First tme making wieners/hot dogs

gearloose · Aug 6, 2017

Ok, I've never tackled hot dogs before, mainly because I had never bought a fine grinding plate and I didn't want to use a food processor to try to emulsify the meat. I solved that problem a couple of months ago when I bought a grinding plate with 1/8" holes.

I've run 6 lb. of chuck and 4 lb. of pork butt through the grinder twice; Once through a 3/16" plate, then through the 1/8" plate. I'm pleased with the texture and see no need to try to emulsify further. The meat is in my refrigerator until tomorrow because of rainy weather here.

Before I add the cure & seasonings, mix and stuff, etc. are there any tips or tricks anyone cares to share? I'll be using LEM collagen hot dog casings.

What are the pros and cons of pulling the wieners at 138° f. and finishing in a hot water bath versus just leaving the wieners hanging in the smoker until the 152° f. internal temp is achieved?

TIA,

Jim B.

SmokinAl · Aug 6, 2017

I do hot dogs the same way only I use sheep casing and I add the spice & cure mixture after the first grind.

Then run it thru a second time.

I also pull them out early & finish them in a water bath.

I've tried leaving them in the smoker until 152 & the tend to dry out & shrink up.

Al

gearloose · Aug 7, 2017

I got a late start today, so the wieners just went in the smoker a half hour ago. I'll probably be up till midnight before they are done and in the fridge.

20170807_180651.JPG

gearloose
Aug 7, 2017

Those 24mm LEM hot dog casings are on the fragile side. I had problems with them splitting open until I gave them a quick, light rinse in cold water before threading on the stuffer tube. In the lower left of the photo, you can see where I poked a hole in a casing with my thumbnail. They are very tender casings though. I boiled a couple of dogs for test purposes and found the casings very easy to bite through with just a hint of snap like a good wiener is supposed to have. Taste? Excellent! Even without any smoke. I'm using the Rytek Kutas 10 lb. recipe unmodified.

JckDanls 07 · Aug 7, 2017

Now those I could eat... store bought dogs will NEVER go across my lips ... looking good....

tallbm · Aug 7, 2017

Those are looking great so far!

I can't give a very many tips but I can say that I have been unable to get the light pink look. I get great Frank flavor with LEM's cured Franks seasoning but mine always turn out super dark maroon'ish red no matter what I did.

I tried only doing 30 min of smoke but still the same results on color at that 30 min mark. I'm cool with it because they taste amazing BUT they don't have the exact look of lighter pink Franks :)

Don't mind the odd shapes, I pack them squishy and when put on the grill they plump up without busting or splitting and they look perfect :)

DSC_0328[1].JPG

tallbm
Jun 4, 2017

I do the 1 hour at 100F to dry then apply smoke for 30 min to 1 hour. I like 70% Apple 30% Hickory smoke on them.

I bump up the set temp about 15-20 degrees every 30 min or so until I get to 180F.

My pork Franks are made with feral hogs from hunting so I take them to 165F IT to be perfectly safe. You probably do not need to exceed 165-170F to hit your set temps.

gearloose · Aug 8, 2017

All done and ready to vacuum seal and freeze!

20170808_141129.JPG

gearloose
Aug 8, 2017

big t bbq · Aug 8, 2017

WOW, they look great!

tallbm · Aug 8, 2017

gearloose said:
All done and ready to vacuum seal and freeze!

20170808_141129.JPG

gearloose

Aug 8, 2017

Wow those look awesome!

How long did you apply smoke?

What wood?

And how long did they last in the smoker before you put them to cook in hot water?

Thanks :)

crazymoon · Aug 8, 2017

GL , Nice job on the dogs they look great ! point

gearloose · Aug 8, 2017

TallBM said:
Wow those look awesome!

How long did you apply smoke?

What wood?

And how long did they last in the smoker before you put them to cook in hot water?

Thanks :)

Smoked about 2-1/2 hours using hickory & apple pellets in an AMNPS. (heavy smoke) Total time in the smoker was about 3-4 hours. They were only in the hot water about 15 minutes, then given a cooling shower & bath in ice water before drying a half hour.

tallbm · Aug 8, 2017

gearloose said:
Smoked about 2-1/2 hours using hickory & apple pellets in an AMNPS. (heavy smoke) Total time in the smoker was about 3-4 hours. They were only in the hot water about 15 minutes, then given a cooling shower & bath in ice water before drying a half hour.

Thanks for the info!

Maybe someday I'll do a 15 minute smoke and see if that gets the pinkish look vs the marroon/reddish look on my giant franks.

I've checked at the 30 min mark of smoking in my setup and they are already deep red. I wonder if my convection fan in my smoker is just circulating the smoke so well that the color change and absorbtion happens really quickly. Oh well, its no biggy they still taste amazing :)

ab canuck · Aug 9, 2017

Those are some great looking franks, I have never tried making those yet. Nice Job. Point

greenguru · Aug 9, 2017

OH my awesome Smoke House + Hot Dogs I been wanting to mix a batch of spicy Bologna any Recipes y'll like Thanks

myownidaho · Aug 9, 2017

Those look superb! Onto the "must do list".

boykjo · Aug 13, 2017

They look great gearloose.... Awesome job

Points..........

Boykjo

unclejhim · Aug 27, 2017

Great looking dogs...care to share your recipe??

gearloose · Aug 27, 2017

unclejhim said:
Great looking dogs...care to share your recipe??

It's the 10 lb. recipe straight out of the Rytek Kutas sausage making book with no changes.

Hot Dogs (Wieners/Frankfurters)

recipe by Rytek Kutas

Ingredients for 10 LBS.

6 Lb. Beef Chuck

4 Lb. pork butt

6 Tbsp. salt

2 level tsp. Prague Powder #1

4 Tbsp. paprika

6 Tbsp. ground mustard

1 tsp. ground black pepper

1 tsp ground white pepper

1 tsp. ground celery seeds

1 Tbsp. mace

1 tsp. granulated garlic

2 cups non-fat dry milk or soy protein concentrate

4 Tbsp. powdered dextrose

1 pint ice water

Thoroughly combine salt, cure #1 & dry ingredients together.

Grind beef & pork through a medium plate, then regrind through a 1/8” plate.

Thoroughly mix meat, seasonings and water together for several minutes until all ingredients are evenly distributed. Stuff into 24-26mm casings and link to desired size.

Hang wieners on smokehouse sticks, making sure wieners are not touching each other. Rinse wieners with cold water if necessary. Hang at room temp. for 1 hr. when using natural casings, or ½ hr. if using collagen casings.

Hot Dogs, page 2:

Smoking

Place wieners in preheated 130 deg. smokehouse and dry for 30 minutes. Apply heavy smoke for 1-1/2 hours. Gradually raise smokehouse temperature to 165 deg. and smoke until wieners are at 138 deg. internal temp. Transfer to 165 deg. steam cabinet or hot water bath and cook until wieners have an internal temperature of 152 deg. (5-10 minutes)

Alternately, leave wieners in the smokehouse at 165 deg. until they measure 152 deg. internally. As soon as wieners reach 152 deg by either method, quickly shower with cold water until temp is 110 deg. Allow wieners to chill & dry at room temp until desired bloom is obtained.

Refrigerate or package & freeze.

unclejhim · Aug 28, 2017

Thanks.

First tme making wieners/hot dogs

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