What R you doing today?

[Ohio Bob]

Spending a week in Punta Cana, DR. Having a Presidente. Makes me think of Varis again.
Where are you geek?

 

[Kraffty]

I really don’t remember if I shared any pics when I rebuilt the mantle and hearth on our fire place but I got the go ahead from Lori last week to build a matching faux beam that we added to the peak of the ceiling. We both had a sore day or two after working on ladders and reaching overhead to mount it.

 

[crushday]

I really don’t remember if I shared any pics when I rebuilt the mantle and hearth on our fire place but I got the go ahead from Lori last week to build a matching faux beam that we added to the peak of the ceiling. We both had a sore day or two after working on ladders and reaching overhead to mount it.
View attachment 119199View attachment 119200View attachment 119201

Stunning, Mike. Great job!

 

[winemaker81]

Mrs. WM81 gave me a meat grinder for Christmas. When we were first married, we purchased the accessory kit for the KitchenAid mixer, which includes a grinder. I have made hamburg and sausage periodically, but haven't in over 5 years as the grinder is slow. My younger son suggested getting a dedicated grinder.

It comes with a LOT of parts:



The front row of parts is most of what's used for grinding. Most of the parts are for shredding or straining.

Grinding 8 lbs of meat with the KitchenAid took upwards to 40 minutes. It works great, but it's slow.

Yesterday using the grinder? 4 minutes. It took longer to prep the pork shoulder (slicing into strips) than it did to grind it.



I made 8 lbs Italian sausage and 7 lbs breakfast sausage.



Mrs. WM81 used 1.5 lbs of Italian sausage for spaghetti sauce -- the remainder is formed into 1/4 lb patties.

The sausage in the sauce is a bit bland. I need to review other recipes and adjust the one I'm using.

 

[Hazelemere]

Mrs. WM81 gave me a meat grinder for Christmas. When we were first married, we purchased the accessory kit for the KitchenAid mixer, which includes a grinder. I have made hamburg and sausage periodically, but haven't in over 5 years as the grinder is slow. My younger son suggested getting a dedicated grinder.

It comes with a LOT of parts:

View attachment 119204

The front row of parts is most of what's used for grinding. Most of the parts are for shredding or straining.

Grinding 8 lbs of meat with the KitchenAid took upwards to 40 minutes. It works great, but it's slow.

Yesterday using the grinder? 4 minutes. It took longer to prep the pork shoulder (slicing into strips) than it did to grind it.

View attachment 119205

I made 8 lbs Italian sausage and 7 lbs breakfast sausage.

View attachment 119206

Mrs. WM81 used 1.5 lbs of Italian sausage for spaghetti sauce -- the remainder is formed into 1/4 lb patties.

The sausage in the sauce is a bit bland. I need to review other recipes and adjust the one I'm using.

try making chorizo

 

[winemaker81]

try making chorizo

It's on my To-Do list.

I had enough leftover to make 3 patties of Italian and 1 of breakfast, which I fried yesterday. Today I had one of each, and the flavor is MUCH better. I realize that when making sausage, I should probably refrigerate it for 1 day before forming patties or stuffing casings, to let flavors meld.

 

[ibglowin]

It's on my To-Do list.

I had enough leftover to make 3 patties of Italian and 1 of breakfast, which I fried yesterday. Today I had one of each, and the flavor is MUCH better. I realize that when making sausage, I should probably refrigerate it for 1 day before forming patties or stuffing casings, to let flavors meld.

Did you add any of the red pepper flakes to kick it up a notch?

 

[winemaker81]

Did you add any of the red pepper flakes to kick it up a notch?

I have a jar of Indian chili powder that I use judiciously. Next batch I'll make most mild ... some of the patties will be hot.

I grew up in an area with a large Italian population, and very good pre-formed sausage patties were available in every grocery store. There's nothing like that I know of in the Raleigh area, so I'll have to make them myself!

 

[ibglowin]

I was talking bout the stuff most pizza parlors use. It works well in Italian Sausage.

I have a jar of Indian chili powder that I use judiciously. Next batch I'll make most mild ... some of the patties will be hot.

I grew up in an area with a large Italian population, and very good pre-formed sausage patties were available in every grocery store. There's nothing like that I know of in the Raleigh area, so I'll have to make them myself!

 

[winemaker81]

I was talking bout the stuff most pizza parlors use. It works well in Italian Sausage.

I have a small jar of flaked pepper. I spotted the Indian chili first.

Next time I'm at Costco I'll buy another shoulder, and probably a few packages of stew beef, to experiment with making hamburg. Regarding the hamburg, it's a matter of sufficient fat content and the quality of the beef.

 

[Rocky]

My jeep, restored a couple years back, has the seasonal limitation of tubular doors and no top. It hibernates in the garage all winter. A couple weeks ago a saw an ad for a jeep salvage yard in Prescott that's only about 45 mins away from me and went over and found a hard top and a set of full doors. The top was tan colored and the doors were from a red jeep but a few days of cleaning, sanding, priming and painting and I now have a closed up jeep for the winter. I also added a winch to the garage ceiling so I can store the top in the spring and also put it on and take it off by myself.View attachment 118478

Standing tall, Mike!

 

[vinny]

Mrs. WM81 gave me a meat grinder for Christmas. When we were first married, we purchased the accessory kit for the KitchenAid mixer, which includes a grinder. I have made hamburg and sausage periodically, but haven't in over 5 years as the grinder is slow. My younger son suggested getting a dedicated grinder.

It comes with a LOT of parts:

View attachment 119204

The front row of parts is most of what's used for grinding. Most of the parts are for shredding or straining.

Grinding 8 lbs of meat with the KitchenAid took upwards to 40 minutes. It works great, but it's slow.

Yesterday using the grinder? 4 minutes. It took longer to prep the pork shoulder (slicing into strips) than it did to grind it.

View attachment 119205

I made 8 lbs Italian sausage and 7 lbs breakfast sausage.

View attachment 119206

Mrs. WM81 used 1.5 lbs of Italian sausage for spaghetti sauce -- the remainder is formed into 1/4 lb patties.

The sausage in the sauce is a bit bland. I need to review other recipes and adjust the one I'm using.

I bit the bullet and got a grinder earlier this year. What a difference! It almost saddens me to take it out. It takes more time to get it out than to grind everything.

I have made some amazing sausages, and if you are the type to care TheSausageMaker. com has Ecocure. Nitrite free curing agents for a more naturally cured and healthy product. It does become a thing if you are eating a sausage or jerky every time you walk by the fridge. I made some VERY addictive snacks.

I look forward to seeing what you create next!

 

[vinny]

Cheese update!

I am still aging my Brie and Borgonzola. They are now wrapped and in the colder fridge to mature.

My Shropshire Blue is a creature to be wary of, it does taste great although young. It just needs more time to ripen. Nice marbling inside already.


I have also started an Esrom and a Limburger. The Esrom is the white, Limburger orange.


I got a new pot today for larger batches so I can make some longer aged cheeses. That is worth a larger batch in my mind. More humidity control with more cheese, and might as well make the effort worth it with enough to last a while.

Its a bit of an upgrade!


Oh, and I just pulled out a ziergerkase which has been soaking in the fridge in wine for a week. It is basically a pressed ricotta brined in a salted wine.

Homemade of course!