Hi New Guys - Introduce Yourself

Talk about anything here as long as it is not against the rules.
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Bubba
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Post by Bubba » Sat Jun 27, 2015 11:50

Hi Africantanman, welcome to the forum.

How's Cape Town?

I looked on the Freddy Hirsch website in South Africa, can't find it listed there. Perhaps you already tried them, but they may be your best starting point since they supply a lot of relative products.

Freddy Hirsch (Head Office)
Cape Town
11th Ave & Voortrekker Street / Maitland East

Tel. +27 (0) 21 507-4500


BTW I don't use binder to make sausage or anything else.
It's been 15 years since I emigrated from your beautiful part of the world to the USA, and I still make my regular batches of Boerewors, Droewors and Biltong. :grin:
Ron
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Post by Africantanman » Sat Jun 27, 2015 12:03

Thank you for the replies Bob and Bubba!!!
Bob... I have some pork shoulder and wild boar from a friend whose dad has a massive pig farm outside of Cape Town... I'm still looking for a suitable recipe.

Bubba... Cape Town is a little wet and rainy at the moment but living under the mountain is still too awesome! :smile: Thank you for the recommendation... Maitland is clearly the hub of the meat industry in CPT! I got my casings, cure and other equipment all from companies on Voortrekker Road! :grin:
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redzed
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Post by redzed » Sat Jun 27, 2015 14:50

Hey Africatanman, let me join the party in welcoming you to the forum!

And I'd like to echo Bob and Bubba in saying that non fat dry milk is a non essential ingredient in dry cured sausages. Most of of us who try to make artisinal or traditional salami, do not use the stuff. Large commercial producers do use it since it does bind the meat and to some extent does lower the water activity, one of the "hurdles" you cross in the process. There is also the theory that it neutralizes the saltiness of the finished product. Many also think that because it contains lactic sugar, it feeds the lactic bacteria that occurs naturally in the meat or is added as a starter culture. So be very careful when you across something like "Dry milk powder contains 50% lactose (sugar) and is used in fermented sausages as a source of food for lactic acid producing bacteria." That, for the most part, is an erroneous theory. Read the comments by Igor Dunczyk, our professional guru who is an expert on bacterial meat cultures in this thread:
http://wedlinydomowe.pl/en/viewtopic.php?t=6803

In Canada non fat milk powder is called skim milk powder, and is available as "instant" in granulated form and in a fine powder, used mostly in the food industry. If you ultimately decide to use it, buy it in the fine powder form. I occasionally use skim milk powder in smoked sausage, but certainly not in the large amounts found in some recipes.

Good luck in you new venture into dry cured sausages!
Chef_Raoul
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What a wonderful resource.

Post by Chef_Raoul » Thu Aug 06, 2015 03:27

Hello everyone,

Been reading a lot and all I can say is WOW. I thought I have read every book I could get my hands on, but there is so much information here. Thank you to everyone who has contributed. This is such an outstanding resource.

I use to be a chemist and engineer, now a chef who prides myself in cooking everything from scratch. I have been making many types of fresh sausages for years, also hot smoked. I'm now wanting to get into dry and semi dry cures along with hams, and everything to go along with them.

I've been reading so much and there is a lot of information out there. Any suggestions as to resources to get this moving in the right direction. Any advice would be appreciated.

Thanks again everyone.
Chef Raoul
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Bob K
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Post by Bob K » Thu Aug 06, 2015 13:12

Raoul-
Were you planning on building a drying chamber or trying the dry bag process?

Lots of info and ideas on chambers in these two strings.

http://www.wedlinydomowe.pl/en/viewtopic.php?t=6426
http://www.wedlinydomowe.pl/en/viewtopic.php?t=6107

And the Umai and tublin bags now have there own forum heading in the main menu.

And by all means if you have any questions ask away! We are all still learning.

Beware demand will exceed supply!
Just added 25lbs of new salamis to the chamber last weekend.

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Chef_Raoul
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Post by Chef_Raoul » Thu Aug 06, 2015 14:01

Hi Bob,

I'm going to give the cabinet a try. Got the controller, looking for a freezer now. Trying to get a double door stainless, often they are on auction for about $200 to $300 around here. One of my concerns is that on commercial units, there are fairly high velocity fans that are meant to insure rapid cooling of product. I've read that you don't want the velocity or volume too high? anyone use a commercial freezer have a comment. Also, I'm a bit unclear, do you want an exchange of air through a flow of outside air in? If so, is the intake air filtered?

Thanks again
Chef Raoul
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Bob K
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Post by Bob K » Fri Aug 07, 2015 12:18

Not really familiar with the commercial freezers but on my frost free unit I just redirected the air flow from blowing directly on the sausage. Remember that the Temp is only going to be in the mid 50's and the freezer will not run for that long or that often.

Its a good idea to vent the chamber several times a day with fresh air. Even if you just open the door a few times. There are some examples of vents and fans on page 4 in the Hotel salami thread. I don't use a filter but is surely would not hurt.
http://www.wedlinydomowe.pl/en/viewtopi ... c&start=45
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redzed
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Post by redzed » Tue Aug 11, 2015 09:00

Chef_Raoul, I think that your concern about high velocity fans in a curing chamber is a very legitimate one. When the air velocity is too high you get case hardening, where the outside of the product dries too fast, trapping the water and causing the interior to spoil. And constant rapid air movement in the chamber also makes it difficult in maintaining constant humidity levels and can be detrimental to mould formation. Based on Fidel Toldra's writings the optimum air velocity is generally 0.05-0.1 m/s (meters per second). So if you go ahead with your commercial unit you might want to diffuse the air or if possible adjust the fan speed. And venting/air exchange is very important. All commercial curing chambers have them. I have only a medium sized all-fridge where I have an opening in the lower portion and an exhaust run by a computer fan in the top. I know that others have installed both take-in fans and exhaust fans, each timed separately in order to homogenize the air in the chamber. And a filter in the in-take opening is probably a good idea. I have a separate fan with a charcoal filter that I use to scrub the exhaust air, which sits an inch in front of the vent and runs simultaneously with the computer venting fan. I'm also on the lookout for a larger unit and I will probably install a fan in the in-take opening.

Once you start constructing your chamber please post the details here as we can all learn from your experience.
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Post by Zyggy » Wed Aug 19, 2015 16:15

Hi guys!
I have been spending a lot of time reading all the great info on this site for a while now. Certainly an encyclopedia of sausage info! I have the Marianski and Aidells' books and have made some fresh sausages. Will be getting a smoker soon and progressing from there. Very practical hobby. :grin:
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redzed
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Post by redzed » Thu Aug 20, 2015 05:12

Hi Zyggy welcome to our forum and I'm really pleased that you are here with us. Scroll through all the interesting posts on smoked sausages and check out the recipes. If you have any questions, shoot straight from the hip and ask! In no time you'll be smoking every sausage from A to Z!

BTW, the name Zyggy is kinda special to me, since it's my dad's name also. :grin:
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Post by Zyggy » Thu Aug 20, 2015 16:25

Thanks Redzed and thanks BobK for the PM. I'm glad I joined you guys. Bit more study and I'll be smoking! I'm looking at a Bradley smoker but sort of concerned about being stuck with buying those expensive pucks. And I read that many end up buying the Amazen smoke tray and use it in the Bradley. Seems like like a waste of money on a Bradley. What do you think?
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Bob K
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Post by Bob K » Thu Aug 20, 2015 18:03

Probably the most important feature of a portable smoker is getting a size that will fit your needs and insulation if you plan on smoking in the colder months.
Almost all who get semi serious about smoking will end up purchasing separate temp controls and either an amazin type or venturi type of smoke generator.
crustyo44
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Post by crustyo44 » Fri Aug 21, 2015 08:03

Hi Zig,
Your best bet is to buy a secondhand bread proofer. They are all stainless, inside and out, all sizes to suit you and they are fully insulated.
These bread proofers are usually sold for scrap value as they are too expensive to repair.
I converted a single door one and the end result is the bets of both worlds.
Incidenatlly I have a NZ made ventury type smoker attachment fitted.
My 2 cents worth!!!!
Cheers,
Jan.
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redzed
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Post by redzed » Sun Aug 23, 2015 18:50

Zyggy, I started with a Bradley and moved on to Cabella's Pro100 because I wanted something bigger. The Bradley is fine because it's easy to operate, easy to move and does a fairly good job. The drawbacks are that sometimes it's hard to get the temp up and you can't overload it. I found that 10lbs of sausage was max. And those bisquettes are expensive, so I did get the amazen smoker and it works great in the Bradley. But it works just as well in the cheaper smokers like the Masterbuilt, so buying a Bradley is questionnable.

I also bought the cold smoke attachment for my Bradley and still use it for smoking salmon and cold smoking smaller amounts of sausage.
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Post by Zyggy » Sun Aug 23, 2015 18:56

Thanks for advice Crusty and Red. A bread proofer converted to a smoker would be great but I'm looking for somthing smaller so that I could keep it in the garage and carry out when smoking. And I'm not much good at tinkering. Best for me is something I can just plug and play. Will look around for a while longer and hopefully smoke some sausages in time for Christmas.
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