Ground Meat Bacon - Take Two

[RowdyRay]

??? 'Splain? I assume U of MINNESOTA? LOL... Some connection there?

Yes, Minnesota. One of dad's cousins was a teacher there. Some kinda science don't remember which. Anyway, he'd do things like that for my dad all the time. Unfortunately, he's no longer with us.

[Big Guy]

That looks fantastic. I have to wait 3 months until I'm back home to try that out.

[Big Guy]

Tom, you're my hero. Thanks for the extra effort. I'm going to try this with the venison. You leave me no choice but to give you points.

Did you get the gelatin from B & P too?

About the maple syrup. We experimented with a venison breakfast sausage with maple. You have to add a ton of syrup for the flavor to come through in the end. And the sugars will burn and stick in the pan. You need to find the right combo of maple extract and maple syrup. That way it doesn't burn and the flavor comes through. Just a heads up.

For Maple flavour go to Walmart and get "Mapelene" its in the spice section, its a concentrate that you add to a sugar water mix to make immitation Maple syrup. I add it to flavour my maple sausages.

[Gunslinger]

GS
looks great and i loved sizzelean....but ?? do you have to use the meat binder stuff.....

If you don't use some sort of binder, the meat will be too dry and crumbly. Think meatloaf. You actually do add a binder to meat loaf. That's what the eggs do. They hold the meat together, but do nothing for moisture retention. So you add oats, rice, breadcrumbs or crackers to retain moisture. But you couldn't slice meatloaf paper thin with these ingredients.
The binders used here keep the meat together and help retain moisture too. But some bind (glue) the meat together better than they retain moisture. So I used the "special meat binder" to retain moisture and gelatin to hold the meat and what a wonderful job it did.
You can use oats or something similar like CA does, but the commercially available binders are proven to do what they say, and proven safe. And there is a definitive measure per lb to go by. Also, oats bind moisture but do nothing to bind the meat to itself.
Gelatin is made from animal protein just like edible casings so it's perfectly safe. If you ever buy "deli meat" it's got gelatin in it.

WOW!
What a great post!!! note to self... best post of 2010... I am sitting here thinking, hell how did he do that?? what is the meat binder stuff Gunny? if you wouldn't mind..

^^^^^^^

Tom, you're my hero. Thanks for the extra effort. I'm going to try this with the venison. You leave me no choice but to give you points.

Did you get the gelatin from B & P too?

About the maple syrup. We experimented with a venison breakfast sausage with maple. You have to add a ton of syrup for the flavor to come through in the end. And the sugars will burn and stick in the pan. You need to find the right combo of maple extract and maple syrup. That way it doesn't burn and the flavor comes through. Just a heads up.

Yes, the gelatin came from B&P. I think you could plain ole Knox gelatin, but it's bloom is rated at 200 to 250, where B&P's gelatin is rated at 350-400.

I will probably use maple syrup solids from B&P as well. It's cheap.

Great post Tom...Ray- MossyMo has a post here somewhere that's JUST what you are looking for... ground venison bacon.

Ahhh the seasoning? Damn I keep hearing about it. I should get some just to try it and maybe "deconstruct" it.

This was my point with this whole thing Rich. Done the Curley's gig and really don't care for buying something when I can make it plus shipping is to high. The first order of business was just to get the bacon flavor. Got it. Now I can work on different seasonings.

[Gunslinger]

For Maple flavour go to Walmart and get "Mapelene" its in the spice section, its a concentrate that you add to a sugar water mix to make immitation Maple syrup. I add it to flavour my maple sausages.

I didn't see this one. Sounds reasonable. And technically this is a sausage, so sausage rules apply.

[RowdyRay]

Yes, the gelatin came from B&P. I think you could plain ole Knox gelatin, but it's bloom is rated at 200 to 250, where B&P's gelatin is rated at 350-400.

I will probably use maple syrup solids from B&P as well. It's cheap.

Thanks, Tom. I was going to ask if B & P had the maple syrup solids. Probably the best way to go with this. Looks like I need to place an order. This has been a huge hit with our hunting party, using the venison. Can't wait to try this out.

[Richtee]

And not to hi-jack the thread, but I find B-P's customer service and shipping speed outstanding. Not to mention their stock. Probably not the cheapest place, but not out of line, and the perks make it worth it

[Gunslinger]

And not to hi-jack the thread, but I find B-P's customer service and shipping speed outstanding. Not to mention their stock. Probably not the cheapest place, but not out of line, and the perks make it worth it

Agreed.

[Fishawn]

Tom, you are "THE MAN"!

[Fireguy]

Looks great! I have tried Curleys pre mixed with good results, but have always wanted to find another recipe and maybe give it a bit more flavor... thanks for doing this!

[wutang]

Wow. Just wow. This has been added to my to do list.

[ALX]

Very nice again.....Thanks for sharing your observations....

[travcoman45]

Tom, looks good. Wonder how that would be with honey? Ya can get honey powder to.

Might have ta try that.

[GratefulDave]

Do It W/ Pepper!

"Next time I'm going to coat an entire loaf with cracked black pepper"

I did Curley's venison bacon with black pepper all up on the loaf last year and it was great. My cousin and I just mixed up another 25lb batch last weekend and we did 3 of the 5 loaves w/ course ground pepper. Have it vac sealed in the freezer right now till we have time for the smoke. It is freakin awesome! I highly recommend it!

Dave

[GratefulDave]

BTW

BTW. yours looks awesome! Might have to try from scratch next year.
Great post. Many have asked about how to do it w/out the kit.

Dave