Making snus at home

[Mr. Snuffleupagus]

You're slowly getting there snuffy, just watch your moisture level. You don't want tobacco soup.

Yeah I'm really just messing around to kill time. Most of my leaves are still on the plants I based it on the weight measurements you posted so there's only 10 grams of water in it. It turned into a stringy blob when I added the water. It smells good

[precious007]

You're slowly getting there snuffy, just watch your moisture level. You don't want tobacco soup.

Actually I saw once in a recipe book "Tobacco Soup" --

I'll look for it and post it soon. (not kidding)

The cut is very long/wide I think.

[lxskllr]

LoL. Little Dipper. Very appropriate for snus production :^D

[Mr. Snuffleupagus]

LoL. Little Dipper. Very appropriate for snus production :^D

Yeah it's perfect LOL. I had to make some snus in it. It's like the thing was designed for it

Update: It's doing good. It had already dried out because I keep cracking the lid to check on it and it's such a small amount. But it is in great shape. I added just a tad of water and stirred it up. No soup here, but the temp drops when it dries out so extended time will probably be necessary.

[Mr. Snuffleupagus]

Well, because the batch is so small and also because the Little Dipper's lid doesn't seal well enough, it kept drying out too fast. So I put it in a really small Tupperware and used a water bath like JT has been doing. The Tupperware lid seals super good but it pops open once it heats up. Seems good as long as it doesn't flip over into the water. Had it going like that all day. It's really looking good. I'm planning on maybe going another 20 hours or so. I'll keep checking on it. I probably skip the sodium carbonate because it's such a small amount. Because I need a container inside the cooker, I'll probably retire Little Dipper (unless I rig the lid better) and get another real size crockpot (I have one, but I like to use it for cooking food). Anyways things are looking up

[snusgetter]

... Because I need a container inside the cooker, I'll probably retire Little Dipper (unless I rig the lid better) and get another real size crockpot (I have one, but I like to use it for cooking food). Anyways things are looking up

You should check out Reynolds Slow Cooker Liners.
They work and are a lot cheaper than buying another crock-pot.

"Reynolds® Slow Cooker liners prevent a baked on mess and eliminate
soaking and scrubbing slow cookers. They are made with a special heat
resistant material that holds in even the heartiest ingredients. Simply
place the liner into a slow-cooker, fill it, then cook as you normally
would. When you're done cooking, just toss away the liner and
enjoy your meal without a thought to any messy clean up."

[justintempler]

Experimenting is good.

Evaporation is a problem with crockpots, if you let the water evaporate the temperature will climb. The Gladware/Tupperware container works good.
Put water in your crockpot. Your plastic container will be like a boat at sea.

The water bath helps stabilize the temperature. Depending how long your cook is, you may have to add some water to raise the "sea level"

[Mr. Snuffleupagus]

JT- Yeah that makes a lot of sense. The little boat I'm using could easily capsize if my sea is too deep. That will change soon. Thanks for making this so easy to do. I just get on SnusOn and read your posts, and BAM I'm doing it. Good stuff.

Snusgetter- Thanks! I actually use my crockpot a lot, and I will be making snus pretty much full time trying all the different tobacco varieties, cooking techniques, and these batches take days to cook. So I really need a dedicated cooker.

Update: It's done! Looks and smells great! I'm gonna let it hang out in the fridge for a couple days before I try it. In the meantime, I need to plan my next batch...

[Mr. Snuffleupagus]

I've had some in about 20 minutes now. It tastes great! It's very moist and juicy. It's soft and strong in nicotine. The tobacco has a very nice mellow flavor and the salt content seems right. I'm impressed it turned out so good. Can't wait to try the rest of the tobacco varieties I have.

[Mr. Snuffleupagus]

I wanted to try a larger batch in the Little Dipper but I don't have enough of my own cured tobacco yet (at least not of just one variety). So I started a batch with tobacco from one of the kits I bought last year. This is around 180 grams.

[Mr. Snuffleupagus]

Even with the larger batch the Little Dipper dries out the snus too fast. That is what I wanted to test. So this will probably be the last batch I do this way. I'm hoping it gives it a toasty flavor like Lucky Strike but we'll see. That last batch I finished in the tupperware and water bath was too moist because the tupperware would pop it's lid when it heated up. I've let the rest of that batch sit in the fridge without a lid and it's at a good moisture right now. Looking forward, I'm wondering if I will have same lid popping problem with a larger set-up. I guess I could reseal the container after it's hot to keep extra moisture from coming in, but I'm not sure if it will stay sealed. Hey JT! Does your glad or whatever container pop it's lid while it's cooking?

[justintempler]

snuffy,

I've never had any problems with the lid popping. I don't undertsand why you're having that problem. I think (?) your setup is too small so your moisture and temperature levels aren't stable. I think if the lid is popping it's getting too hot, and the hotter it gets the more moisture loss you have. I don't let my temperature climb over 199°F/93°C. I've read that if it goes over that the tobacco will have a burnt taste.

My last two batches were cooked in 24 oz. sealed Gladware containers, the crockpot I'm using is 6 quarts, the crockpot has a removable liner, so to start with, the heat source is already indirect. I'm probably adding in the neighborhood of 2 Qts (64 oz) of water to the liner to further stabilize the temperature inside the crockpot. That water bath also stabilizes the moisture level. If you have a moist obeject surrounded by dry/hot air, that dry hot air is going to suck moisture away from the moist object.

To give you another analogy, my setup is like a sauna. you should never get to the point where anything dries out. I think the problem with smaller crockpots is the heating elements are in the liner so you're getting hotspots in whatever you're cooking, the outer surface of what you're cooking is too hot and the inner areas away from the liner don't get hot enough.

[Mr. Snuffleupagus]

Thanks JT! You're probably right about that. This setup does work but it's not optimal because I keep having to stir it up and add more water too often. Luckily the Little Dipper does not get hot enough to burn the snus. It's only 35 watts and I have not gotten any readings above 185F in the middle of the snus mass. It is running a little hotter around the sides where it tends to dry out more but I don't think it's out of range. I don't taste any burnt flavor from the last batch. Of course I changed methods mid cook on that one. If I keep up on babying this one it will probably be good. I'm on the lookout for a nice big crock pot for future batches. No real rush, still waiting for more leaves to be ready.

On a side note: My very first batch last year was done in a stoneware crock pot insert without any water bath. Baked it in the oven with a tin foil covering. I never had to add any extra water, just stirred it up once a day.

I'm having a lot of fun doing this. Thanks for your feedback!

[Mr. Snuffleupagus]

I plugged it into the dimmer switch and pulled the temp back a little a day or two ago. Helped a little. Called it done about half an hour ago and stuck it in the fridge. Looks great, smells pretty good. I tried it last night and it's not that good. Even with a year of age on the crappy baccy and it's still crappy. That's what I expected so no foul there.

I've tried the handcut Havana #608 batch a few times now and it is awesome! I didn't add any flavor or sodium carbonate or any thing. It's just tobacco water and salt but it has a great flavor! It's like a warm well rounded delicious tobacco flavor. I really like it so far. The nic hits me stronger and lasts longer than any other snus I've used! So I'm excited about things to come

[justintempler]

..Looks great, smells pretty good. I tried it last night and it's not that good. Even with a year of age on the crappy baccy and it's still crappy....

Give it a few days in the fridge before you write it off. It probably will never be great, but it might turn into an "ok" snus after a few days, especially if you use it for blending.