The Texas BBQ Forum

It turned out great. For every 1 pound of pork I use:

2.5 grams of fresh garlic.

2.5 grams of fresh cracked black pepper.

8.5 grams of kosher salt.

2.5 grams of sugar.

20 grams of fresh jalapeno.

cure as needed at 1 tsp to five pounds.

about 20 grams of water.

Smoke in pecan to 158 or so. Bathe in ice water to 90 and then hang for an hour to bloom. This is absolutely delicious.

Lookin' good Sancho!

looks good,
how are you so effortlessly making the conversion to metric measure?
you, I am guessing you must use it a lot? I'm still stuck on the teaspoon measure or 1/4 teaspoon...
just curious,
glad to see the recipe

Sounds good and looks good. Thanks for the recipe. CF

Space, I switched all my recipes to metric. I still use standard for meat weights, because that's how I buy it, but I've converted all values to a quantity of 1 pound of sausage. For instance, I had 15 pounds of this sold already, and so I made a little bit more for us. It simplifies the measurement process by just being able to multiply the metric measurements by how many pounds you're making. A digital scale that has a zeroing function is great. Plus, for true accuracy I find that teaspoons and tablespoons are inaccurate. Dry weights are always the exact same.

that helps me understand a lot of things, like why when I use the same recipe it comes out tasting slightly different.
I have a scale but so far have only used to get an idea of the total meat.
Thanks for explaining I will make changes to my methods...
I only cook to eat or eat to cook which ever way that works...
thanks for the recipe also
thanks again

sancho wrote: for true accuracy I find that teaspoons and tablespoons are inaccurate.

I'm in need of explanation on this one. How are they inaccurate?

I am learning, so that said assume a teaspoon can be heaping, flat, a service set or measuring where as grams, (although I am not certain) would be a more accurate measure that even ounces for that matter, If memory serves correct I believe a tablespoon is supposed to be half of an ounce(in liquid measure) which would make a teaspoon proper... a sixth of an ounce not sure where the gram is on that measurement scale. one ounce = 28.34 grams so says www So since the unit of measure is smaller therefore should be more accurate. from what I think teaspoons and tablespoons are meant to measure liquid not solid, so the facts in my mind mean a teaspoon of salt is not the same weight as a teaspoon of paprika since they are not the same mass; So for a given method of measure be effective way to measure dry ingredients should be by weight. I work in electronics where measurement is vital to circuit function so I sort of agree with the more accurate measurement of most anything. Will I change my recipes most likely not, but I will understand and be able to use those than went through the trouble to change theirs.
Just my uneducated thoughts ...

I just had to ask on this thread and it had never dawned on me about using weights for dry measure in cooking

That would make sense then. Typically though, when I use my measuring spoons, I take a knife and wipe away the "heap" to level off the spoon. I may try the other method and see how that fares for me though!

I am definitely pondering the differences, I'm not a pro, just trying to be a better cook...

Dang, sancho. That's some good looking sausage. Nicely done. I've been using weights for making sausage as well. One major reason to do this is salt. Salt can vary both by type and manufacturer. You have fine ground, regular, coarse ground, etc. All will have different volume based on shape and size and can really affect your finished product. Best to go by weight so you can switch between brands and not be as affected. And like you said, its easier to convert weights if making smaller or larger batches. Um how much is fifteen 1/8 tsps equal too? That would be a perfect example.

Txdragon wrote:

sancho wrote: for true accuracy I find that teaspoons and tablespoons are inaccurate.

I'm in need of explanation on this one. How are they inaccurate?

Just my experience, but I find that when I switched to weights rather than volume my sausage is coming out very very similar each time, to include batches of 5 to 50 pounds. As Griffin pointed out, it's much much easier to convert accurately when using weights. However, I'd say if you're comfortable with volume measurements and you're happy with your results then stick with it. For me I just found weights to be easier. Plus, a good accurate digital scale that zeroes is a good way to cheat and not have to think .

I'm always on the lookout for improvement. And here is one area I could! Most of my sausage is hit or miss, and rarely can I duplicate a batch. I suppose if I start measuring to begin with, no matter if it's weight OR volume lol. I generally just eyeball it. For sauce, this is okay; sausage, not so much.

NOMS!

Kosher Salt: Um how much is fifteen 1/8 tsps equal too? 9.60 gram.

Kosher Salt 1 teaspoon = 5.13 gram.
5.13 divide by 8= 0.64 gram.
0.64 x 15= 9.60 gram.

Here is a site that helps me most of the time.
http://forum.bradleysmoker.com/index.php?topic=29049.0
Really lots of good info. CF