Redneckville Arkansas

 to SMF!  We are so glad you joined us!    Make sure you show us pictures of your smokes too!

Jeff offers a Free 5 day e-course...sign up for that too!  It's great information no matter what your experience level is!  Here is the link to get you started! http://www.smoking-meat.com/smoking-basics-ecourse 

If you need any help roaming around the forums....just holler!  Happy to help out!

Kat

Hello KS!

    to the SMF, the best BBQ site on the web.  Whatever you need to know about the fine art of BBQ you can find it right here, from recipes to technical knowledge.

One thing you need to know about us is that we like to see pictures of your creations and your gear.  We call it Q-View and its basically the !!!

So, don't just talk about your food, show it!  Otherwise you may get a gentle reminder, like this...

  or this...  (looks like you got a handle on this!)

Good Luck and Get Smokin'

Bill

Hi Eric! :welcome1: to SMF!!! We're happy you found us! You've come to the right place, we have over 45,000 members who just love to share their experience and over 900,000 posts describing it!
The search bar at the top can be your best friend when you are trying to find answers to your questions but you can still ask too if you want!

For about $15 more you can get a pretty decent electric meat grinder from Northern Tool, that hand crank will wear you out quick!

Welcome aboard, KS! Glad you joined us. You've found a great place to learn and share ideas. Lots of friendly and knowledgeable folks here who enjoy helping one another. Just ask when you need help and you'll get plenty.

Welcome again, KS!

The digital temp probe cables are usually rated for temps of around 390*F, so yes, you can leave the probe in the meat while smoking low & slow, roasting in the oven, or for monitoring chamber temps with a bare probe tip. With indirect high temp, you may want to be a little more careful about chamber temp control so you don't push the envelope, but I have done that with my probes as well. One trick many of us have incorporated is to wrap the probe cable in a couple layers of aluminum foil to help protect against messy drippings, pinching, kinks and other damage, as well as to reflect some of the long-wave radiation away from the cable (shiny side out on the foil). The Taylor you linked to appears to have a stainless steel braided sheath on the wires...they're pretty durable...have a few of those myself.

The infrared would be a handy item for checking equipment and surface temps when prepping for and during sausage processing (as well as the many other uses)...you're staying ahead of the game with that item. Great temp range with that Maverick LT...haven't looked for one for a long time so don't know if there's a better price elsewhere, but that looks like a decent price.

Can't go wrong with the One Touch Gold Weber kettles...love my 18.5", it's just a bit too small for me, sometimes. Just about any charcoal chimney to go with the kettle and you'll be set on that end of things.

Speaking of leaner sausages, I've done quite a bit of un-stuffed semi-dried beef or chicken salami over the past few years which begins with a 17-18% fat content...holds up well when cured, smoked and dried with heat treating up to finished temp, or just smoked and cooked to temp (no crumbly texture). I'm sure the fat/meat ratio would work fine with cased sausages as well, if you happen to grab a stuffer somewhere in your venture. Check my signature line (towards the bottom) if you're interested in trying them, or drop me a PM. Not sure if you plan on canning a lot of sausage, but on that end I have zero experience. The recipes I have used for sausages may be good candidates for canning, especially the dried stuff.

Good luck with the back issues...I have minor problems in that dept myself, but mine is very livable thus far. And, good luck with your upcoming classes...career changes are never fun, but sounds like this will be a good direction for you to take.

BTW, do you have an accurate digital postal or food scale for weighing your meats to get accurate fat/weight and meat mix/cure/spice ratios? Thought I'd toss that in for you to consider, with your mention of sausage and jerky making.

Eric

Were in ark are you . That grinder or one like it was on jonesboros craigslist yesterday. Welcome!

to the forum
 

Man, I love Petit Jean!--we may need to do an AR gathering there!

Welcome, brother!

Welcome to the forum!

I have family in Hot Springs.