From meat to meat stick...

[canadian hunter312]

i decided to try out the "slim jim" recipe from rytek kutas' book (bible?) on processing meat.

10 deboned domestic rabbits + pork = 25lbs of goodness

this:

went into:

6 minutes later it looked like this:

before stuffing into:

which resulted in:

what is the term used for blue thing mounted above the motor? any idea what oil should be used in it to keep heat to a minimum?

 

[smokeeter]

gear reduction unit.

 

[Winchested]

Yes 90 degree or mitre. Gearbox. Reducer.

Looks yummy!

Why did you add fat? Are peps not nice when lean?

I got 40 lb of deer and it had 20% pork fat added this year and I wish it was just plain deer only.

 

[Dan B]

what is the term used for blue thing mounted above the motor? any idea what oil should be used in it to keep heat to a minimum?

Gear box; it probably reduces the rotation speed of input while converting the direction by 90 degrees.
There are many types of lubricants for them depending on the gear type, speed, material, operating temp, loading and so on.
At a guess a 90 weight gear oil would do the job - don't overfill; there should be a fill line or plug to give a level.

Dan

 

[trevj]

Yes 90 degree or mitre. Gearbox. Reducer.

Looks yummy!

Why did you add fat? Are peps not nice when lean?

I got 40 lb of deer and it had 20% pork fat added this year and I wish it was just plain deer only.

Try a very small batch of straight venison sausage, before you commit to a full size one.

I find it too dry, without added fat. I use bacon, about 20 percent by weight or volume, and reduce the salt I add, if I can. I find that dryer than that feels rather like sawdust when chewed.

Cheers
Trev

 

[trevj]

Gear box; it probably reduces the rotation speed of input while converting the direction by 90 degrees.
There are many types of lubricants for them depending on the gear type, speed, material, operating temp, loading and so on.
At a guess a 90 weight gear oil would do the job - don't overfill; there should be a fill line or plug to give a level.

Dan

I like that worm gear drive gearbox! Betcha that grinder runs quiet!

Cheers
Trev

 

[bcsteve]

So...what was your recipe?

 

[Boomer74]

what is the term used for blue thing mounted above the motor?

any idea what oil should be used in it to keep heat to a minimum?

I would NOT use any petroleum-based product in it... I'd use vegetable oil.

If there's ever a leak, the meat would be garbage with petrol-base...

 

[kkahmann]

Trust me--you need the fat--it acts as a binder

 

[canadian hunter312]

I like that worm gear drive gearbox! Betcha that grinder runs quiet!

Cheers
Trev

quiet and very fast. you can feed a 2x2" cylinder of meat in any length into the hopper and it won't even bog down. grandpa knew what he was doing when he threw this together. stuffing the casings takes quite a bit longer than grinding and that is when i'm having heat build up in the gearbox which was transferring to the auger in the grinder. heat is a big no-no when grinding or stuffing and i need a better oil to keep it cooler.

i'm not worried about the type of oil as even if this thing ever leaks the oil will be far away from the meat.



these meat sticks are dry when compared to something like a schneiders pepperette you'd get in a store. rabbit and deer both require some sort of fat or you'd end up with ground style jerky in a casing.


the recipe for 10 lbs:

Dried Sausage Sticks
(Slim Jims)

Ingredients for 10 lbs.

2 tsp. Instacure No. 1 ----prague powder #1 aka LEM cure
4 Tbls. paprika
1/3 cup ground mustard
1 tsp. ground black pepper
1 tsp. ground white pepper
1 tsp. ground celery seed
1 Tbls. mace
1 tsp. granulated garlic
5 Tbls. salt
4 1/2 Tbls. powdered dextrose ----aka corn sugar from bulk barn
1 1/2 cups Fermento -----instant buttermilk powder from bulk barn

Meat

Dried sausage sticks are made using a fairly lean type of meat. You may use any kind of cow, bull, or steer meat. The ratio is about 80% lean and 20% fat. Beef chuck is excellent meat for this sausage.

Processing procedure;

Meat is chilled at 30-32 degrees so that it will not smear when being ground through a 3/16" grinder plate. It is then mixed well for about 2 minutes and then stuffed into 22 - 24 mm casings. Desired length is 6"-9". meat is then placed into a smokehouse at 98-110 degree F with cold smoke applied for about 8 hours. If you desire more tang you may hold this temperature for 12 more hours. Smokehouse temperatures are then raised until internal temperature reaches 145 degrees F. Remove from smoker and place in dry room at 50-55 degrees F.

 

[Freyr_255]

I would NOT use any petroleum-based product in it... I'd use vegetable oil.

If there's ever a leak, the meat would be garbage with petrol-base...

It's a separate unit from the grinder itself. Looks like someone converted a hand grinder with a motor and gear box. So unlike a pre-built unit that has a seal separating the motor from the meat this one will never leak directly into the griding unit - only onto the floor. In a unit where it could leak directly into the grinder I do agree with veggy oil only. In this unit however veggy oil would only serve to reduce gear life(not that I'm sure it matters...this unit would probably outlast the owner either way).

 

[Boomer74]

It's a separate unit from the grinder itself. Looks like someone converted a hand grinder with a motor and gear box.
So unlike a pre-built unit that has a seal separating the motor from the meat this one will never leak directly into the griding unit - only onto the floor.
In a unit where it could leak directly into the grinder I do agree with veggy oil only. In this unit however veggy oil would only serve to reduce gear life.
(not that I'm sure it matters...this unit would probably outlast the owner either way)

If oil leaked from either shaft-seal, it would have a fairly good chance of being flung everywhere. Contaminating everything...

But hey, go ahead & get 33% more life from the gears... A little synthetic motor-oil never killed anybody. Hydrocarbon poisoning isn't that bad.

* to the OP, find a food-grade lubricating oil suitable for industrial kitchen mixers. Or vegetable oil, it's guaranteed not to poison you.

 

[simon l]

Nice rig,
How stable is the ''aligment''?

 

[canadian hunter312]

Nice rig,
How stable is the ''aligment''?

thanks, but all the credit goes to my grandfather (RIP) for building this.

that black puck looking thing in the middle is a rubber gear type thing that joins the two together. two pins in the wood thing's make sure it's aligned when it's put together each time. yes, it was a hand grinder. i have the handle for backup, but i doubt it'll ever get used.



i'll take pics of it broken down if anyone is interested in building one. i even have a nice motor for sale to get you started



as for the oil, the output shaft spins slowly and leakage is not a worry there. but, if it did leak where the pulley is i could see some oil flying. lubrication and cooling are my main concern as the long process of stuffing casings results in heat that transfers to the auger. heat and warm meat aren't a good combination in the grinder. i',m thinking switching from a 1/2" stuffing tube to a 3/4" may speed up the process enough that i'll be done before it warms up.

 

[the keepa]

Thanks a lot!...now I gotta build one!!!
I've been kicking around the idea of using a speed-reducing gear box to build a meat grinder like yours for years....I have two SRGBs in my big storage barn, somewheres,just gotta find one....got them from when the old papermill was torn down here in Dryden . They were used to adjust the position of the belts on the line shaft pulleys , thereby changing the speed(draw) on different parts of the paper machine.....dryers ....stacks ....Pope reel...etc....
BTW nice set up.

 

[DFarmer]

thanks, but all the credit goes to my grandfather (RIP) for building this.

that black puck looking thing in the middle is a rubber gear type thing that joins the two together. two pins in the wood thing's make sure it's aligned when it's put together each time. yes, it was a hand grinder. i have the handle for backup, but i doubt it'll ever get used.



i'll take pics of it broken down if anyone is interested in building one. i even have a nice motor for sale to get you started



as for the oil, the output shaft spins slowly and leakage is not a worry there. but, if it did leak where the pulley is i could see some oil flying. lubrication and cooling are my main concern as the long process of stuffing casings results in heat that transfers to the auger. heat and warm meat aren't a good combination in the grinder. i',m thinking switching from a 1/2" stuffing tube to a 3/4" may speed up the process enough that i'll be done before it warms up.

Are you using a stuffing plate or just your regular grinding plate?
If you are using your grinding plate, you may find that switching to a stuffing plate with 2 large curved openings will move the meat into the casings much faster.

 

[trevj]

Or better yet, take a look at the stuffers at Princess Auto.

I bought the smaller one, under $100, on sale, was initially skeptical of the plastic gears, but in use they seem OK.
The larger stuffers only fault I could see, was that the sheet metal needed a going over with a file to deburr some sharp edges.

No comparison, using a stuffer over using the grinder to stuff with, esp. on smaller size casings. I made my own small diameter tube for the meat stick casings, and am pretty pleased with the 3 pound stuffer.

Cheers
Trev

 

[EZED]

grinder modification

The heat is no coming from the gear reducer as it is seperated from the grinder by the rubber coupling. The heat is being generated by the friction of the auger shaft rubbing as it passes through the grinder housing the new grinder have a nylon bushing that the auger shaft rides on.

On the grinder with the nylon bushing we drilled a hole in the casting at 12 oclock and put vegetable oil in a squirt can to lubricate it.


Edge

 

[TonyMo]

Or better yet, take a look at the stuffers at Princess Auto.

I bought the smaller one, under $100, on sale, was initially skeptical of the plastic gears, but in use they seem OK.
The larger stuffers only fault I could see, was that the sheet metal needed a going over with a file to deburr some sharp edges.

No comparison, using a stuffer over using the grinder to stuff with, esp. on smaller size casings. I made my own small diameter tube for the meat stick casings, and am pretty pleased with the 3 pound stuffer.

Cheers
Trev

Those stickes look tasty!


I have the 11lb stuffer from Princess Auto and it is great! I was using the grinder for stuffing but then when I started making bigger batches a dedicated stuffer is awesome.
For lube on food based equipment, I have a tube of Sanitary Petrol Lube that I got at the local food equipment store in London.
ht tp://www.petrolgel.com/

Another tip is that before grinding, put all the metal parts in the freezer for 30min. This will help keep the fat cold and prevent smearing, as already has been mentioned.

 

[canadian hunter312]

Are you using a stuffing plate or just your regular grinding plate?
If you are using your grinding plate, you may find that switching to a stuffing plate with 2 large curved openings will move the meat into the casings much faster.

i could kiss you! i had no idea these existed....

The heat is no coming from the gear reducer as it is seperated from the grinder by the rubber coupling. The heat is being generated by the friction of the auger shaft rubbing as it passes through the grinder housing the new grinder have a nylon bushing that the auger shaft rides on.

On the grinder with the nylon bushing we drilled a hole in the casting at 12 oclock and put vegetable oil in a squirt can to lubricate it.


Edge

there is a nylon bushing in the grinder that i put veggie oil on before using. considering i coulda cooked an egg on the gear box and the rubber part was hot as well, it's safe to say it was definitely transferring heat.




pics will be posted today sometime...