akaShag

Those are very good looking sausages. If you can make a fresh sausage that well, you can for sure make salami, summer sausages, etc etc. Doug

back to ketchenany............why do you use the string bags on those ones? Doug

Have a look at SALUS........................

I use the coarse plate for grinding the meat, and no plate or blade for stuffing, just the sausage attachment. I did have one batch of summer sausage that was too fine a consistency, it was more like liverwurst. That one if memory serves me I used the medium plate and the binder/cure was really sticky - the meat hung on to my fingers like balls of snot. It tasted fine, but the consistency wasn't right. That one was Canada Goose breasts I am pretty sure. The meat has to be properly prepared for the grinder as well. If the grinder has to work too hard you will end up with a finer grind. HTH

If Fisherman and misfish are giving you advice I reckon it will be right on the money. BUT............ It's not that hard to make it yourself, and you can be sure that what you put into the sausage mix is what you are eating....Even a hand grinder can cut up your meat, and you can mix it by hand, and it is possible (but sub-optimal) to stuff the casings by hand. Buying an inexpensive electric grinder, with sausage stuffing tubes, will give you years of use if you are gentle with it, and now you can make your own burgers, fresh sausages (cased and country style), pepperettes, salami, and so on. Hi Mountain makes decent kits if you go that route, or you can buy all of the supplies from Halford's in Edmonton. https://www.halfordsmailorder.com/food-equipment-and-supply Doug

I think most of us who have been ice fishing for years, or decades for many of us, have had at least one experience where we went through the ice, or somebody with us did so. Being prepared for that eventuality is what separates good stories from bad ones. I have the opposite problem from my old buddy "Fisherman", the one piece suits don't fit me because of somewhat (ahem) shorter legs. I bought a Salus set of bibs a couple seasons ago, and LOVE them. http://www.salusmarine.com/productcat/coats-suits/ AND they are made in Canada: http://www.salusmarine.com/information/made-in-canada/ I have several floater coats (and a full floater suit) and my preferred top is a surplus "parka, naval shipboard" made by Mustang. It is not hugely warm, but I wear layers, and it IS flexible. Some of the older floater coats were like wearing a couple sheets of plywood. Doug

I hear you loud and clear Cliff. There are some hard miles on this body, and you might have a similar experience. HAPPY BIRTHDAY! Pretty much any day above the grass is a good one. Doug

It's still deer season here. Not ready for the hard water yet! Simon, if you took up hunting, you would have lots to do in October/November (grouse, migratory birds, moose, bear, deer) and April/May (if there are wild turkeys where you live, and a spring bear season.........) But yes it would be good to set the hook into a crappie or two! Doug

I had forgotten about that! Haven't done that since some time in the early 80s.........

Thanks Dave. But honestly, ANY corn bread out of a 12 volt cooker has to be awesome.............I giggle just thinking about it! Like I said I just wish I had known about these cookers before all of my big road trips over the last decade or so. Kingston to the Yukon and back, Kingston to the west coast of Vancouver Island and back, east coast five times I think including Newfoundland this past summer. Lots of times I was too tired to do much for supper so I had a cold salami and cheese sandwich. 🙄 THINK of the possibilities! Doug

Dave, thanks for that link. I went to my local Cdn Tire and bought the last one they had. I would be interested in your 12 volt corn bread recipe! Doug

That's absolutely AWESOME. I never knew such things existed. What a bunch of opportunities missed in all my big road trips over the past decade!!! Dave, if you are going to be anywhere near Kingston Ontario I would be honoured to buy you a coffee or a cold beverage of your choice. Doug

Great job on the hook removal! I reckon you might have some practice at that……….. One time my dad and I were fishing way back in the Haliburton Highlands. He did not get many days off, and this was a SPECIAL time together for us. Heck, he had even borrowed a Jeep from somebody so we could get back this goat track to a fabled lake that was supposed to be chock-full of brookies. Well, it had lots of fish in it for sure, but they were jumbo perch. And we started catching some beauties. We were fishing from shore, having no boat, and I got snagged on something or other and couldn’t get unsnagged. So I pulled on the line, figuring it would break. It did not break, but my Mepps spinner came back at me at a hundred miles an hour and buried itself into my upper arm. Straight in, barb at 90 degrees to the skin. No way to push it through. And we were a long way from a hospital and I did not want to lose this precious time with my old man. So I got him to fillet the hook out of me. He declared that he was going to puke, and his hand shook pretty bad when he was cutting (and it stung a bit!!!) but he got ‘er done. Thankfully that was NOT a 7/0 hook…. Doug

mating porcupines.

One time I had to finish my elk summer sausages in the oven. My house smelled like a deli for a week!

Roger that. My prague powder is also the white, not the pink. Interested to hear how your experiment works out! Doug

and I told you how I do the canned moose? Cold pack, not hot pack, no broth, right? Doug

Good for you and your lad! Did you get a pressure canner yet? 😉 Doug

Never tried to make smoked picnic shoulder, so I can't help with that. I have some white curing salt here, and also some Prague Powder. Free to you for the price of postage... Doug

Welcome back Rick! I think it was me that christened you M2B2 but OIM might be right, that he did. Too many years, too many beers..... Anywho, M2B3 it is good to hear from you again. Not long ago I was wondering what became of you. I just got back from a moose hunting trip to North Central Quebec, no moose in the larder for me this year. Guess you will have to come south with some moose and we will can it!😉 Doug

They are not raisins, Brian. I would not eat a caper all by itself, but I really think they are excellent with smoked trout in particular. I have served that to dozens of people, who seem to have agreed. Give them another try, remember that TV ad from the 60s or 70s, "Try it, you'll like it..." Doug

Capers. Like these: https://www.bonappetit.com/story/what-are-capers Smoked fish, cream cheese, and capers on a bagel, yum yum. I mix the smoked fish and cheese together, then stir in about a tbsp of capers and stir a bit more. Very toothsome. Doug

I can practically hear my sphincter SCREAMING for mercy............?

Interesting video. Where did they say they don't use nitrates? I did not catch that.......... Doug

There's a hundred feet of stove pipe there, Dave!!!