Made another batch of Cheddar Smokies today. It was a long day dealing with 7.75kg, especially when it seemed like nothing wanted to go right.
I wanted to try natural casings, so I soaked them for a few hours. Then the fun began. Sweet fancy Moses trying to untangle that mess was nothing short of trying to untangle 5 10' strands of Christmas lights that were rolled into a ball. Once I finally got them sorted, I ran water through them to rinse the insides. I was happy that I got them separated, but I couldn't get them into the horn to save my life.
A bit of oil on a stainless steel horn didn't help. It stuck. I tried putting some water in the casing, but it still stuck. I tried a different strand and still no luck. I gave up and resorted to collagen casings so I could get it done.
Ground and into the bin.
Help with mixing the spices before going into the KitchenAid mixer to emulsify the meat.
Just off the smoker and ready for the hot water dunk.
Cooled and ready for packing.
I need to do a bit more reading in order to figure out how to use the natural casings. Right now they are in a bowl of water, in the fridge for the night. I also had a number of air pockets in the casing despite really punching the mix into the stuffer.
I'm almost done. I have a few more links to smoke tomorrow.
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Recipe and source - Duncan Henry Youtube channel
Ingredients are in grams per-Kilogram.
I wanted to try natural casings, so I soaked them for a few hours. Then the fun began. Sweet fancy Moses trying to untangle that mess was nothing short of trying to untangle 5 10' strands of Christmas lights that were rolled into a ball. Once I finally got them sorted, I ran water through them to rinse the insides. I was happy that I got them separated, but I couldn't get them into the horn to save my life.
A bit of oil on a stainless steel horn didn't help. It stuck. I tried putting some water in the casing, but it still stuck. I tried a different strand and still no luck. I gave up and resorted to collagen casings so I could get it done.
Ground and into the bin.
Help with mixing the spices before going into the KitchenAid mixer to emulsify the meat.
Just off the smoker and ready for the hot water dunk.
Cooled and ready for packing.
I need to do a bit more reading in order to figure out how to use the natural casings. Right now they are in a bowl of water, in the fridge for the night. I also had a number of air pockets in the casing despite really punching the mix into the stuffer.
I'm almost done. I have a few more links to smoke tomorrow.
---------------------------------------------
Recipe and source - Duncan Henry Youtube channel
Jalapeno Cheddar Smokies
Ingredients are in grams per-Kilogram.
- 1kg regular ground meat
- 750g pork (pork shoulder)
- 250g beef (store bought or trimmings)
- 15g Salt
- 3g Pepper – Coarse Ground Black
- 0.7g Cayenne
- 3.5g Garlic
- 1g Marjoram
- 1g Smoked Paprika (I added this)
- 2.5g Cure #1
- 0.5g Sodium Erythorbate*
- 130g Cheddar (Old/Sharp or Sunspun processed ribbon cheese)
- 70g Fresh Jalapeno**
- 10g Binder***
- 100g Water
- 23mm or similar size casings (collagen or natural)
- Sodium Erythorbate 0.5g (not needed if letting cure sit in meat overnight)*
- If you want plain cheddar smokies, leave out the jalapeno.**
- Binder 10g (I didn't use any, just make sure you get good protein extraction).***
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