squeezing out liquid

[39Buick]

Hello all,
While attempting a batch of snack sticks i was getting a tremendous amount of moisture filling the casing around the feed horn on my stuffer. I had mixed all of my seasonings and meat yesterday. When I pulled it from the fridge it seemed really stiff when i broke it up prior to adding ECA. I added 1/2 cup of cold water and mixed it for a few minutes and it looked good to me! I added the ECA and loaded it up in the stuffer and after about 6 inches of 22mm casing was filled the water started. This is only my 4th batch of sticks and the other 3 were good but i am tweaking the recipe a bit. I have not had the water or moisture separate out like this

before! Did I just add to much into my mix?

 

[DanMcG]

I wish you had more pic's of your situation, I can't for the life of me figure why the water would separate.

 

[indaswamp]

If the pH of the mince is low, around 4.5-4.9, it will affect the bind and will expel water...

Did you add pickled jalapenos? How about the juice?

 

[39Buick]

I wish you had more pic's of your situation, I can't for the life of me figure why the water would separate.

Unfortunately I didn't get any pictures, in the moment I just didn't think about pictures. At the end of a link, I would back the pressure off of the stuffers plunger and slide a few inches of casing off of the tube and it would collect the moisture. Using twine I was making little water balloons!
I decided to complete the stuffing of all 5 pounds of meat. I set the links on racks and cooked them for 2 hours at 100 degrees and incrementally bumped temps every hour as normal. It took 10.5 hours to finally hit 152 degrees IT. My previous batches averaged around 6 hours.
I was using AC Legg #116 and added 1.5 cups of fresh jalapenos diced fine enough to easily fit trough the stuffing tube. Added an extra tsp of garlic powder and 2 tsp of crushed red pepper flakes. Just prior to stuffing I added maybe 1/2 cup of water and mixed to make it easier to disperse the ECA and get it run through the stuffer.
If the added water was not ice water could it have caused the separation? I just used some cold tap water.

 

[DanMcG]

When you added the extra water did ya mix it until the mass was sticky and clinging to your fingers?
I really have no idea whats going on.

 

[39Buick]

If the pH of the mince is low, around 4.5-4.9, it will affect the bind and will expel water...

Did you add pickled jalapenos? How about the juice?

"pH" I have no idea where the level of pH of the mince would have been or should be! More homework!!

Not pickled I do not think! I use these, Mezzetta Tamed™ Jalapeños and I had strained them prior to chopping!
"Our Tamed™ Jalapeños—a hybrid of a jalapeño and a bell pepper—were developed for us by Texas A&M University to provide all the flavor and texture of a regular jalapeño but with less heat. Mezzetta Tamed™ Jalapeños carry a trademark licensed exclusively to Mezzetta and are the perfect thing when you want the taste of jalapeño without knock-your-socks-off spiciness. If you like heat, though, you’ll love our Hot Jalapeños."

When you added the extra water did ya mix it until the mass was sticky and clinging to your fingers?
I really have no idea whats going on.

Yes sir I did, had a good protein extraction and then added the ECA and gave it a final gentle massage prior to loading the stuffer.
The separation was immediate, as soon as I applied pressure to the plunger I was getting the moisture!!

 

[indaswamp]

If you bought them in a jar, chances are they were pickled....

 

[indaswamp]

Ingredients for Mezzetta Tamed™ Jalapeños
Amazon Mezzetta Tamed Jalapenos

Ingredients

'JALAPENO PEPPERS, WATER, DISTILLED VINEGAR, SEA SALT, CALCIUM CHLORIDE, NATURAL FLAVOR, SODIUM BISULFITE ADDED AS A COLOR STABILIZER, TURMERIC.'

Yep- packed in vinegar brine solution. This is likely the problem.

 

[39Buick]

Ingredients for Mezzetta Tamed™ Jalapeños
Amazon Mezzetta Tamed Jalapenos

Ingredients

'JALAPENO PEPPERS, WATER, DISTILLED VINEGAR, SEA SALT, CALCIUM CHLORIDE, NATURAL FLAVOR, SODIUM BISULFITE ADDED AS A COLOR STABILIZER, TURMERIC.'

Yep- packed in vinegar brine solution. This is likely the problem.

Wow! who would have thought! Guess the next batch will get fresh peppers!!
Thanks so much for the help!

 

[indaswamp]

BTW, you want to keep the pH of the mince higher than about 5.4; any lower than that and it really starts to affect the bind. Pork meat is around pH 5.8 and beef is around 6.0. so it does not take much to lower it.

 

[indaswamp]

Yes, I recommend fresh peppers. You can blanch them about a minute in 190* water to soften them and take the crunch out prior to mixing with the mince.

 

[indaswamp]

Google isoelectric point of meat for a more in-depth explanation...

 

[39Buick]

Google isoelectric point of meat for a more in-depth explanation...

Lol, That looks like a heck of a rabbit hole. First page I opened took 30 mins to read and I kept expecting the quiz to be at the end!! Whole lot more to these proteins than just stuffing them into a tube of protein!
My education begins! Thanks again for your help!