches of bacon which I've been very pleased with.

I was made redundant from my job as an Engineer/IT Manager just under 2.5 years ago and haven't managed to get a job as yet but I'm still applying! For the last 8 months or so I've also been developing an Android app for sausage batch calculations. I don't want to turn this into an advert for my app but if it's ok with the forum mods I'll give more details if people are interested.

Thanks
Marcus
Engineer, IT Guy, App developer and all sorts.
User avatar
redzed
Moderator
Moderator
Posts: 3852
Joined: Fri Apr 20, 2012 06:29
Location: Vancouver Island

Post by redzed » Sat Jan 14, 2017 17:56

Hi Marcus, welcome aboard. We are happy to have you join us. No problem with posting info about your app. There are those amongst us that use apps for everything :lol:, and will be interested in having a look at it. Many of us use excel to calculate the amounts and I also started doing that but have gone back to a notebook and a calculator. Once you understand how to work with grams and percentages all I need is a two dollar calculator. And a lot can be calculated using the head only.
User avatar
beaker
Newbie
Newbie
Posts: 2
Joined: Fri Jan 13, 2017 01:48
Location: Leighton Buzzard

Post by beaker » Sat Jan 14, 2017 20:00

Thanks for your warm welcome to the board redzed :smile:
Yes, I couldn't agree with you more regarding the use of grams and percentages. My app uses metric weights and percentages as for me it just makes more sense. I expect that it won't fit in with the way some people work but it would be difficult to make it completely universal. Hopefully you'll find it even easier than Excel or pen, paper & calculator. Once you've got your recipe/batch in there it extremely easy to enter a different batch weight or number of sausages req'd and it automatically calculates everything immediately.

The app is in public beta on Google Play at the moment so it might have some bugs but I think I've squashed most of them.

You can download the user guide here and get the app from Google Play here. There's a free version which has certain restrictions with an option to upgrade via an in-app purchase.

A quick rundown of the main features are:
  • Calculates fat% of meat mix (limited to 2 meats in free version. No limits in full version)
    Calculates ratio of meats to achieve a target fat%
    Enter additions such as rusk and water as percent of batch wt. App calculates weight of each addition.
    Enter seasonings as percent of batch wt. App calculates weight of each seasoning.
    Calculates approx number of sausages you'll get from a batch and length of casing req'd.
    Drive the calculations from total batch weight, a meat weight or number of sausages required.
    Save batches for later recall and editing.
    Create seasoning mixes and add these to a sausage recipe/batch. (full version only)
    Export batches and seasoning mixes to Excel format file for printing off etc.
I think that that pretty much covers it.
Obviously I'd like people to install it and hopefully find that they can't do without it and go for the upgrade :wink: I don't think it will make me rich but I hope I can at least make some money from it after the number of hours I've spent developing it!

Here are some of screenshots to whet your appetite :wink: :

Image Image Image Image
Thanks again.
Engineer, IT Guy, App developer and all sorts.
Sleebus
Frequent User
Frequent User
Posts: 138
Joined: Thu Jan 12, 2017 15:28
Location: Fulshear, TX

Howdy from a n00b!

Post by Sleebus » Mon Jan 16, 2017 14:42

Howdy!

Been lurking a little bit, bought Stanley's books first and have been doing some reading. Always have wanted to make sausage (must be my Polish heritage) but never have done it. Well, reading the books and site really lit the fire and I went out and bought a grinder and stuffer. This weekend, I cranked out my first 8# of sausage. Lots of good tips in those books and this site that kept me on the path to sausage righteousness.

The #8 LEM grinder worked great...better than I expected. Grinds fast, plenty of power. I'm impressed for $95. Went through 8# of meat as fast as I wanted to shove it in the hole. The 5# piston stuffer worked great too, made the stuffing fast and easy. Used natural casings, you know exactly what part of the pig they came from when you open the package.

Shelly wanted some Montana-style German sausage, so we went though her old regional cookbooks and I took one of the recipes and put it in excel so I could have it adjust automatically for the qty of meat used and also give measurements in grams for ease of use. Very simple recipe, 75% pork, 25% beef, salt, black pepper and garlic. I used a pork picnic for the pork and brisket point for the beef. I did include the brisket fat in the mix. It was a hard white fat and is generally pretty tasty coming from the brisket.

Recipe:
Pork 75%
Beef 25%
Salt 1.75%
Pepper 0.38%
Crushed Garlic 0.50%
Water 3.13%

And of course, the pics

Image

Image


After drying/blooming a bit...

Image

Looking even better off the grill. Great flavor for so few ingredients. Cooked on a pellet grill, so even cooking at 350° they got a little bit of smoke.

Image

Anyway, glad to be aboard here. I've been curing/smoking some small cuts like Canadian bacon, pork tenderloin and belly bacon. I've got parts and pieces on the way to make a small curing chamber from a large dorm fridge I'm not using...so that will be the next adventure! My wife and I just love cured meats, so this should be some more culinary fun for us. Coppa may be the first attempt from when I need to hack up a shoulder for sausage. I've got a harebrained idea that after I retire in ~10 years or so that I'm going to go into artisanal meat and sausage production. They always say the best way to ruin a hobby is to turn it into a business, so I guess I'll find out!
User avatar
redzed
Moderator
Moderator
Posts: 3852
Joined: Fri Apr 20, 2012 06:29
Location: Vancouver Island

Post by redzed » Tue Jan 17, 2017 05:15

Sleebus, thanks for great post and and a heartfelt welcome to our forum. You are among friends here, the best bunch of meatheads anywhere. :lol: Sausage making is, hands down, the best hobby anyone can have. It is a passion with unlimited possibilities and so much to learn and explore. Your friends will love you even more, and it beats the heck out of building birdhouses for a hobby. :grin:

Looks like you already have a good handle on the craft, that sausage looks delicious! And you did it the right way, starting off with the basic ingredients, instead of trying to smother it with a dozen spices.

Glad you joined us, don't hesitate to ask any questions, we will be happy to help in any way. And do give us progress reports as you hone your skills. In 10 years you will be master!
User avatar
Butterbean
Moderator
Moderator
Posts: 1955
Joined: Mon Mar 05, 2012 04:10
Location: South Georgia

Post by Butterbean » Tue Jan 17, 2017 06:31

Nice job Sleebus and welcome.
Sleebus
Frequent User
Frequent User
Posts: 138
Joined: Thu Jan 12, 2017 15:28
Location: Fulshear, TX

Post by Sleebus » Tue Jan 17, 2017 14:23

redzed wrote:And you did it the right way, starting off with the basic ingredients, instead of trying to smother it with a dozen spices.
Simple things can be very tasty, as well as complex things...but I get a bigger kick out of making something tasty with very few ingredients! For example, the drink "Mint Julep" -- It's just bourbon, mint and sugar. That's it. Not only that, but I'd never think to pair mint and bourbon, but it tastes amazing.

Not sure what sausage to make next, but likely will be a cured one from the Polish Sausage book. I'd like to get some in the smoker.
Butterbean wrote:Nice job Sleebus and welcome.
Thanks!
muxmun
User
User
Posts: 75
Joined: Thu Oct 01, 2015 02:23
Location: Oregon

Post by muxmun » Tue Jan 17, 2017 16:20

Welcome Sleebus. I'm kind of new here myself and there is just a ton of information and help here. Wish my fist try was like yours but I think I am getting better!!
Good job! :grin:
User avatar
StefanS
Passionate
Passionate
Posts: 436
Joined: Sun Feb 15, 2015 00:12
Location: Mass

Post by StefanS » Wed Jan 18, 2017 18:38

Welcome Sleebus. It is really nice looking kielbasa. Looks like you are hooked good on that "hobby".
Sleebus
Frequent User
Frequent User
Posts: 138
Joined: Thu Jan 12, 2017 15:28
Location: Fulshear, TX

Post by Sleebus » Thu Jan 19, 2017 01:26

muxmun wrote:Welcome Sleebus. I'm kind of new here myself and there is just a ton of information and help here. Wish my fist try was like yours but I think I am getting better!!
Good job! :grin:
Thanks! Turned out about as good as I could have hoped for!
StefanS wrote:Welcome Sleebus. It is really nice looking kielbasa. Looks like you are hooked good on that "hobby".
Thank you. My wife really liked the results, so that will make it easier for me to mess up her kitchen to do it again, hah! :mrgreen:
Fusion5567
Beginner
Beginner
Posts: 34
Joined: Fri Jan 20, 2017 02:20
Location: California

Post by Fusion5567 » Fri Jan 20, 2017 02:55

Hi everyone

Been lurking here for a while, making some fresh sausage, smoking some Salmon and Cod, made some Bacon, just a few days ago started my first batch of Cured sausage, a Salami Cascina from a Len Poli recipe.
I made up a very crude Fermentation camber and im using a Wine Cooler for a Curing chamber.
Have 2 of the Marianski books which i have leaned a bunch from, hope to learn a lot more from you guys.
Post Reply