My dad's Snus recipe: @Tobaccofieldsforever

[Tobaccofieldsforever]

My dad just hand wrote this on a piece of paper for me to share with this forum. It is very similar to squeezyjohns recipe in many ways if you would like to reference that as well.
Ingredients:
4 cups Tobacco Flour
2.5 cups hot water (non-chlorinated)
2 tablespoons non iodized salt
2 tablespoons sodium carbonate

Dissolve salt in hot water. Pour over tobacco flour and mix until tobacco is totally moistened. Transfer mixture to a crockpot WITH A LID set on warm mode (crock pot must have "warm" setting). My dad uses a 2 quart size which holds the 4 cups perfectly. Put lid on and leave for AT LEAST 24 hours, but mixture will not be damaged if left for longer (he said he has left it for up to 3 days with similar results). Dump mixture into mixing bowl and add sodium carbonate. Stir well. Return mixture to crock pot on "warm" setting, put lid back on and let go another 24 hours.
Dump mixture into mixing bowl and stir every 10 minutes or so until ammonia smell completely dissipates into air. This should take about half an hour or a little longer. Snus is now finished and ready for use. Transfer finished product into container with lid and store in refrigerator. Fill your tins from this as needed. This size batch will generally last my dad 2 to 3 weeks. He has made several batches ahead of time and froze them in ziploc freezer bags with great success. ENJOY!
SIDE NOTE: The amount of water needed can depend on type of tobacco and what it takes for your tobacco to appear "completely moistened" my dad uses a tobacco he has been growing for 20 years that was developed by a commercial tobacco farmer in maryland for his "personal stock" It was crossed with yellow orinoco 9 the first year growing it and has been growing true many years now. It seems like a maryland / burley variety though it has some virginia characteristics. It is smooth smoking by itself and makes a nice snus as well. My dad says if anyone has anyone questions he will be happy to answer them (he doesn't spend a lot of time on computers otherwise I would have him open his own account here.)
Below is a picture of a tin of his finished snus

 

[Tobaccofieldsforever]

Thought it might be worth noting I brought him some unprocessed St. James perique from WLT while he was working in his barn. He put a large wad in his mouth and chewed it while he worked. I was worried it would be too strong for him but it didn't faze him at all. He said it was no stronger than what he makes.

 

[Little Dipper]

W

My dad just hand wrote this on a piece of paper for me to share with this forum. It is very similar to squeezyjohns recipe in many ways if you would like to reference that as well.
Ingredients:
4 cups Tobacco Flour
2.5 cups hot water (non-chlorinated)
2 tablespoons non iodized salt
2 tablespoons sodium carbonate

Dissolve salt in hot water. Pour over tobacco flour and mix until tobacco is totally moistened. Transfer mixture to a crockpot WITH A LID set on warm mode (crock pot must have "warm" setting). My dad uses a 2 quart size which holds the 4 cups perfectly. Put lid on and leave for AT LEAST 24 hours, but mixture will not be damaged if left for longer (he said he has left it for up to 3 days with similar results). Dump mixture into mixing bowl and add sodium carbonate. Stir well. Return mixture to crock pot on "warm" setting, put lid back on and let go another 24 hours.
Dump mixture into mixing bowl and stir every 10 minutes or so until ammonia smell completely dissipates into air. This should take about half an hour or a little longer. Snus is now finished and ready for use. Transfer finished product into container with lid and store in refrigerator. Fill your tins from this as needed. This size batch will generally last my dad 2 to 3 weeks. He has made several batches ahead of time and froze them in ziploc freezer bags with great success. ENJOY!
SIDE NOTE: The amount of water needed can depend on type of tobacco and what it takes for your tobacco to appear "completely moistened" my dad uses a tobacco he has been growing for 20 years that was developed by a commercial tobacco farmer in maryland for his "personal stock" It was crossed with yellow orinoco 9 the first year growing it and has been growing true many years now. It seems like a maryland / burley variety though it has some virginia characteristics. It is smooth smoking by itself and makes a nice snus as well. My dad says if anyone has anyone questions he will be happy to answer them (he doesn't spend a lot of time on computers otherwise I would have him open his own account here.)
Below is a picture of a tin of his finished snus
View attachment 36139

What is the temperature in the crockpot? I’ve read it needs 185-195 degrees for 72 hours. My crockpot only gets to 170 on high so I run it for 5-6 days straight and the snuff takes 3-4 weeks of resting before it’s ready.

 

[Tobaccofieldsforever]

W

What is the temperature in the crockpot? I’ve read it needs 185-195 degrees for 72 hours. My crockpot only gets to 170 on high so I run it for 5-6 days straight and the snuff takes 3-4 weeks of resting before it’s ready.

He said he has never officially measured it, but through trial and error he knows "low" and "high" are too hot. They scorch/burn the mixture. Googles averages for crockpot settings are: warm-145 to 165 F, low-around 200f, high- around 300 F, so one hour on High is approximately equal to 2.5 hours on Low. If we assume the warm setting is 150, then by extrapolation 1 hour on high is equal to 4.375 hours on warm (4hours, 22.5 minutes) and that is using 150, 200 and 300 degrees F for warm, low, high respectively. I don't know if that information is particularly helpful, I just felt like figuring it out..haha. Well, 170 for a high setting sounds quite low. I would assume your low setting goes below 140 in which case I would advise you to be cautious as this is the high end of the "danger zone" where bacteria can grow in food or whatever else is in the pot. Anyway, concerning the need for 185-195 for 72 hours, I have read similar things and my opinion is it's not necessary but would also work. Oh, and are you making SNUF? that's what your post said. This recipe is for snus and I honestly don't know if they're made in similar ways. Here is an old post from smokesahoy illustrating my point:

All this talk of snus got me to start up another batch, been out for a long while.

I'm using some snuff reject, so it was milled in a ball mill and finely seived. It also had various essential oils added to it, so hopefully they bake off, at least mostly.

I'm going to cook at 160 for 12 hours, mix edible lime and leave on the counter overnight and fridge after that. Jbd got me thinking about shorter cooks and I want to try it this way after chatting with him.

God might not even know what kind of tobaccos are in this blend- it was in my jar of "pass" snuff experiments heh.

and here is a link to that entire thread: https://fairtradetobacco.com/threads/snussers-homemade-snus-its-that-good.6889/
Good Luck and enjoy!! (If you don't feel like reading the thread smokesahoy's snus turned out good)

 

[deluxestogie]

Just a quick clarification about Crockpot temperatures. If there is any water or aqueous solution within the crockery (as opposed to being isolated with a sealed jar within the Crockpot), the the temperature of that water will never rise much above the boiling point (without an increase in pressure above ambient), due to evaporative heat loss. If the stuff in the Crockpot boils at all, then it must be at least at boiling point. As solutions become more concentrated, the boiling point rises. But even the temp of a sugar solution concentrated to "hard candy" barely gets above 300°F.

I agree with the estimates of Low and Medium. The time projections to using High are probably meaningful with sealed canning jars inside the Crockpot.

Bob

 

[Tobaccofieldsforever]

Just a quick clarification about Crockpot temperatures. If there is any water or aqueous solution within the crockery (as opposed to being isolated with a sealed jar within the Crockpot), the the temperature of that water will never rise much above the boiling point (without an increase in pressure above ambient), due to evaporative heat loss. If the stuff in the Crockpot boils at all, then it must be at least at boiling point. As solutions become more concentrated, the boiling point rises. But even the temp of a sugar solution concentrated to "hard candy" barely gets above 300°F.

I agree with the estimates of Low and Medium. The time projections to using High are probably meaningful with sealed canning jars inside the Crockpot.

Bob

Thank you Bob. So yes, there is a big difference in my dad's recipe versus the waterbath "sous vide" method suggested in squeezy's. My dad uses a 2 quart Rival brand crockpot with low, high and warm settings. He does not use a water bath, he instead puts his mixture of saltwater and tobacco flour directly into the crock pot and keeps the lid on it the entire time. He also told me he had sodium carbonate that he used in taxidermy (he was a taxidermist on the side too) and that is what he used for his snus (just trying to provide all information I know). I hope this helps

 

[Little Dipper]

He said he has never officially measured it, but through trial and error he knows "low" and "high" are too hot. They scorch/burn the mixture. Googles averages for crockpot settings are: warm-145 to 165 F, low-around 200f, high- around 300 F, so one hour on High is approximately equal to 2.5 hours on Low. If we assume the warm setting is 150, then by extrapolation 1 hour on high is equal to 4.375 hours on warm (4hours, 22.5 minutes) and that is using 150, 200 and 300 degrees F for warm, low, high respectively. I don't know if that information is particularly helpful, I just felt like figuring it out..haha. Well, 170 for a high setting sounds quite low. I would assume your low setting goes below 140 in which case I would advise you to be cautious as this is the high end of the "danger zone" where bacteria can grow in food or whatever else is in the pot. Anyway, concerning the need for 185-195 for 72 hours, I have read similar things and my opinion is it's not necessary but would also work. Oh, and are you making SNUF? that's what your post said. This recipe is for snus and I honestly don't know if they're made in similar ways. Here is an old post from smokesahoy illustrating my point:

All this talk of snus got me to start up another batch, been out for a long while.

I'm using some snuff reject, so it was milled in a ball mill and finely seived. It also had various essential oils added to it, so hopefully they bake off, at least mostly.

I'm going to cook at 160 for 12 hours, mix edible lime and leave on the counter overnight and fridge after that. Jbd got me thinking about shorter cooks and I want to try it this way after chatting with him.

God might not even know what kind of tobaccos are in this blend- it was in my jar of "pass" snuff experiments heh.

and here is a link to that entire thread: https://fairtradetobacco.com/threads/snussers-homemade-snus-its-that-good.6889/
Good Luck and enjoy!! (If you don't feel like reading the thread smokesahoy's snus turned out good)

Thanks for the info, and Yes, making snuff, seems every batch has the burnt rubber smell/taste, just thinking a higher temp for less time might work. It takes 3-4 weeks setting in fridge before the smell goes away.

 

[Tobaccofieldsforever]

Thanks for the info, and Yes, making snuff, seems every batch has the burnt rubber smell/taste, just thinking a higher temp for less time might work. It takes 3-4 weeks setting in fridge before the smell goes away.

You're making wet snuff or dry snuff (the powder you inhale)? Do you use a water bath? I'm not sure the exact procedure you use. A burnt rubber smell doesn't sound familiar, though maybe you are overcooking/burning the mixture. I would recommend shorter cook time even at 170. 5 to 6 days seems quite long. And this is all before adding a carbonate? I recommend browsing the smokeless tobacco forum looking at recipes and tweaking what you do or following my dad's recipe exactly as it's written as I know that works and could be of more help with questions regarding that recipe. Good luck.

 

[Deniska]

When you stir the snus to get rid of ammonia, can this come to a discrease rate of nicotin in it?