WD Daily Chat - Talk about anything You Like

Talk about anything here as long as it is not against the rules.
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StefanS
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Re: WD Daily Chat - Talk about anything You Like

Post by StefanS » Mon Jan 04, 2021 01:03

:D Holly mackerel. It is a catch. Need a hand?
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Re: WD Daily Chat - Talk about anything You Like

Post by bcboy » Mon Jan 04, 2021 06:34

Askews in Armstrong has pork leg on sale this week too at dollar 1.27 a pound. That a great deal or have you seen better than a dollar a pound?
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Re: WD Daily Chat - Talk about anything You Like

Post by redzed » Mon Jan 04, 2021 07:52

In this day and age, buck a pound is a steal. Almost difficult to understand how they could sell for that price. Equivalent to 79 cents USD.
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Re: WD Daily Chat - Talk about anything You Like

Post by redzed » Mon Jan 04, 2021 08:05

Scogar wrote:
Sun Jan 03, 2021 23:19
Red, I'm assuming that those legs were frozen somewhere along the line since coming off the pig. So am I to assume that you or the store thawed the legs, then you portioned and classified out, and refroze? If that's so is there any noticeable degradation? I ask because I have about 6-8 shoulders I would love to thaw and cut/classify then refreeze. This way I have accurate weights and can properly design best use w/o having to do it all on the same day.

Normally I thaw once, cut up, classify as best I can but then just make do with what I have. Once the sausage is made I have no problem refreezing it. But assuming one makes raw sausage this would now thaw 3 times before being eaten.
The pork legs I bought were never frozen before. Of course fresh meat is the best and that is why I made 3 different types of salami today. Frozen is OK and you can thaw and refreeze again, but each freeze and thaw cycle diminishes the quality of the meat. This is what Marianski writes:
"Thawed meat can be re-frozen. What must be noted is that spoilage bacteria has already begun working on the meat in the thawing stage. Depending on how and where it was kept during thawing, its shelf keeping qualities will be shortened, even if re-frozen again."

Good summaries dicussing freezing and thawing meat are here:
https://www.meatsandsausages.com/sausag ... ezing-meat
https://www.meatsandsausages.com/sausag ... awing-meat
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Re: WD Daily Chat - Talk about anything You Like

Post by Scogar » Mon Jan 04, 2021 14:41

Thanks for the answer and I'll also be sure to follow the trails you provided. And wow, fresh, never frozen legs. That would be a rare find here where I am
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Re: WD Daily Chat - Talk about anything You Like

Post by Albertaed » Wed Mar 03, 2021 23:25

Calling all cheese makers! I’m looking for ideas, books etc on where to start. For now I think I’ll get a kit from Amazon.
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Re: WD Daily Chat - Talk about anything You Like

Post by Lorenzoid » Thu Mar 04, 2021 01:16

Albertaed wrote:
Wed Mar 03, 2021 23:25
Calling all cheese makers! I’m looking for ideas, books etc on where to start. For now I think I’ll get a kit from Amazon.
I got a start from the New England Cheesemaking Company: https://cheesemaking.com. I'm sure the owner and self-professed "cheese queen" Ricki Carroll has a beginner's book on that site. I know a bought a starter kit from her back in pre-Internet days when "mail order" was a term. I recall she was good about answering questions on the phone.

I didn't stick with that hobby. Now, as I start to explore curing meat, I can't help but think my experience might be like my brief cheesemaking experience. While I found cheesemaking fun, it quickly became apparent that it's easy to make cheese, but probably takes a lifetime (or at least an apprenticeship) to learn to make really good cheese. Oh, and you'd better have a cow or goat or other source of milk other than the grocery store. Happy cheesemaking.
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Re: WD Daily Chat - Talk about anything You Like

Post by Scogar » Thu Mar 04, 2021 02:57

I struggled with the waste of all that whey. Unlike with meat, where all parts can be used to some extent I wasn't able to accept putting a gallon of milk in and ultimately throwing out 1/2 gallon of it as whey. If people know of ways to use the majority of it and wish to share I would love to consider this hobby a bit more. The two books I got are:

Home Cheese Making: Recipes for 75 Homemade Cheeses by said Ricki Carroll and
Artisan Cheese Making at Home: Techniques & Recipes for Mastering World-Class Cheeses by Mary Karlin

Personally I didn't get very far down this road but I did make some killer mozzarella and ricotta...not much else
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Re: WD Daily Chat - Talk about anything You Like

Post by Lorenzoid » Thu Mar 04, 2021 18:06

Scogar wrote:
Thu Mar 04, 2021 02:57
I struggled with the waste of all that whey. Unlike with meat, where all parts can be used to some extent I wasn't able to accept putting a gallon of milk in and ultimately throwing out 1/2 gallon of it as whey. If people know of ways to use the majority of it and wish to share I would love to consider this hobby a bit more. The two books I got are:

Home Cheese Making: Recipes for 75 Homemade Cheeses by said Ricki Carroll and
Artisan Cheese Making at Home: Techniques & Recipes for Mastering World-Class Cheeses by Mary Karlin

Personally I didn't get very far down this road but I did make some killer mozzarella and ricotta...not much else
I stupidly skipped the mozz and ricotta stage of learning and went straight for the hard cheeses. This is a little like skipping beef jerky and going straight to trying to make a slow-fermented salami, or skipping brewing a porter and going straight to a pilsner. Needless to say, the disappointing results, not to mention the poor utilization ratio of the milk that you mentioned, discouraged me from cheesemaking.

You feed the whey to your animals! (As though a city dweller like me has any.)
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Re: WD Daily Chat - Talk about anything You Like

Post by Scogar » Fri Mar 05, 2021 01:05

:lol: :lol:
@Lorenzoid - Can't say that I haven't done the same on many things. I may be able to talk myself into getting some pigs, feeding them the whey (and beer brewing spent grain) and using the piggies for sausage. Not sure what the moohair (i.e., mujer) would say but this is a possibility. Have to start working on it now though.

And I would love to go down the hard cheese and blue cheese path
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What are you making for Easter?

Post by redzed » Mon Mar 29, 2021 18:07

Easter is not only a religious holiday but a time to celebrate with smoked meats and sausages. In many European countries it is the busiest time for sausage makers and butcher shops. I'm curing a large ham that I will smoke in a few days and roast on Easter Sunday. I will also be making a Polish smoked sausage using my late father's recipe, a Krakowska sausage and the classic Polish white sausage, a must at Easter time. So it will be a busy week.

What are the rest of you meathead's making?
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Re: WD Daily Chat - Talk about anything You Like

Post by Albertaed » Mon Mar 29, 2021 18:39

Hey Red I had Krakauer (which I believe is basically the German variation of Krakowska) on my list of to do’s. I may make it a this weekend and work on a few techniques.
I imagine your white sausage is a variation of German wiesswurst, Which I have to admit doesn’t look overly appetizing. :lol: :lol:
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Re: WD Daily Chat - Talk about anything You Like

Post by Scogar » Mon Mar 29, 2021 21:15

Getting warm here in Atlanta. And being a northern boy, working meats in the garage, and tending to sweat a bit more than is acceptable, my processing will be slowing down. I have 10 lbs of Class I shoulder chopped into small dice for Melton Mowbray pork pies which I will eat for lunches and hikes (freezing all and thawing as needed). I am also hoping to initiate the Buffalo Chopper into another 10-12 lbs of frankfurters (Marianski recipe or minor variation) before or by Sunday. Lastly, if I can get to it, my first ferment...a quick pepperoni, possibly fermented in the 70s instead of 100 (20s instead of 30s) but I need to figure out this temp-hours thing from Marianski. But since the mince is all the same and there is no emulsification on pepperoni I can carry that a bit deeper into the heat. After that it will be easy, one-off grinds with or without casings...Italian, MX chorizo, etc. as needed.

I know I'm whining to the Florida Boys and Butterbean and the guys in Indonesia and Thailand...but, well I guess I accept it....I'm whining
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Re: WD Daily Chat - Talk about anything You Like

Post by jcflorida » Mon Mar 29, 2021 21:25

Picked up a couple of choice briskets cheap sooo....
- Yesterday, a couple of 100% beef salamis into fermentation.
- 100% pork version with same recipe as an experiment also fermenting.
- Tomorrow, all beef smoked sausage and all beef hot dogs.
- Smoke the points for burnt ends over next weekend.

Beef salamis and hot dogs variants of cajuneric's videos here:
http://twoguysandacooler.com/making-a-100-beef-salami/ and
http://twoguysandacooler.com/hebrew-nat ... at-recipe/
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Re: WD Daily Chat - Talk about anything You Like

Post by Albertaed » Mon Mar 29, 2021 21:45

jcflorida wrote:
Mon Mar 29, 2021 21:25
- Tomorrow, all beef smoked sausage and all beef hot dogs.
JC have you made these before?
I’ve got Bob K’s brisket brining and will be smoked later this week.
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