Anybody use a tumbler?

[Determined]

Hello to all from the farm in Northern Saskatchewan.
I have been reading the fourms for a while and I am impressed with the knowledgeable folks on here so I hope somebody can help me out.
I have done all my own butchering/sausage making for years, and in a quest to make a good formed ham I finally built a ham press and meat tumbler.
Now the problem, I built a monster and now I am trying to decide how to use it.
Non vacuum tumbler, making formed ham.
Cure then tumble?
Tumble with cure/brine?
Dave

[Baconologist]

I have a vacuum tumbler.
Adding a bit of water will help extract the proteins.

Here's a good article....
http://meatsci.osu.edu/archive/sectioned.htm

[Determined]

Thank you Baconologist that article was an excellent read.
Seems there are countless different ways to proceed with this project.
Should I factor a brine with the water reduced to say 20% of meat weight, with salt and cure levels adjusted to hit final target % in meat, so when finished in the tumbler the only liquid left would be the undiluted protiens?
Pump say 20% of brine and put the balance in the tumbler?
Any thoughts or tips would be greatly appreciated.
Dave

[Baconologist]

I wouldn't use brine amounting to more than 10% of the meat weight.
You'll just have to see what works best for you.

[Determined]

quote="Baconologist"]I wouldn't use brine amounting to more than 10% of the meat weight.
You'll just have to see what works best for you.[/quote]

Hi Bob
I already started a test batch today with a brine that was 20% of meat weight.
I injected 20% of that into the pieces and poured the balance into the tumbler, after 2.5 hr of tumble/rest cycling all of the liquid has been absorbed [pieces were all less than 1 1/2 inch thick] With all the brine absorbed I just shut down the tumbler to let things equalize [6 hr mark].
I plan to let it rest until morning then check how good the cure has penetrated, once it looks good it will be tumbled for another hour before going into the press for cooking.
Just curious, when you recommended 10% brine was it to address absorbtion of all of the brine or the quality of the finished product?
Dave

[Determined]

Progress update
After tumbling the meat and letting it rest overnight I took one of the larger pieces, sliced and fried it to check cure distribution, all looked good. Amazing less than 24 hrs.
Back into tumbler for one hour.
Loaded up the press with 5 lbs of meat and into a 160 f water bath for just over four hours until 160 f internal.
Into a sink of cold water for 1 hr then into the fridge overnight.
Repeated above with the other 5 lbs but this batch I cut into 1-2 inch cubes first.
Removed from press today for sampling;
-First batch with large pieces of meat bonded very good but ended up with one crater near the bottom where the larger pieces could not bend enough to make good contact.
-Second batch with cubed pieces was perfect, no voids. Cut off a thin slice and tried to pull apart where you can see the color difference between the cuts and the meat would tear apart before the joint would let go.
As was suggested the next batch I will cut my brine weight down to 10% of meat weight as the excess just gets pushed out of the press during cooking resulting in a smaller finished product.
-The first batch was done in a 5 inch mold, the second batch was split between one 4 inch and one 5 inch mold and processed until the 5 inch reached 160 f.
The product from the 4 inch mold having reached temp sooner than the 5 inch had more time to cook and produced a slightly softer product, next batch I will process longer.
-Slicing with knife or machine worked well and even when shaved paper thin the ham pieces did not seperate.
-Taste was like a flashback to when I was young, anybody who tells you your taste buds weaken with age is full of you know what. This tasted incredible and can not be compared to the store bought water logged product made from pumped up production barn raised hogs.
Will start another batch in the morning with less liquid in brine and see how it works.
Dave

[Baconologist]

Sounds like you're on the right track.
The reason I use less brine is because the bind is usually better, but as you've found, it's not always necessary.

[redzed]

Greetings determined!

How about posting some pics of the tumbler and ham press you constructed? Saskatchewan farmers are sure a talented bunch! Saskatchewan is my home province and I bleed green for the Riders.