Snipe

Now if you want to go charcoal.. Get a offset firebox.. They sell these at Lowes and Home depot.. I installed one on a Midsized Reverse flow smoker I made this spring.. Cut out the hole and bolt it on.. The hole opening is 10" as well.. You will need to have a baffle all the way across the box so you will have even heat..

When you buy a universal replacement it will come with feet. I purchased this one at BassPro a few months back.. As for getting your smoke. Use a old pie pan and place your wood chips in it... Have it just above the element in the middle.. It will start to smoke in just a few minutes.. To get the pan just above it you can use a couple of tuna cans on each side of the element..

OK I have been in the process of building a sausage smoker last winter.. Here are the items I am using. First a Siemens Remote Bulb Line voltage stat. 141-0521 It is rated at 15 amp. you can wire it open on rise so it will kill the power to the element at your achieved temp.. You can find these ranging from $40 to $75 It comes with wiring instructions Next you will need a heating element .. Bass Pro and Cabela's sell these.. You can pick one up for around $30.. You will need some #10 wire and a 15 amp plug.. This will be your cord from the stat to the wall plug. These are 10" wide. One thing I would have is a baffle about 8" above the element with several 1/2 holes drilled in it.. Make it the width of the entire box.. This will help distribute the heat and smoke evenly across the bottom.. At the top of the box you can add a 4" duct start collar with damper.. They sell these at Home Depot.. Also pic up a 4" rain cap.. You will need to add one of these at the bottom of the box as well.. Under the element.. This will be your air flow control.. Wire it up and install your racks of dowels for hanging sausage... Give it a test run.. Now if you want to do charcoal, let me know I can give you a easy fix for that... But it will be much harder to keep your temp low for smoking sausage..

The biggest issue with the box you have is heat recovery ( Open and closing the door)... Good thing you live in the South.. This would not be a good smoker in the cold or wind.. The metal is to thin to retain good heat from top to bottom.. But I can see it being very useful for smoked sausage.. You do not want it to be more than 200* MAX. I was kinda hoping you would say electric... I have you covered.. Give me a few days to put it together..

OK, I will work on sometime tomorrow.. Charcoal with gas assist.. Tricky but it can be done.. Also how deep are your pockets??

What is your preferred method of heat?? LP, Charcoal, Electric?? I have a few ideas that will work with that..

Get some pics up,, It will make it easier

Good luck Mike... Drop you a big one..!!

I use fresh peppers.. If you plates is to small just split and seed them.. Cut into 1/4 cubes.. Yes, mix all meat and ingredients really good by hand.. ( Your hands will burn from the cold ) and put it all in the stuffer.. Enjoy!!! Good to see another soon to be sausage head...

You can use this recipe with beef/pork mixture or venison/pork mix.. 1 Tbs Ground Black Pepper 5 Tbs Salt 4 Tbs Powdered Dextrose 2 Tsp Cure #1 1 Tbs Ground Coriander 1 Tsp Ground Ginger 1 Tsp Ground Mustard 1 Tsp Ground Garlic (Opt) 6 Tbs Corn Syrup Solids 8 Lbs. Venison or Beef 2 lbs. Pork Trimmings 1 1/4 Cups Fermento Grind meat through 1/4" plate.. Mix all the spices together and add to meat mixture.. Mix well.. Stuff into fibrous casings and rest in frig over night. Place in smoker at around 120-130* for about a hour to dry.. Raise temp in smoker to 165* smoke for 3-4 hours.. Raise temp to 180* no wood should be added at this time.. Cook sausage till internal temp hits 152*... Pull sausage and dump into a ice bath.. Cool sausage down to internal temp 100-110*... Hang sausage in room temp for 2-3 hours to bloom.. Once bloomed to the color you desire place in frig overnight.. Next day vacuum seal each chub and freeze, They should last a year in the freezer.. Some reason mine has never lasted that long..They seem to get ate..

Yes, I add them in my Summer Sausage.. The jalapenos I split seed and run through the grinder with the large plate. I have a 1/2" plate.. Reserving the pepper liquid, I will add it to the meat mixture to help spice it up. Now for the cheese I use Kraft Crumbles.. Its cheaper than the high temp cheese and if you smoke the sausage right it will not melt. If you are looking for a good guide to go by, I use one lager pepper per pound of meat.. It gives it a good flavor. Now if your looking for heat, go with 2 peppers per pound. That will bring it up a notch.. Now the cheese I use about 1 pound cheese per 5lbs of meat..

The one I use is this one from LEM.. And I did pay 139 bones at Bass Pro for it.. http://www.lemproducts.com/product/496/Vertical_Stuffers The one I recommend is the 5lb from Northern Tool... http://www.northerntool.com/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/product_6970_200308623_200308623 The ONLY difference between the two is LEM has metal gears, and the Northern Tool has Hard Nylon Gears.. And for 70+ dollars I would buy the NT one every time.. I have purchased this one for my hunting buddy and he could not be more pleased... I only thing to remember is try not to stuff to fast with cured meat, or bottom out the piston hard... This could damage the gears.. Other than that.. It is a great deal..

Also get the vertical one... The shoehorn style is a PIA... It has to much meat blow by..

You can not beat a stuffer... Using the grinder can mush the meat as it stuffs.. I use a stuffer from LEM. I have several friends that use the one from Northern Tool... They have theres on sale this month too.. Stuffers If you make 5-10 pound batches you may want to get the 5lb stuffer.. If you will be making more than that, invest the extra coin in the 15 lb. one On Edit:::: If you get one, the first time you use it. You will have wished you bought it a long time ago... It makes sausage making easy and more fun.. .

I have done this on several occasions... I would not worry about the texture.. You will be fine.. This is From the USDA Food Safety And Inspection Service http://www.fsis.usda.gov/Fact_Sheets/Focus_On_Freezing/index.asp#top

Just got back from the store.. Man I love it when they have a sale... 136lbs of meat for $140.00 that's around $1.03lb. Now to cut some of this down an vacuum seal some smaller portions.. 40# Chicken Leg Quarters .38lb 40.52# Bone In Loins .98lb 18.56# Loins 1.38lb 27.45# Butts .88lb 10.40# Chuckies 1.48lb .

This will help you with a little more info on canning.. http://www.uga.edu/nchfp/how/general.html

Water Bath is where you have added your jelly, jam in the jars and placed the lids on with rings lightly. Snug but lightly.. Place on large pot ( 10-12 Quart ) of hot water.. Just slightly cover the jars with water.. Bring to a soft boil for around 10 minutes.. Pull jars from water, place on a cooling rack... Do nothing at this time.. Just let them cool.. It may take a hour, sometimes 3 before they cool enough to seal... You will know when they seal... They will POP or Ping with a Tin sound... To test and see if they have sealed.. Push in the tops.. If it gives it did not seal.. If it is pushed in, your good to go.. Long as the seal is not broke, the shelf life is around a year.. Hope this helps..

Sorry for the delay... Yes, its in every grocery store, Wal-Mart.. They have it in liquid form and powder... I like to use the liquid... No prep time..

Pectin provides the proper "set" for jams and jellies with a convenient short boiling time. Jams and Jellies made without pectin products (such as SURE-JELL) take hours to make. Pectin is a natural carbohydrate that is extracted from the inner peel of many fruits; it is most commonly extracted from lemons, as well as limes, oranges and grapefruits. The peels are washed, ground and processed to extract the pectin. The pectin is then refined, vacuum-dried and ground.

Look something thats not smoked....lol Even tho I wanted to do Chipoltle Jelly.. That will be next.. For any of you guys that still have some pepper plants and fresh peppers left.. I was bored today, My FF team is getting there butts kicked... So I thought I would make up a batch of jelly.... Simple and easy to do... 12 oz. Jalapeno Peppers ( Seeded ) Around 34 Medium size peppers.. 2 Cups Apple Cider Vinegar 6 Cups Sugar 6 Oz. Pectin (Shur Jell ) Fresh from the freezer... Add peppers and 1 Cup Vinegar in blender and blend till smooth. Add the other cup of vinegar... Start bringing to a boil... Add the 6 cups of sugar... Soft boil for 10 minutes... Skim off film from top.. After 10 minutes add the pectin.. boild for a minute longer stiring the whole time.. Kinda forgot the pic in the blender when it was finished.. Oh well... Its in the pan simmering.. Sterilize jars and fill within 1/4" of top.. Put lids and rings on.. Water bath for 10 minutes if you wish.. Let cool on counter till lids pop.. And after I made a unreal mess of my kitchen... I have (13) 4oz jars resting on the counter... Serve on toast or with cream cheese and crackers.. I need more jars.... I have a few other ideas I would like to try.. Enjoy!!! .

Bow season opens Saturday here.. I am as ready as I can be.. Looking forward to swatting fly's and skeeters.. NOT!

Heres one I make... Smoked loaf is the bomb.. I did this a few months back with a Fattie.. Smoked Cajun Meatloaf.. 1 medium yellow onion -- chopped 1 stalk celery -- chopped 1/2 medium green bell pepper -- core, seed, chop 2 green onions -- minced 1 clove garlic -- minced 2 bay leaves 3/4 teaspoon salt 1/2 teaspoon cayenne pepper 1/2 teaspoon black pepper -- freshly ground 1/4 teaspoon ground cumin 1/4 teaspoon nutmeg 1 tablespoon worcestershire sauce 1/4 teaspoon Tabasco sauce 2 tablespoons unsalted butter 1/4 cup milk 1/4 cup catsup 1/2 - 3/4 cup bread crumbs -- fine, dry 1 pound lean ground beef ( Or Venison ) 1/2 pound lean ground pork shoulder 2 eggs -- slightly beaten 1. Mix the onion, celery, bell pepper, green onions, garlic, bay leaves, salt, cayenne pepper, black pepper, cumen, nutmeg, worcestershire sauce, & tabasco sauce in a medium sized bowl... 2. Melt the butter in a heavy 10 inch skillet over moderate heat.. Add the vegetable/spice mixture, & cook, uncovered, for 6 minutes, stirring constantly, until the onions & peppers are soft.. Remove from the heat & let cool until warm to the touch.. Discard the bay leaves. Stir in the milk, catsup, & bread crumbs... 3. In a large bowl, combine the beef, pork, eggs, & the bread crumb mixture.. Pack the meat mixture into a plastic wrap lined, 9″ x 5″ x 4″ loaf pan.. Set in frig overnight to hold its form.. 4. Next day remove from frig let set at room temp for a hour before cooking.. Preheat smoker to 275-300*. Flip loaf over on to a wire cooling rack.. Set in smoker, cook to a internal temp of 160-165*

Let me know what you guys settle on. I will change the team name when you decide.

You guys come up with a team name.. It makes no Diff to me..