Home Made Sausage, Cured, and Smoked Meats

[Watchman1]

Buttermilk brined and Applewood smoked Rack of Lamb

Happy Saturday!

 

[Gibonius]

First attempt at a brisket on the new smoker (ended up with the Grilla model from Grilla Grills).

Pretty damn good. Texture was perfect, need maybe a little work on the bark. Only did a salt and pepper rub to get a sense of the new smoker, could definitely get a nicer bark with a different rub.

Need to work on my slicing technique I think.

 

[jcman311]

I think you might want to trim a little more of the fat before you smoke.

 

[venividivicibj]

What, is that a brisket for ants?!

 

[Piobaire]

Looks good and agreed on the trim. Don't throw it out though, use it for other stuff. Goes great in a grind for hamburger.

 

[reidd]

So I salted and hung a couple of really nice heritage breed fresh pork legs in a barn at the family farm last February. My first attempt at country ham.

They are looking very gnarly at the moment but actually smell good, just like you would expect country ham to smell. Planning on cutting into one week of Thanksgiving and I guess we'll see what we have.

If it worked, I'll put a couple more up this winter and get a little "solera" going.

 

[Omega Male]

Looks good and agreed on the trim. Don't throw it out though, use it for other stuff. Goes great in a grind for hamburger.

Anyone here use the KitchenAid stand mixer add-on for grinding? Thinking of getting one as we already have the mixer and the baker in the house has gone off to school. Might as well get some more use out of it.

 

[beargonefishing]

Anyone here use the KitchenAid stand mixer add-on for grinding? Thinking of getting one as we already have the mixer and the baker in the house has gone off to school. Might as well get some more use out of it.

I use one on my KA stand mixer. It works fine, but I don't have any "real" grinder experience to compare it to.

 

[Piobaire]

Be the baller you are and get a good 1HP dedicated grinder. Trust me, it's worth it. Better grind, easier grind, and way faster.

 

[Gibonius]

I think you might want to trim a little more of the fat before you smoke.

Good call.

What, is that a brisket for ants?!

There's only the two of us, it goes a long way. It actually came as this monstrous piece from Costco, like 40 pounds. Thanks Instacart guy lol.

I portioned it out, but butchering brisket is a learning experience for me.

 

[Texasmade]

I portioned it out, but butchering brisket is a learning experience for me.

Cuck

 

[nootje]

Anyone here use the KitchenAid stand mixer add-on for grinding? Thinking of getting one as we already have the mixer and the baker in the house has gone off to school. Might as well get some more use out of it.

Be the baller you are and get a good 1HP dedicated grinder. Trust me, it's worth it. Better grind, easier grind, and way faster.

^ this is good advice.
I’ve looked at the companion grinder for the Kenwood kitchenmachine we have, even tested it at a friends place. Couldn’t hold a candle to what a dedicated grinder does. The fit and finish is better and the motor is build for purpose.

 

[otc]

Anyone here use the KitchenAid stand mixer add-on for grinding? Thinking of getting one as we already have the mixer and the baker in the house has gone off to school. Might as well get some more use out of it.

It works fine for normal quantities (assuming you are talking about the metal one https://www.kitchenaid.com/countertop-appliances/stand-mixers/attachments/p.metal-food-grinder-attachment.ksmmga.html ) If you are making a 5lb batch of sausage, like anything from Ruhlman's book, it is plenty.

The stuffer is less than ideal (like any grinder-integrated stuffer tube--always want a dedicated stuffer), but the grinder itself has legitimate plates and blades.
Easy to fit the whole thing in the freezer too to help stop your fat from smearing.

And if you want to use the kitchenaid to do your primary bind, then you already have it out on the counter.

 

[Gibonius]

Good point about the metal version. The plastic one is garbage.

I have the metal one and have used it a couple times. I have no standard of comparison, but it's fine?

 

[Piobaire]

Can you get by with the Kitchen Aid? Sure thing, if it's not a big batch. Even with a 5# batch is there a quantitative difference in the grind result? I think so. I can grind that batch in 2-3 minutes and it comes out a cleaner grind, no smearing of the fat, the meat/fat doesn't warm as much. In fact, I put the huge hopper and the mechanism of the grinder in the freezer a couple hours before hand so it all stays icy cold. When the fat warms that will get you smearing on the less powerful grinders/grinder attachments.

Seeing what/how OM cooks I think he'll benefit from dropping the coin on a nice 1hp or so grinder. Also, being a kept man, he has time to work with primals or sub-primals.