Let's Talk BBQ

Cured Meats & Food Preservation => Cured meats & Food Preservation => Charcuterie: Ham, Bacon, Sausage, etc. => Topic started by: Sailor1 on November 09, 2013, 11:21:47 AM

Title: 10 pounds of chubs using Celery Juice Powder
Post by: Sailor1 on November 09, 2013, 11:21:47 AM
Doing 10lbs of Summer Sausage with 1 pound of mild cheddar cheese.  Instead of using 2 tsp of cure #1 I am using 3 1/2 tsp of celery juice powder.  Celery juice power is pretty expensive $9.99 for enough to do 25 pounds of meat.  Buddy of mine thinks additives and preservatives will kill him  :o  Told him he gets more nitrates in veggies every day than he gets in cured sausage but he insists on no sodium nitrates.  So we is going all natural in this batch.

10 pounds of Wally World GB 80/20
(http://i36.photobucket.com/albums/e25/jcompton1/DSC07270_zpsde15b69d.jpg)

Spices and celery juice power all mixed up
(http://i36.photobucket.com/albums/e25/jcompton1/DSC07271_zps7ec18fe3.jpg)

Casings soaking for 40 minutes
(http://i36.photobucket.com/albums/e25/jcompton1/DSC07274_zpsa2644b40.jpg)

Got 1 pound of mild cheddar all diced up.  This is store bought and not high temp cheese.
(http://i36.photobucket.com/albums/e25/jcompton1/DSC07273_zps4cd70e3a.jpg)

Meat got mixed up and then the cheese was added and mixed.  All hand mixed.
(http://i36.photobucket.com/albums/e25/jcompton1/DSC07275_zpse54da7e0.jpg)

Casings all stuffed.  Tied the chubs in 8 inch lengths
(http://i36.photobucket.com/albums/e25/jcompton1/DSC07276_zps9280e836.jpg)

Loaded in the Bradley.  3 chubs in the back row and 4 in the front.
(http://i36.photobucket.com/albums/e25/jcompton1/DSC07278_zps43ac6891.jpg)

1 hour at 130 degrees to dry.  Will bump to 140 for 2 hrs and add 3 hours of Hickory.  Bump to 150 for 2 hours and finish off the other hour of hickory smoke.  Bump to 160 for 2 hrs then to 170 and hold till IT of 152.

Be back later.
Title: Re: 10 pounds of chubs using Celery Juice Powder
Post by: Smokin Don on November 09, 2013, 11:42:29 AM
Looks like a bunch of good snacks there!!! Don
Title: Re: 10 pounds of chubs using Celery Juice Powder
Post by: sparky on November 09, 2013, 11:51:36 AM
I got crackers.   ;)
Title: Re: 10 pounds of chubs using Celery Juice Powder
Post by: CDN Smoker on November 09, 2013, 11:52:53 AM
That looks outstanding, great job ;D
Title: Re: 10 pounds of chubs using Celery Juice Powder
Post by: HighOnSmoke on November 09, 2013, 12:16:37 PM
Will be watching this one!
Title: Re: 10 pounds of chubs using Celery Juice Powder
Post by: Sailor1 on November 09, 2013, 04:23:12 PM
Smoke is finished and now just got to let the IT come up.  IT is at 130 so got a ways to go.  Pretty happy with the color so far using the celery juice powder instead of the Cure #1

(http://i36.photobucket.com/albums/e25/jcompton1/DSC07279_zps2a16669e.jpg)
Title: Re: 10 pounds of chubs using Celery Juice Powder
Post by: hikerman on November 09, 2013, 04:44:36 PM
Sailor they are looking great!

Question for you....How exactly is the celery juice powder replacing the cure #1? This baffles me.  :-\
Title: Re: 10 pounds of chubs using Celery Juice Powder
Post by: Sailor1 on November 09, 2013, 06:00:39 PM
They just came off the smoker and into a cold water bath to cool down and on the counter to bloom for a few hours.  Then they will go into the fridge for 24 to 48 hours and then get vac sealed.

(http://i36.photobucket.com/albums/e25/jcompton1/DSC07280_zps65b147dc.jpg)
Title: Re: 10 pounds of chubs using Celery Juice Powder
Post by: sliding_billy on November 09, 2013, 06:15:08 PM
Very nice.
Title: Re: 10 pounds of chubs using Celery Juice Powder
Post by: Sailor1 on November 09, 2013, 06:21:55 PM
Sailor they are looking great!

Question for you....How exactly is the celery juice powder replacing the cure #1? This baffles me.  :-\
Sodium Nitrate is considered a "chemical" and therefore is an additive/preservative.  Nitrates occur naturally in veggies.  Celery is high in nitrates.  The USDA considers meat "cured" if you use a cure agent such as Cure #1, Morton's Tender Quick etc.  The USDA allows meat producers to label smoked meats as natural, no preservative no additives if you don't use cure.  The label has to say "uncured" and precooked.  Of course this is all a big hoax to start with.  A nitrate is a nitrate is a nitrate no matter how you get it.  But because a veggie is giving it and not a chemical people think they are eating healthy.  Lot of scientific and chemistry stuff going on to turn the nitrates into nitrites as meat is smoked. The smoke ring on a brisket is getting the pink from the chemical reaction of burning wood which produces nitrates.  I may be confused with the nitrites/nitrate stuff but bottom line is the celery juice powder does the same thing that cure #1 does except it costs lots more money to do it.  It is a scam to get people to spend more money for something that they could have gotten a lot cheeper. 

Cliff aka Tenthunter did a great write up a while back when he juiced a bunch of celery and used the juice instead of the store bought celery juice powder.  Michael Ruhlman has a nice write up about the hoax.  http://ruhlman.com/2011/05/the-no-nitrites-added-hoax/

My Buddy will not be convinced and he insists that he can tell the difference in meats using sodium nitrate vs the all natural stuff.  He wanted it so he is getting it.   ;D
Title: Re: 10 pounds of chubs using Celery Juice Powder
Post by: muebe on November 09, 2013, 08:07:22 PM
Glutamates also occur naturally like that are in MSG. And people get all freaked out about MSG ::)

Hey cyanide is also naturally found in apple seeds ???

And tapioca is poisonous before it is processed!

There are so many "natural" things out there that are actually bad for you.

Sailor those chubs look great!

So are you going to do a blind taste test with your friend to see if he can identify which one uses pink salt and which one uses the celery juice?
Title: Re: 10 pounds of chubs using Celery Juice Powder
Post by: SiFumar on November 09, 2013, 09:03:20 PM
Looks great as usual!
Title: Re: 10 pounds of chubs using Celery Juice Powder
Post by: hikerman on November 09, 2013, 10:54:11 PM
Thanks for explaining that Sailor. And yes those chubs are looking mighty fine!
Title: Re: 10 pounds of chubs using Celery Juice Powder
Post by: TentHunteR on November 09, 2013, 11:47:53 PM
Jim, can't wait to see it sliced!  8)



Sailor they are looking great!

Question for you....How exactly is the celery juice powder replacing the cure #1? This baffles me.  :-\

Like Jim (Sailor1) said, Celery is very high in naturally occurring nitrates, which break down into nitrites, which in turn cure the sausages.

Here's the celery juice experiment that I did this past year: Curing Sausage with Celery Juice - the experiment (http://www.letstalkbbq.com/index.php?topic=1844.msg18138#msg18138)


I did that experiment because I also know someone who refuses to eat "cured" meats, but will eat these "No Nitrite/Nitrate added" meats thinking they contain no nitrates/nitrites, which of course is not true.
Title: Re: 10 pounds of chubs using Celery Juice Powder
Post by: fishingbouchman on November 09, 2013, 11:50:35 PM
Those look great. 
Title: Re: 10 pounds of chubs using Celery Juice Powder
Post by: pz on November 10, 2013, 01:16:08 AM
Glutamates also occur naturally like that are in MSG. And people get all freaked out about MSG ::)

So true - MSG is an acronym for monosodium glutamate - glutamate is the sodium salt form of glutamic acid, an amino acid found in every protein on this planet.  I find that it is best to research anything myself, so as to make an informed decision on what I do
Title: Re: 10 pounds of chubs using Celery Juice Powder
Post by: Sailor1 on November 10, 2013, 12:58:01 PM
Cut a piece off and left the casing on the chub.  Peeled the casing off the piece.  Peeled great.
(http://i36.photobucket.com/albums/e25/jcompton1/DSC07281_zps94b90131.jpg)

It is just sitting there staring me down.  Oh what to do....what to do!
(http://i36.photobucket.com/albums/e25/jcompton1/DSC07284_zps6585c76b.jpg)

BOOM I WIN!
(http://i36.photobucket.com/albums/e25/jcompton1/DSC07285_zps15e3df4c.jpg)
Title: Re: 10 pounds of chubs using Celery Juice Powder
Post by: TentHunteR on November 10, 2013, 01:35:17 PM
That looks outstanding Jim!  It looks like you got a nice even cure all throughout.

Well Done!

Question: did you add any type of acidic ingredient to the sausage to aid in the curing process with the celery juice?


Cliff
Title: Re: 10 pounds of chubs using Celery Juice Powder
Post by: PoppyBill on November 10, 2013, 05:43:52 PM
That looks so good! Great job.
Title: Re: 10 pounds of chubs using Celery Juice Powder
Post by: Sailor1 on November 10, 2013, 06:59:37 PM
That looks outstanding Jim!  It looks like you got a nice even cure all throughout.

Well Done!

Question: did you add any type of acidic ingredient to the sausage to aid in the curing process with the celery juice?


Cliff
Cliff, I used powdered dextrose, corn syrup solids, pickling salt, paprika, Cayenne pepper, black pepper, white pepper, mustard seed, ground coriander and non fat dry milk and of course store bought mild cheddar cheese.  I don't think any of those ingredients would be classified as acidic.  This is a recipe that my friend Rick (NEPAS) gave to me so I don't feel comfortable listing the exact measurements as it is his recipe from his secret vault  ;D
Title: Re: 10 pounds of chubs using Celery Juice Powder
Post by: SiFumar on November 11, 2013, 02:07:14 AM
It does look good! But not any different than your others.  Think price wise I'll stick to cure#1.