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whats the pink Salt ?
esox, is that your summer sausage recipe you posted earlier? Im planning to try it out. Chilly, I like to cut my jerky strips somewhat with the grain, so it has some tear to it. Yours looks really good! I need to dust off the smoker for this weekend!! Totally getting the itch to smoke, and no fishable ice by me yet.
It's pink curing salt. It's also got some nitrate in it. Really, a good addition toward safe food. Nitrates are not evil, just gotta watch how much of that you consume.Here's some more info: https://www.thespruceeats.com/pink-salt-using-nitrates-to-cure-meat-1447029We use a little dab in our cold smoked venison summer sausage. Got a batch fresh out of the smokehouse doing a little extra drying as I type.Should be good to go by Christmas day
awesome....im doing this, this weekend. I'll get some venison out tonight...one quick question. What temp are you cold smoking at, 170-180? And do you go for an internal temp? (165?). I planed down some cherry planks so plenty of cherry sawdust/shavings in a bag just waiting to be used!! Oh, and do you use a mix of pork and venison, or some other fat source? 20%? 30%? Sorry for the questions, if you want to PM me you can.....
One more thing (now I feel like Columbo), make sure you use those clear(ish) casings instead of the brown ones or you won't be able to gauge color. The stuff in the pic above is before it goes for smoke. When it comes out it'll look like this:
Back OT... Dang Chilly, that looks awesome. And thank you for reminding me that smoked jerky is waaaay better than any other way. We've done some in the smokehouse when we do sausage and it's killer. Got one more round of sausage coming up on the 18th. I'ma get me round steak and "Chilly-ize" 'em!
Nice!! Mine came out awesome be carefull not to over smoke them!! Also if you have to fish off in oven .. I am sure you know this your a pro!! Lol's but just letting others know!! I doused them in pepper before smoking these are awesome tell you the truth got about 2.5 pounds out of it all shank a bit but meat was very lean.. was thinking to try the dousing with red pepper flakes for insane spicyness. After chopping on a few in the beff jerky that were done it would work is all I can say!! Oh ya esox_xtm feel free to get off topic in my threads and posts I am very for giving when it comes to this.. cause it gets people talking like a meet and greet.. that's what this sites about is to have fun off ice and on!! I don't mind as long as there no trying to piss any one off.. I am fine with it..
Whether or not nitrates are that bad for you or not, I get migraines from consuming them. Which is a real shame because I can't eat processed meats without taking loads of asprin to counter some of the effects (so i tend not to eat processed meats with nitrates). Whenever I make any sausages or the like, I have to cook it without nitrates which significantly decreases the shelf life. So, yes nitrates are definitely a nice preservative, but my body absolutely despises them haha. Just something to consider when making or consuming any processed meats. As much as I enjoy a nice hotdog or deli meat, the aftermath is not worth it for me.
Some people can be very sensitive to nitrates. Even salad bar stuff is often sprayed with a nitrate solution so the greens stay looking fresh. And that is a shame Noon... Not sure what I'd do if it were me. I love sausage of all kinds. Ham too and bacon and bacon and bacon...
What I do is be selective with my consumption. And a lot of time that means I enjoy that turkey club with bacon for every last bite. Then pop some asprin. Because food is too good to deny myself in this life Now if fishing gave me migraines you better believe I would live with migraines everyday before giving up fishing.