In this blog post, we will go over the most helpful Meatgistics posts posted by our Meatgistics users. These posts are the most viewed posts on Meatgistics.com. If you're not familiar with Meatgistics.com, it is our online community. A place to talk about meat processing, smoking, grillling, hunting, and the most random topics. It is also a place people go to ask questions and get their meat-processing answers. f you are a part of the Meatgistics community you have probably seen more than a few posts from our very knowledgable and helpful meatgistics moderator "Tex_77." He started a thread called Tex's Top Picks where he lists off is top picks for various applications; Brat Seasonings, Exalibur Seasonings, Spiceolgy Seasonings, Jerky Seasonongs, Casings, Grinders, Stuffers, Knives, and other equipment. Tex conitues to update this thread as new products come out and he tries more.

In this blog post, we will go over the most helpful Meatgistics posts posted by our Meatgistics users. These posts are the most viewed posts on Meatgistics.com.

If you're not familiar with Meatgistics.com, it is our online community. A place to talk about meat processing, smoking, grillling, hunting, and the most random topics. It is also a place people go to ask questions and get their meat-processing answers.

Click Here to see post.

If you are a part of the Meatgistics community you have probably seen more than a few posts from our very knowledgable and helpful meatgistics moderator "Tex_77." He started a thread called Tex's Top Picks where he lists off is top picks for various applications; Brat Seasonings, Exalibur Seasonings, Spiceolgy Seasonings, Jerky Seasonings, Casings, Grinders, Stuffers, Knives, and other equipment. Tex conitues to update this thread as new products come out and he tries more.

Click Here to see post.

This post was started by Meatgistics user "ND Mike." "Any cast iron enthusiasts in here? I like to use a 12 inch Camp Chef Cast Iron Skillet as well as numerous cast iron skillets. My best skillet is a very old Griswold that I got as a gift."

This post started a trend of people sharing the specific type of cast iron pan they use and even sharing some of their favorite recipes.

Our users seem to really love cooking with cast iron pans, but the one common issue people have is what to do when your pan gets rusty. "Zbigjeff" had a great tip on removing rust from your pan.

"First baking soda and water into semi loose paste and rub it in to remove most of the rust. Then add white vinegar, let it set for a couple of minutes and continue wiping. Sometimes, it takes two applications. Then, use a metallic scrub pad to clean it up and remove all of the rust. Wash it off and dry it completely. Apply a very light coating of mineral or canola oil to the complete item and place it in either a grill (mostly) upside down for around 15-20 minutes. Take out and apply another light layer. Sometimes, the seaonsoning takes 3-4 applications. You can use the oven, but you better have a good exhaust fan."

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This thread was started by "Deepwoodsbutcher" she had a question about what to include in her home processing shop that was in the finishing stages of being built.

"My little shop is in the final stages of being built. What would you make sure to include in a desiccated processing room? What do you use the most that might be overlooked? Or what would you do differently next time?"

"Processhead" had some great advice for her,

"Good idea to be thinking about work area layout and work flow and it sounds like you have been doing that. Having work surfaces and storage areas at the correct height can mean the difference between performing tasks in comfort or being exhausted and/or sore at the end of the day. Having worked in commercial meat plant production, I know you are familiar with the repetitive motion inquires that can happen. Having your work-flow moving in one direction without crossing back saves steps and time potenitally cross contamination between raw and cooked products. Well-planned material handling is important too. Keeping materials at the optimum height till the entire production run is finished minimizes the overall amount of lifting and motions required throughout the day. As you and others mentioned, having rolling carts and tables on wheels is a great idea, unless something absulotely needs to be in a fixed location. As far as disposal of inedible and offal waste, do you have any rendering plants in your area? They might make pickups of some of your wastes if you could call ahead and give them some advance notice."

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This thread was started by "Joe Hell." He had just Sous Vide a bunch of different meats; chicken thighs, chuck eye steak, tri-tip, pork chops, apple blue cheese, and sage brats in a borrowed Anova ‘Precision’ Sous Vide. He wasn’t sure if he liked the outcome, and he wanted to get other users' opinions on Sous Vide vs. Reverse Sear.  

“After cooking all of the previously mentioned meats, I finished them on a searing hot grill. While everything came out tasty and picture-perfect, it didn’t quite have that crusty, caramelized exterior I enjoy in a steak. When you pull the meat from the Sous Vide, it has been cooked in its juices. While flavorful, this makes it nearly impossible to get a good crust on the grill. Pan searing might be the way to go. It was good but not great. The Chuck Eye was super tender. The Tri Tip was already cut into small-ish pieces from the butcher, so I prepared them as kabobs. They turned out great, but they could probably use a bit more time. That might be the one I revisit in the future.”

"Raider2119" responded with,

“Very interesting thread, Joe Hell and PapaSop: I’m a bit surprised you have not liked the results of SV’ing your chicken steak or pork… You both appear to be quite adept with your SV skills, but I will mention anyway that you can vary the resulting texture of your meat by varying time (since for these products, you want to hold temp. At constant for “doneness.”

“I go back and forth between buying (striploin or ribeyes) that are either low-end prime/high-end choice or others (much cheaper) that are low-end choice/high-end select. I then dry age for between 40-45 days, then the higher quality meat I generally SV for about 1 hour per inch of thickness. The lower quality meat SV: about 8-10 hrs per thickness… I have been very happy with the texture of the meat coming from the SV….”

If you are someone who is just getting into meat processing or even if you have been meat processing for years, meatgistics.com is a great community to be a part of. We have so many industry experts and experienced meat processors in our community that I’m almost certain there isn’t a meat-related question somebody will know the answer to.