Recent content by Dustin Dorsey

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  1. Dustin Dorsey

    On the Edge of Trying Sausage Making

    I've got the older LEM 5# stuffer with the open gears. It came with two little c-clamps that work fine. It came with plastic tubes that I've since replaced with stainless. The gears themselves are replaceable which I like (but I've never needed to do it. ) but I doubt anyone would have...
  2. Dustin Dorsey

    Can hickory be too fresh?

    If's its just slightly too green try splitting it into smaller pieces and it might burn more easily. Definitely get a moisture meter and test a split on a freshly split surface.
  3. Dustin Dorsey

    On the Edge of Trying Sausage Making

    Yes, it's super easy to reload a stuffer. I've got a 5# LEM stuffer and it works great. I only ever make batches less than 10 pounds, though. I used the Kitchenaid as my grinder for a long time and that works really well. You will eventually want a dedicated grinder, but it's not nearly as...
  4. Dustin Dorsey

    Do briskets cook faster in a smaller smoker?

    On a smaller cooker that has less diameter you might getting more radiant heat from the walls of the smoker, but it's not going to have a massive effect. If they are both reverse flows, the reverse flow plate of the smaller cooker might be a lot closer to the food and that definitely will lower...
  5. Dustin Dorsey

    BOUDIN!! 70#.....Long, lots of pics...

    I don't like liver, but I love it in boudin. I was born in Beaumont, Tx and we'd buy it on the side of the road. I'm not sure how it compares to what you get in Louisiana proper. I've only made it a few times, but I've noticed the pork liver makes a big difference if you can find it. I've...
  6. Dustin Dorsey

    Featured 1st Lockhart-style sausage

    Lockhart style is salt, pepper, cayenne. It's typically uncured and smoked hot. There's some debate but supposedly they use bull flour binder. It's tied in the characteristic C shape. Kreuz, Smittys and Blacks make it and the Blacks is slightly different from the other two. This was my take...
  7. Dustin Dorsey

    Non fat dried milk

    Some folks will say you don't need a binder. If you mix well enough you'll extract enough protein to bind the sausage. But it helps hedge your bets. I think it helps maintain the emulsion of fat and meat, keeps water in the meat, and helps bind the casing to the meat especially during the...
  8. Dustin Dorsey

    Featured 1st Lockhart-style sausage

    Looks great to me! I made some without cure because that's what the Lockhart joints seem to do, and I now wish I had used it.
  9. Dustin Dorsey

    Non fat dried milk

    Chud's channel is tremendous. Two Guys and Cooler is great. Back when I was trying to make hot guts the first time all I had to go from was a Texas Monthly interview with Evan Leroy from a long time ago where he talked about sausage ratios. That opened up a whole world for me. Now that...
  10. Dustin Dorsey

    Non fat dried milk

    There's certain things I didn't buy into like chilling the meat in between steps that I now do. I started out using the Kitchenaid so getting dedicated stuffer was an immediate big improvement. I've figured out what level of salt I like and how to tweak sausage formulas to my liking. I...
  11. Dustin Dorsey

    Non fat dried milk

    I've used the store bought and I've used the high temp. I honestly have no idea if the high temp is better. I've never done a side by side. Maybe I've bought into some marketing hype but my thinking is that the regular stuff works but the high temp works better. I've also used c-bind and...
  12. Dustin Dorsey

    Is Berkshire Pork Back Fat Good?

    The back fat is going to be a harder fat than belly fat and won't render as quickly. Berkshire is probably going to be more flavorful than pork from a commodity pig so that might be the problem. I personally have a lot of beef fat on hand from trimming briskets so I use that pretty often. I...
  13. Dustin Dorsey

    Who all runs a water pan in their stick burner?

    If you are cooking at a reasonable temperature the stall isn't a big deal. If you are at 225 the stall is a nightmare. At 250 to 275 it's much less so.
  14. Dustin Dorsey

    Should I Cancel or should I not.... MEAT Your Maker Disaster.....

    MYM is on all the Youtube channels. They give them free stuff to use. They market pretty heavily and now they've taken over Academy stores. Maybe they are fine but I've always been wary. I know LEM stocks parts for their equipment and I'm pretty handy at repairing things so that's the way I...
  15. Dustin Dorsey

    Who all runs a water pan in their stick burner?

    At some point the moisture will decrease the stall, kind of like how it's hard to cool your body down when it's humid.
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