Jalapeno and cheddar loaf help

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hondabbq

Meat Mopper
Original poster
SMF Premier Member
Jan 25, 2014
284
83
Canada
I am told I make a pretty mean Jalapeno and cheddar Kielbasa, and I think so too, lol
There is a butcher shop that I go to that has a Jalapeno and Cheddar loaf that is so god damn good.
I thought " why dont I take my kielbasa recipe and make my own?"

Ok so I know how to cook the kielsbasa in the smoker, obviously, but I was wondering if there would be any change in the cooking method when doing a slow cured deli meat in a loaf pan.
I take my kielbasa and dry out the casing with no smoke for bout an hour at 150 ish then add smoke at 170f and hold temp until internal reaches 154f.
Would I do a similar method for the cooking part? i dont need the drying time so just cooking at 170f be right? It will be like a meatloaf so I was also thinking just cooking at a higher temp but I dont want to get fat out.

Anyone done a deli style loaf to offer some guidance?
 
Would I do a similar method for the cooking part?
I would . Different ways to do things , but I treat mine the same as sausage , because that's really what it is .
I also let mine firm up in the pan over night and take it out to smoke . Just depends on how loose it is . Sometimes I start in the pan until it firms up , then I finish it un panned .
 
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I would mix it all up tonight and let sit overnight as I do with all my smoked sausages. I think it blends better and gives the cure time to do its thing as well.
 
I would . Different ways to do things , but I treat mine the same as sausage , because that's really what it is .
I also let mine firm up in the pan over night and take it out to smoke . Just depends on how loose it is . Sometimes I start in the pan until it firms up , then I finish it un panned .
I would mix it all up tonight and let sit overnight as I do with all my smoked sausages. I think it blends better and gives the cure time to do its thing as well.
 
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Yes , me too . Just saying if you're going to un pan to cook either start it on foil on the grate or leave it panned until it firms up . You can go start to finish in the pan too , I just like it all to have color .
 
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Are you making meatloaf or sandwich meat ?
Bears thread will give you good info .
This is ground formed bacon I did . I treat it just like a chub of summer sausage .
tallbm tallbm does some of this as well .
 
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I am told I make a pretty mean Jalapeno and cheddar Kielbasa, and I think so too, lol
There is a butcher shop that I go to that has a Jalapeno and Cheddar loaf that is so god damn good.
I thought " why dont I take my kielbasa recipe and make my own?"

Ok so I know how to cook the kielsbasa in the smoker, obviously, but I was wondering if there would be any change in the cooking method when doing a slow cured deli meat in a loaf pan.
I take my kielbasa and dry out the casing with no smoke for bout an hour at 150 ish then add smoke at 170f and hold temp until internal reaches 154f.
Would I do a similar method for the cooking part? i dont need the drying time so just cooking at 170f be right? It will be like a meatloaf so I was also thinking just cooking at a higher temp but I dont want to get fat out.

Anyone done a deli style loaf to offer some guidance?
I've done cured smoked sandwich deli meat like this plenty of times.

If your goal is something like any of these then here is the info to help you out:
(Venison Pastrami Sandwich Meat, post: https://www.smokingmeatforums.com/threads/pastrami-loaf-with-qview.263815/)
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full?d=1507248065.jpg
full?d=1507248065.jpg
full?d=1507248065.jpg

(German Bologna, post: https://www.smokingmeatforums.com/threads/owens-german-bologna-with-qview.316307/)
638217-0de6cb10f7dc17dc2a60895eabaca900.png

Answers to your questions:

-Yes, you do a similar cooking method to doing sausage if you want cured deli meat like what I post above.

-No, you don't need to do any drying. This will take a good long while to cook so it will form a pellicle on its own in the smoker AND you aren't using water soaked casings that would benefit from drying.

-Yes, I'm someone who does deli style loafs for cured sandwich meat from meat that would be the same as stuffed in casings. The difference is no casing.


Ok with your questions answered here is a little more info.

Follow your sausage smoking process of walking the temp up and avoiding fat out and you will be fine.

Form a loaf in any shape you like that makes sense and works. If you try to make long rectangular blocks they will not come out the way imagine. Flatter rectangular blocks works well vs a thick rectangular block.
What works better are individual square blocks rather than 1 solid block.
Determine the shape you want. I wanted less tall but longer sandwich meat slices for my venison pastrami to be more like what actual pastramri or store bought turkey pastrami looks like.
For my bologna and other types of deli meat, I have evolved to 4.5-5inch square blocks (about 7-8 inches tall)so when cooked and sliced, they fit sandwich bread slices and sandwich/tortilla wraps better. I just kinda make a mold with cardboard where the mold isnt fully enclosed (missing a long side and an end side). Then I lay out a big sheet of plastic/saran wrap that I put the meat on.
I drop the plastic wrap with meat on it into the mold and fold over the plastic wrap to cover the meat loosely enough to allow me to start using the cardboard mold to shape meat without making mess.
I form it into shape and tighten up the plastic wrap around it so the block best holds it shape and the weight doesnt allow it to deform too much. You can let them set or smoke immediately.

When smoking, I unwrap the meat and set on the grid like q-mats that have the holes with my q-mat already on on my smoker rack. Again the weigh of the meat can start it to lose some shape so you may not have a perfect square/rectangle but that's ok.

Smoke using sausage smoking techniques and pull at your desired temp. I think I pull these at 152-156F internal temp. Why the difference in temps? Because one side of the smoker is hotter than the other and I don't bother messing with it all or opening the smoker until I can usually put it all or most of it at once. As long as the meat's IT doesnt get too high, it doesnt really matter about them all being one exact temp. I just make sure they hit the minimum temp.

Finally for the sandwich meat I make, I don't use any pans in the smoker with meat in the pan. The pan prevents that nice wonderful "rind" all the way around, and there is more complete smoke penetration without the pan.
If I had a specific type of meat I was making that would benefit from the pan I would use the pan. My options thus far have no benefit from a pan.

I have thrown a ton of info at you, let me know if it makes sense or if you have any questions :)
 
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Well I got home yesterday and realized i didnt have any dried jalapenos at home like I thought i did. I also didnt have any old cheddar at work so I grabbed some Monteray jack. I added some spicy seasonings I had to get some sort of heat into it so It wasnt wasted perse. I have it in the fridge stacked up and being pressed over night and will be smoking when I get home after work today.
Im more interested in the final process and the cooking rather than the flavor as I know the flavor will be there when I remember all the right ingredients. LOL.
 
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I'll be watching . Diced jalapenos from a jar work good too .
Sounds like you're all over it .
 
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I have several jars of cowboy candy but I didn’t want the sweet side of them. Although it may have been an interesting experiment seeing as it’s was half botched already.
I was just in a rush when I realized I didn’t have any and panicked a bit.
 
Well I got home yesterday and realized i didnt have any dried jalapenos at home like I thought i did. I also didnt have any old cheddar at work so I grabbed some Monteray jack. I added some spicy seasonings I had to get some sort of heat into it so It wasnt wasted perse. I have it in the fridge stacked up and being pressed over night and will be smoking when I get home after work today.
Im more interested in the final process and the cooking rather than the flavor as I know the flavor will be there when I remember all the right ingredients. LOL.

Yeah I think it will be fine. I've eaten plenty of hot sausage with cheese that didn't use jalapenos. If you know the base flavor is good and a fry test doesn't bring up any odd flavors, then you will be good to go :)

One thing you will find in the cooking process is that such large masses of meat may take a good long time to raise to the internal temp you want.
You can walk up to 170F smoker temp no problem.
Many times in the past, I have successfully walked up to 180F temp to do wild game sausage so that internal temp hit 165F to eliminate the possibilities of micro parasites. My electric smoker is controlled by a PID controller so it holds exactly to the temp I set :)

I share this info so you know what upper limits of what your smoker temp can be if you find this taking an excessive amount of time (15-16+hours).

I look forward to seeing what you find and what you make :)
 
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And we are on our way.
Adding smoke in a bit.
 

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About 4.5 hours start to finish.
I had a bunch of that liquid that comes up when cooking ground beef and was settling in the top and running down. I have a bit of a mess in the smoker to clean.
Cheese drips.
Never got over 170 that I saw.
Now to let it cool down and slice it up later for dinner and have some Sammie’s.
 

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