Home made pizza...what a pain in the butt!
nancyjane_gardener
2 years ago
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Rho Dodendron
2 years agoamylou321
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Home made sausage
Comments (150)Got an email about some sausage making supplies and casings. Instead of private, I chose to post the members question and my reply here: [This message originated at GardenWeb] Did you happen to catch the show I think it's called "Good Eats" with Alton Brown. He did a show about making sausages etc...I was just wondering if you saw it and your opinion on it. He use d collagen casings on his Italian sausages. Al My reply: Hello, No, I missed that show, but recall that he made a sausage show a while back. He used the meat grinder with attached stuffing nozzle to stuff the sausages as opposed to a separate stuffer. I use my meat grinder just for the meat grind, and then have a separate meat mixer where the spices are added as well as some water and liquid smoke (optional). Then. my stuffer is now motorized and allows me to fill 11 pounds of sausages per filling. The stuffer is vertical uses a big round piston and drive screw. http://www.texastastes.com/p39.htm Its a red frame with green color motor that takes the place of the hand crank. I bought it from a distributor called Weston Supply. They used to have these as well as professional meat slicers and when I was searching for them, Weston bad clearance sales that allowed me to get these for less than half the price. The method Alton used to stuff was to cut the pork into 1 inch pieces and then mix in the spices at that time. The stuffing was then done using a course cutter plate of about 1/2 inch. There are two types of collagen casings. The larger fibrous ones are inedible and are used for cured luncheon meats like salami, pepperoni, etc. The edible collagen casings are quite thin and are dry, and shrunken up (like an accordion) into a short tube length. I use a very small 1/2 inch diameter one for making pepperoni snack sticks, and my sausage stuffer labors greatly as its a lot of force to push meat into a 10 inch long 1/2 inch diameter tube. In any case the edible collagen comes in two colors, clear and brown (mahogany). Clear would be for things like breakfast and italian sausages. The mahogany color is for darker sausages like pepperoni and chorizo. I use mostly fresh (natural) sheep casings for my breakfast sausages as the cost for a hank of casings is a bit cheaper than the molded and edible collagen ones. Sheep and hog casings are not as consistent in their sizes or diameters. The natural casings also need to be rehydrated by soaking in water about 10 or more minutes. They last forever and are packed in course salt and refrigerated. Years ago, a whole hank of sheep casings (enough for about 150 pounds) cost only about $9. But today, they are way up there in price. At first, when I was making italian sausages years ago, I used supermarket type hog casings under the Hormel brand. These tended to be short pieces and had holes and were not sized very well, so you could get 1 inch to almost 2 inches in diameter in the same container. The holes in the casings were a real pain, but you found this out when they were rinsed and filled with water prior to the soaking. I used to see 2-5 foot lengths too, and that's not easy to deal with either when you stuffing 11 pounds of meat at one time. In any case, you can use either natural casings or the edible collagen ones for making italian sausages. I have some natural hog casings I bought which are slightly larger and properly sized for use in making Kielbasa. The sheep casings are used only for my breakfast sausages. Breakfast sausages use sage, ground black pepper, and coriander for its spices. For italian, I like adding lots of garlic, peppers, onions, and also fennel and even oregano, summer savory, or even hot red peppers.. For some, I mix in high melting point cheddar cheese. I also make brats with beer added (dried beer). The Kielbasa use lots of garlic, marjoram and also some whole mustard seeds. My grinder plates vary from smaller than 1/8 inch diameter holes to almost 3/4 inch holes. The pork fat is ground separate form the pork meat. I use a smaller plate for the pork fat, as it distributes better in a mix, than large chunks the same size as the pork meat. The sausage making suppliers sell dried beer, high temp cheddar cheese, dried peppers, and dried onions which are easier to deal with as they do not have extra water. The bottom line though, is to know exactly how much salt, herbs, and spices to add to the coarsely cut meat, as well as how much pork fat to use. Once its ground to the proper size, and salt and spices mixed in, I cook up a small piece to taste and see if it needs more or less salt or more herbs. You could end up with a bland sausage or an overly salty one if the recipe was not followed exactly. You don't have much control over the way the meat mixes with spices and salt while in the grinder and while its stuffing the sausage casings. That's the main reason I chose a separate stuffer and separate meat mixer device. Like every other recipe, it all goes back to your own taste preferences too. Beef fat should never be used in sausages. Pork fat can be refrozen without any concern about quality. Never use salt pork or pork fat back as these are cured and will melt away giving a wet sawdust texture. Ken...See Morenot that 2007 was a bad year big butt
Comments (8)I probably shouldn't have made note of it. My apologies. Donna Absolutely no apology necessary and I didn't take offense, just got started and felt the need to celebrate my good fortune. I can find many spots so beautiful it would make you cry, so I'm celebrating those and refuse to whine about the vagaries of weather. Thank you for your concern,I'm tough as an old shoe and seldom get offended at someone attempting humor or a light note indeed thought it was funny. I have to say I put about 12 inches of leaves on the bog planning to show how the bog would come up late and do better than the rest of the yard so that must be part of the reason the bog did so well. Hey, there are just hosta and I promise they get better care at Wild Dog Gardens that they would in Ken's driveway. In fact, look at this unnamed sport I have, big and beautiful. The one to the bottom in the 2nd photo is a streaked sport of Sum & Substance. I have no complaints about my circumstances or what you said....See MorePain in the Rear
Comments (25)Following up to say I feel SO MUCH BETTER!!! Amazing what drugs can do :). Monday I started taking the meds my GP prescribed-a muscle relaxant and oral steroid. Yesterday I woke up feeling far less pain, so that I could sit and move normally again. Today, I have mobility back without any discomfort. Am going to quit the muscle relaxant, finish the steroids and hope this doesn't happen again ever, or at least for a long, long time. But if it does at least I have some inkling of what causes the pain and how to treat it. What a huge relief to be feeling better. Although, a week of that left me pondering how on earth people manage with severe chronic pain. I had to stay functional but it was so terribly difficult to keep going when every single moment my body was hurting so badly. A bit scary too because nature is reminding me I'm no spring chicken....sciatica, sounds like something a grumpy old lady would have. Oh wait, I guess that's me :). Thanks again to everyone who provided such helpful advice and empathy. Ann...See MoreLeg Pains - Bone pains
Comments (35)EllenP123 , I have been mulling over what to post since I read the above last week. I am sure you did not intend it to be humerus but I laughed reading that you" went to bed 49 and woke up 100". I have been struggling with horrific leg pain for over two years. I daily think holy moly how in the world do people with chronic pain function.Although I have been dealing with my leg pain for months I am not going to categorized it as chronic. My first reaction to my leg pain was to see an ortho specialist who dx the leg pain as stress fractures since I had carried over 900 pieces of granite over a two week period. Yup I counted them. The M.D. gave me a few packets of celebrex that was given to him by the pharmaceutical sales rep. I told the Doctor I am allergic to Aleeve. Alleeve makes me swell and I gained five pounds after three doses. I was smart and had removed my wedding band . It took a good week to reduce the swelling since Alleve has a long half life. Those who are allergic to aleeve are recommended not to take celebrex. I questioned the Medical Doctor who assured me I was misinformed. I took one dose on the way home since the leg pain was horrific. Within two hours I was a mess. It felt as someone was squeezing my heart. I did not need to be hospitalized but monitored . I no longer take Motrin since this is a sister NSAID of celebrex and Aleeve. My point is there are some majorly hubris doctors out there who screw up at your expense. I have had a few nights where I cry cause the leg pain is horrible. No position soothes the ache . I have tried rest, aspirin, warm soaks, ice packs, massage therapy,accupuncture and a dose of darvocet . I came across a book a few years ago about how the body is aligned in two parts. While attempting to find a position to relieve the pain I massaged my toes, foot pad, achilles tendon, tibia ,fibula, knee,thigh, hip ,butt and lower back with a tennis ball. What I figured out is that the pain is in my knee area but when I massage the upper thigh and achilles the pain goes away. A few years a go I had tennis elbow from shoveling the driveway for five hours. When I massaged the shoulder blade and my pectoral muscle the elbow pain disappeared. Pain is not simple . One must identify the source. For me the pain is due to overused muscles and menopause. I am tiny but can llft 60 pounds with ease. If you gave me 62 lbs I balk. I think for some the pain we are experiencing is the lose of estrogen so our tendons get brittle. I too went to bed feeling great and awoke with the crippling pain. What i found that works is to take care of yourself. Take breaks when doing your chores. Swim. Stay active. Place down pillows under your hip and knees at night. Take calcium with magnesium DAILY eat bananas three times a week. The potassium helps with any cramps MAssage your legs from toes to butt with a rolling pin or tennis ball. Make sure you stretch the ham strings( the rear thigh leg muscles). So after two years of several medical visits, accupuncture treatments and masseuse visits for me I figured out what works for me. Some who go into menopause never experience leg pain whereas others are crippled. I was 45 when the periods stopped. My male ob gyn said this was impossible. Sorry but not everyone is a text book case. I have had some wonderful male physicians but at this point in my life I need someone who is informed on a women's life cycle. THe key is to enjoy life. Drink the coffee if it makes you feel good. You will need to experiment with your diet , and supplements. I found that black cohosh did squat. Eating the bananas and religiously taking my calcium with Mg helps. You are not alone. Pilates helped too!!!!!! My mind is racing since I need to get my chores done. A sip of wine at night helps some. For me a little rhum took the pain down a notch. My best solution is the stretcthing and staying active. I am still in pain at times but I can manage it....See Morefloral_uk z.8/9 SW UK
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