Crockpot Snus Oven - Snusugn

[NorSnuser]

Nice job! The crockpot looks easier and much more controllable than the old styrofoam cooler with a light bulb. I love the stainless steel container idea.

Several questions came up. How are you holding the thermometer in the water bath? How are you getting a 400 micron grind? Are you using the coffee grinder and then sieving it? That KitchenAid is a fine grinder. What setting do you use?

I'm assuming you're grinding the tobacco in case. Is it whole leaf or shredded? I've got some whole leaf but I'm considering bringing it into case and shredding it so that it won't just grind into dust and will grind more evenly. I'm not really sure what the best moisture level is for grinding tobacco leaf into flour whether shredded or whole leaf (or parts of leaves). I was going to bring it up to case a bit on the dry side like I used to do for injecting cigarettes. Or is it better to grind on the wet side?

Oh, one last question. Are you using sodium carbonate you bought or did you make it using the oven method?

[PipenSnus]

Very clever. You're quite the kitchen chemist, JT. Please keep us up to date on your experiments. This sounds like something I might have to try.

[rickcharles606]

Alright McGruber, that looks like a good setup JT. I really want to know how this turns out. Keep us posted

[Mr. Snuffleupagus]

Good work, JT! Thanks for sharing all your methods. I will be making more snus in the future and you are saving me a lot of time and effort because of all the information you share. The true protection against regulation FTW!

[myuserid]

Great job.

I may have to try this one day.

[justintempler]

Nice job! The crockpot looks easier and much more controllable than the old styrofoam cooler with a light bulb. I love the stainless steel container idea.

By keeping batches small, I don't have to worry about stinking up the house. I can experiment with small batches. One 100 gram batch makes a little over 6 cans of lös and I can store it in the same container in the fridge as I cooked in. I bought 4 of those canisters so I could even have 4 different batches of different tobaccos and create my own blend 1 can at a time.

People like Roderick @ Toque could even sell 100 gram bags of tobacco like he does for snuff but for making snus. (hint! hint!). Just ground tobacco, no flavouring or glycerine. Virginia, Burley, Rustica,....

Several questions came up. How are you holding the thermometer in the water bath?

I'm using a spike style meat thermometer. It stands up nicely using the slit in the clasp on the SS container.

How are you getting a 400 micron grind? Are you using the coffee grinder and then sieving it? That KitchenAid is a fine grinder. What setting do you use?

I'm assuming you're grinding the tobacco in case. Is it whole leaf or shredded? I've got some whole leaf but I'm considering bringing it into case and shredding it so that it won't just grind into dust and will grind more evenly. I'm not really sure what the best moisture level is for grinding tobacco leaf into flour whether shredded or whole leaf (or parts of leaves). I was going to bring it up to case a bit on the dry side like I used to do for injecting cigarettes. Or is it better to grind on the wet side?

No I do not grind "in case". My grinder clogs up if the tobacco is "in case".. it's like the old Lucky Strike saying - "it's toasted" in the oven before grinding. And the lamina and stems need to be ground seperately. (Grinding stems is hell on the grinder.) I grind and sift and regrind anything that's oversize.

On the Kitchenaid I grind on about a 6 1/2 setting out of 8.

I picked up my sieves on Ebay. I got a set of 8 - 8"Cole-Parmer metric sieves for like $60. A more common brand name people might be familiar with is Tyler sieves. Here's a source for new ones if you can't find a deal on Ebay.
http://www.affordablesieves.com/8_inch_sieves.htm
or
http://www.affordablesieves.com/200mm_metric_sieves.htm
Unless you want to play around with a longcut I'd suggest somewhere in the range of 250-800 microns. Trial and error got me to 400 microns.

Oh, one last question. Are you using sodium carbonate you bought or did you make it using the oven method?

Plain old Arm & Hammer Baking Soda that's been cooked in the oven.

[justintempler]

Updated photo using the new canisters.



I'm very satisfied with the last batch, it's good enough to be used by itself without having to blend it.

The next experiment, (already underway)
I want to compare a fast cook at a high temperature vs a slow cook at a lower temperature.
I am using rhe same tobacco and same recipe.
I started the batch last night.
This one is going to cook for 5 days @ 70°C/158°F (instead of 2 days @ 93°C/199°F )
The only other planned change is using glycerine and PG instead of glycerine by itself.

[justintempler]

... The next experiment, (already underway)
I want to compare a fast cook at a high temperature vs a slow cook at a lower temperature.
I am using rhe same tobacco and same recipe.
I started the batch last night.
This one is going to cook for 5 days @ 70°C/158°F (instead of 2 days @ 93°C/199°F )
The only other planned change is using glycerine and PG instead of glycerine by itself.

Well the 2 day cook @ 93°C/199°F was much better than the 5 days @ 70°C/158°F
and the glycerine by itself was better than the glycerine/PG combination.

I tried to fix the lower temp batch by cooking for additional 2 days at the higher temp but my SS container developed a hole and I ended up with tobacco soup instead.

I bought 4 of those SS containers, hopefully the hole was a fluke and it won't happen on the other 3 containers, if it does I already have a backup plan.
http://www.amazon.com/Bormioli-Rocco.../dp/B0026QD9OA


I filled my empty Ettan can with 45 grams of the v2.0 snus and finding I use it as much as my LD (although they are nothing alike)

Future experiments are planned..

Edit: The Stainless Steel containers, I used above are crap. They look pretty until they develop holes. I advise sticking to plastic or glass unless you know your SS is a high quality (which mine are not)

[justintempler]

Success! I'm self sufficient now. Homegrown & homemade snus




My pretty stainless steel containers were of poor quality and developed holes so I switched to a 24 ounce Gladware container for this cook. It works great.


Step 1:
Mix:
100 grams Homegrown DelGold lamina ground to 400 micron
120 grams water
13 grams salt (*update - 13 grams is too much, use 5-6 grams salt)
Cook for 48 hours inside sealed Gladware container in a water bath inside crockpot at 199° F (93°C)

Step 2:
Mix in:
30 grams water
7 grams sodium carbonate
1 gram ammonium chloride (salmiak)
Cook for 12 hours inside sealed Gladware container in a water bath inside crockpot at 199° F (93°C)

Step 3:
Mix in:
17 grams glycerine
20 drops Wright's Hickory Seasoning Liquid Smoke
Refrigerate

Fresh from the oven, I didn't like the taste of the snus. It has improved alot after a few days in the fridge. It in no way is anywhere near as good as Ettan but it is good enough to use by itself unflavored. I do plan on experimenting with flavouring to try and turn it into a great snus but I'm going to leave that for another day.

--



Next experiment is to make a batch out of the DelGold stem. Stem has a lower nicotine content so I'm going to add an extra step.

I'm going to boil 100 grams of stem in water for the purpose of getting some nicotine water discarding the stem after boiling, then adding the nicotine water to 100 grams of fresh stem and do an identical cook as above. I'll report back in about a week or so with the results.

[lxskllr]

Have you had Gellivare or Landströms? Your snus looks similar to that. Ettan has a lot of added flavor. I think it would tough to replicate without a lot of trial and error.

[raptor]

Any reason for the glycerin? Doesn't that make it sweet? I don't think any of the Swedish makers use it in their tobacco products.

[justintempler]

Any reason for the glycerin? Doesn't that make it sweet? I don't think any of the Swedish makers use it in their tobacco products.

glycerine aka glycerin aka glycerol aka E422 (it's all the same thing) used in almost all commercial snus.
It's used as a humectant and also makes it easier to form a prilla that holds together.
I think the reason people don't notice glycerine in their snus is that the bitterness of tobacco cancels out the sweetness from the glycerine.

[justintempler]

Have you had Gellivare or Landströms? Your snus looks similar to that. Ettan has a lot of added flavor. I think it would tough to replicate without a lot of trial and error.

No, no Gellivare or Landströms yet Part of my evil plan is to master the art of snus making so I can trade for other brands of snus I may want.

[Mr. Snuffleupagus]

Great job JT! Thanks for sharing all the details. I'll bet it felt great to put that first prilla in. Keep up the good work!

[Mr. Snuffleupagus]

I'm doing a temp test on my "Little Dipper" now...



(it's rockin' at 185 right now...)

Edit: Did some more testing this morning. This thing is perfect for small batches!!! Holds very steady at 185F without having to adjust the dimmer. I'll probably start a batch today. I'm so excited