Hey Libo,
I have answered your questions below as best that I know how. Sorry, but it got a little wordy.
1. I've been looking at the Walton spice mixes and will probably will grab a couple of those mixes.
Gregg: Waltons is a great place to get your spices and/or equipment. You can also find some decent deals on Amazon and other sites as well.
2. I'll probably grab a jerky cannon. Is the one they sell at academy good or is the Walton gun better?
Gregg: I have a LEM Jerky Cannon and it works pretty well for small batches, say 5-10 or maybe 15 pounds. It is a good starting point and is great for making sticks without casings. If you want to use collagen casings, you'll need to buy the snack stick nozzle that says that it will accept 19mm and 21mm collagen casings. My experience with this nozzle is that the 19mm casings are very tight and hard to stuff as a result. Try to get casings that are small enough to fit onto the tube without stretching them out which really reduces the amount of casing that you can get onto the tube. I would think that 19mm casings would be the smallest you would want o use with a jerky cannon, with 21mm being the preferred. While it can be done solo, I would strongly advise having at least one helper or two if you have two tubes. It is kind of hard to pull the trigger and hold onto the casings to make sure that the casings get stuffed adequately. If you have two tubes, it would be nice to have someone refilling a tube while you are stuffing with the other one.
While I am a huge Walton's Inc fan from a company perspective and I even like most of the Weston products, I am not a big fan of the Weston Jerky Gun that they sell. I do not have any experience with it, so I may be wrong. I just think the LEM Jerky Cannon looks more stout and I know based on experience that it holds up. I have had my LEM gun for over 10 years, although it hasn't seen a ton of use since we bought our sausage stuffer. I don't really like the looks of the trigger mechanism versus the LEM version.
https://www.amazon.com/LEM-468-Products-Jerky-Cannon/dp/B000SQFGRS
https://www.amazon.com/Jerky-Cannon-Long-Snack-Stick/dp/B002L7UVOA
This gun branded by www.jerkyspot.com (appears to be a rebranded LEM as it looks EXACTLY like the LEM) comes with a double barrel (load one while stuffing with the other) for only $8 more than the LEM.
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00US645GQ/ref=ask_ql_qh_dp_hza
While the Jerky Cannon is great, for a little more you might just want to consider getting a small sausage stuffer which makes a huge difference in ease of use, consistency of the stuffing, and amount of times you need to refill with meat. Assuming that you go with a LEM or the rebranded gun that I posted or something similar, you are probably looking at spending something in the range of $70-85. Whereas, Walton's Inc has some great deals right now on their stuffers with free shipping over $50. Their single stage 7lb stuffer is $119 and their dual stage 7lb stuffer is $159.99.
$119.00 - https://www.waltonsinc.com/7-lb-sausage-stuffer-single-speed
$159.99 - https://www.waltonsinc.com/7-lb-sausage-stuffer
The sausage stuffer makes the process a lot faster and allows you to stuff your casings more evenly in my opinion. If you are not using casings, the Jerky Cannon is the way to go.
I just bought an 11lb dual stage stuffer and a 17lb mixer and documented in the following thread:
http://smokinitforums.com/index.php?topic=5678.0
I haven't actually used the stuffer yet other than the unboxing, but it looks like a very high-quality piece of equipment and I am not worried about how it will work. I am planning on making some "Ring Bologna" next weekend and will update the post with my review after using the stuffer.
3. I don't have a grinder... Do I really need one or can I get by without?
Gregg - You can easily get by without a grinder. Of all of the equipment that is optional, this would be the last piece of equipment that I would buy. The advantages are that you can source and grind your own meat and save some money by buying whole cuts. But, for smaller batches, it is just as easy to buy preground or ask your butcher to grind the meat for you. I did just recently contemplate some hand stuffers and found/purchased the following Kitchener grinder from Norther Tool. It was and still is on sale for $99.99 and I had a $20 off coupon for orders over $100 that I used. So, I got this for a pretty affordable price. I compared some hand grinders that were in the $30-$60 range, but their quality and reviews were less than stellar, whereas the Kitchener electric has great reviews.
http://www.northerntool.com/shop/tools/product_200451267_200451267
4. What size casings should I get? Are there different types and with are preferred?
Gregg - If you go with the Jerky Cannon, I would get the 21mm casings. 19mm can be used, but it is a very snug fit on the tube which makes them hard to stuff.
If you go with a stuffer, you could go as low as 17mm casings.
95% of the sticks that I make are with 21mm casings.
5. I notice that the spice packs are good for 25lbs of meat. Do you generally do all 25lbs at one time?
Gregg - I have smoked as much as 28lbs at a time as well as smaller 5-12.5 pound batches. I would not recommend trying a 25lb batch unless you have a Smokin-It #3 or larger and not until after you have smoked some smaller batches. Smoking a 25lb batch can be a little problematic because first you will need at least 6 trays (with the addon smoking it side trays) and you will have to rotate top to bottom and front to back several times during the smoke.
You can easily weigh and sub-divide the 25lb mixes from Walton's or any other vendor and reuse later. I would start either split a 25lb batch into 2-3 batches.
6. High temp cheese? Yes/no? (Just kidding here... Of course! LOL)
Gregg - The High Temp cheese is really good. But, you will for sure need to use 21mm casings and a 2-stage sausage stuffer would be advised as it does make the meat a little harder to stuff through the small 3/8" snack stick stuffing tube and could possibly damage your trigger assembly on your gun. I have not tried the cheese in my Jerky Cannon, but we have done it a few times in our 15lb single stage LEM stuffer and it is pretty hard on a single stage stuffer gears of that size. The smaller diameter tank on the 7lb single stage stuffer should make it a little easier on the gear, but the 2-stage stuffer would be even better.
Let me know if you have any questions. Feel free to PM me too if you prefer.
