Ref; Turkey Pepperoni!

[TomKnollRFV]

First and Foremost thanks to Txsmoker I'm smoking 5 pounds of Turkey Pepperoni; I used his recipe he provided to me, a link to the original post of his follows:

https://www.smokingmeatforums.com/t...-ways-sticks-and-sliced-w-pics-recipe.274538/

Now I didn't have Fennel, white mustard <Well I did..but it smelled..off, so I tossed it> and I loathe Anise. So I don't have those in. I added in Oregano and onion powder. I also tend to do seasoning with a heavy hand and 'Hey that looks good'. I don't have the dried milk or NCA. Don't worry; I properly measure cure. I'm anal retentive on that and use a digital pharmacist scale we have. <Still have no idea why we picked up a scale that accurate either.>

I stupidly forgot to take a picture of the mixture before stuffing, but I ended up deciding against trying to add fresh spinach from the farmer's market because effectively, ground turkey when mixed turns to ..a slime. It's just a paste. My jerky pistol gummed up and every thing, so if I ever do pure turkey again, I will have to go beyond a 40 min rest in the fridge and 10 in the freezer. Also I believe for turkey, I will need to cut back on the water.

I'll be smoking them tommorrow with a blend of Pitboss Competition Blend with some mesquite pellets. As always the 'One pound casings' don't hold nearly as much as I thought, this time around I probably could have soaked an extra one, but instead there is half a meat loaf shaped thing to go on the smoker, which is handy for shoving a thermal probe in, and staving off the post smoking desire to eat things right away.

Given I modified this recipe a bit and my heavy seasoning hand, I am as always convinced my end product will be inedible until proven other wise. But there you have it folks, all turkey pepperoni using a texan recipe..done in the Midwest. With out beer involved ;)

 

[crazzycajun]

This just doesn’t sound legal in most states:(

 

[TomKnollRFV]

I'm odd, I rarely drink at home. Maybe the occasional angry orchard or a rum and coke. I think the last time I actually purpose bought rum for drinking, it was clear rum for mojitos when I had fresh mint a few years back..

 

[TomKnollRFV]

Alright, I just put them on at 140f with a Pitboss Competition and some mesquite. Turkey is damn bland on it's own, so I figured a bit of mesquite won't hurt. I double lit the Tray, so we'll see if it actually stays lit for me.

This was a fun thing; me and my dad double checked the ties on the sausages. <I stuff the casings and pass them over and he ties them, then we make sure after we get them all done they're tight>. One some how had some meat sneak through over night. I even underfilled the casings because of turkey just being a paste and make it easier to tie! <I think I had 1/2 pound of meat or so left, hard to say, but it made an ugly little loaf for me to munch on for dinner post smoking>.

I strongly suspect this ground turkey had solution added, and it let some meat squeeze on through. Honestly wish I had like 2 inch casings or some thing. Ground turkey is such a weird texture.

 

[TomKnollRFV]

Here we go; this is the left over loaf..sliced in half for the pic. I can tell you right now, ALL turkey sausage has a less then amazing texture, the taste is fine enough..but I can say I won't do this again. It wasn't plunged into ice water long as people wanted to sample..

So maybe the actual sausage in casing will be better and firm up. Whom knows.!

 

[jimmyinsd]

Here we go; this is the left over loaf..sliced in half for the pic. I can tell you right now, ALL turkey sausage has a less then amazing texture, the taste is fine enough..but I can say I won't do this again. It wasn't plunged into ice water long as people wanted to sample..

So maybe the actual sausage in casing will be better and firm up. Whom knows.!

interesting texture.... it looks more like a wheat or rye bread of some kind to me.... but hey texture isnt important to everybody.. some people can eat liverwurst....bleh. :p keep experimenting, you will find something that really hits with you.

 

[TomKnollRFV]

I'm wondering how self ground turkey would turn out. I'm pretty sure the stuff you buy in stores is just the odds and ends ground up or some thing. My quest for trying to make 'slightly healthier' sausage has lead to this dead end; pure turkey sausage is horrible for texture. LOL.

 

[jimmyinsd]

I'm wondering how self ground turkey would turn out. I'm pretty sure the stuff you buy in stores is just the odds and ends ground up or some thing. My quest for trying to make 'slightly healthier' sausage has lead to this dead end; pure turkey sausage is horrible for texture. LOL.

you bought this pre ground? how fine of a grind was it?

 

[TomKnollRFV]

All ground turkey I've seen in the store looks the same, but the moment you mix it turns to a paste. <These were in frozen tubes>.

 

[jimmyinsd]

All ground turkey I've seen in the store looks the same, but the moment you mix it turns to a paste. <These were in frozen tubes>.

yeah... I would try again with your own grinder and meat and use a coarser grind, and maybe only 1 pass or something like that until you do a little fry test and see what you get for a cooked consistency/texture.

 

[chopsaw]

You bought that pre ground in a tube ? I would like to read the label on that . Could be it had more fat in it than ground pork or beef . Just because it's poultry doesn't mean its healthier . You sure left out alot of stuff from the recipe . When you do that you have no idea where you're at with it . So how do you make adjustments . ?
Find a recipe and follow it . Do a 2 1/2 pound batch of whatever . You'll have way better success , and alot more fun with it .

 

[tallbm]

The dried milk acts as a binder and I imagine would help make a more sausage like texture.
I get good sausage texture without binders in my Venison Pastrami (in loaf form) BUT once frozen and thawed the slices want to come apart more easily than I like. I've added up to 2% Soy Protein Isolate and that has improved things. I think I will move to 2.5% next time and see what happens. I want to be able to pull a slice without it breaking apart by sticking to the other slices or the pack :)

 

[TomKnollRFV]

Part of the reason I did it with turkey was that this turkey was cheaper then ground pork/beef. <Also I wanted to do a mix of turkey and pork. Which some how the store did not have ground pork. Which is mind boggling>.

As for the fat..82-18. It doesn't fall apart or any thing when sliced; it just has a bland texture. I have to cut open one of the cased ones today though, maybe they'll be better <They've sat in the fridge on paper towels or wrapped in them for 2 days. I didn't get around to vaccum sealing them yet. Adult beverages interfered with my plans ...>