I started with a #22 Grinder 10 years ago (photo heavy)

[SHTF]

You guys are making me hungry....

 

[Roy68]

Well I went with a 30 percent fat for the bulk Italian. I'm not convinced the seasoning from Walton's is enough. It says for 25lbs but it just looks like not much when you dump it onto the meat. And does hand mixing really distribute the seasoning well? I'm worried it will be more seasoning on some meat and less other...

I agree with camping1601. Hand mixing is fine as long as you do a thorough job with cold meat. If it's to warm you can change the texture and mixing. Nonetheless we hand mixed for a few years until I thought we could justify a mixer. Regarding the fat it does come down to preference but most sausages are in an approximate 70/30 mix. The first couple years we used pork shoulder for our fat source at a 70/30. Sausages were good but a little dry. We switched to fresh pork back fat at the same 70/30 and felt it was a little to fatty. Now I use 5# fat with 20# of venison. That ratio has worked well for us. It's all about personal preference.

When it comes to seasoning that's personal preference. For me I want to taste the meat and not the seasoning. I rarely find myself wishing I added more seasoning.

 

[Roy68]

Not sure how the head of the sausage stuffer comes off. That thing will be a PIA to clean. I think next time I will put cling wrap or something on the face of the press, so it will be simple to clean, just clean the hopper and spout.

Mine unthreades. I just grab the plate and rotate ccw as it has a center stud. Not sure if yours is that way but it would be my assumption.

 

[Clarktar]

Just ate some. Wife's said seasoning is perfect. We both felt it is a little on the fatty side for us. Probably go with 6 lbs pork fat and 20 lbs of vension next time.

Sent from my SM-G935V using Tapatalk

 

[Roy68]

Newest addition to our in-home processing set up. My wife had an in on a house remodel that included the removal of butcher block island. This thing weighs a ton, measures 30" x 48", and it only cost us a 120 mile drive as the owner wanted it out of their way.

 

[Roy68]

Store bought commercial bacon is inferior!

In December my wife and I butchered a hog (write up is earlier in this thread). Last week I thawed out 2 of the 4 belly slabs. Friday I made up the wet cure. After 3 days of wet curing, I smoked the two slabs last night on my ugly drum smokers.

Fat cap left on

When wet curing (curing in general), there is some serious science involved. The last thing I want to do is make someone sick. I reference Amazing Ribs website for guidance and a Scaling Calculator when curing meats.
http://http://amazingribs.com/tips_and_technique/curing_meats.html

Bacon from Scratch
http://http://amazingribs.com/recipes/porknography/making_bacon_from_scratch.html

After a quick cold water rinse to knock of excess salt, on to the smokers with Apple wood chunks on top of the charcoal. In hind sight, I could have hung the bellies instead of laying them on the racks. Then I would have only had to fire up one of the drums.

2 1/2 hours later, with an internal temp of 150F in the thickest part; and I have 7 1/2 pounds of bacon in the freezer now. We cool the slabs on the counter for an hour before putting them in the fridge to chill. I trim the thinner ends off. Then wrap them tight in saran wrap (do not use foil it will react with the salt), then butcher paper, and freeze. We will slice the bacon as desired when we are ready to fry it up, and not before; regardless of being frozen or put in the fridge for sooner use. This reduces the amount of surface area that is exposed to air, as pork fat will oxidize rather quickly.

I received the A-OK from my wife to start looking into wild hog hunts

 

[couesbitten]

Wow, that bacon is a work of art!

 

[moxford]

Heard that wild hogs are leaner and the bacon's not quite as robust due to less pork-belly on them. Have not tried it myself.
That stuff above looks amazing.

-mox

 

[Davebuech]

Makin bacon! That looks delicious and I just finished an Elk Chorizo spaghetti dinner! How could I still be hungry?