My SnusAtHome/SqueezyJohn EttanAtHome didn't turn out

[manfisher]

I followed SnusAtHome’s recipe on YouTube for Ettan with some burley I got from WLT and totally butchered it. I’m going to try another batch tomorrow but I wanted to see if you can help me figure out what I did wrong.
So I mixed: 100g Tobacco (straight burley) flour .5tsp of cacao powder (non-dutched) 8g of sea salt 110g of distilled water

I mixed it all together and put it in a Pyrex bowl and into the Instapot on top of a trivet and filled it about half way up the trivet with water. I set on high pressure for 3 hours and then let sit for 1 hour on top of that.

Once I took it out, I dissolved 5g of the sodium bicarbonate I baked in the over for an hour to turn to sodium carbonate, in 10g of water and mixed into the snus.

When I opened up the instapot I was instantly greeted with the scent of overcooked carrots, a very sweet molasses type smell that smelled nothing like Ettan or any snus I’ve tried, and actually smelled very similar to Jocks Choic nasal snuff. I instantly knew I did something wrong. I didn’t see any of the black/brownish crystals that Matt mentioned, and it was very crumbly. It felt dry but at the same time very moist. I kneaded it for about 5 min and then tried to bake a prilla. It was super crumbly but when I pressed down to bake it tight, it oozes out juices like a sponge. I have it in my lip now and while it has a really good nicotine kick, it tastes like absolutely nothing, a slight salty carrot taste but really doesn’t taste like anything. Obviously something went wrong but I couldn’t find anywhere in Matt’s videos that talks about what to do if it didn’t cook right (I’m assuming it’s under cooked). I’m going to try another batch tomorrow but instead of using an open top bowl, I’m going to use an oven bag, hoping that more steam will get trapped in there. Can anyone help me troubleshoot what I did wrong?

Edit: I should also mention that it came out darker but not that dark. Definitely not the black color Ettan Lös comes out as

 

[deluxestogie]

Read page 35 of Snuff, Snus and Chew: a recipe book. You can download it for free from our Index of Key Forum Threads.

Bob

 

[wruk53]

A few questions and some suggestions. Did you age the snus for a few weeks after cooking? Freshly cooked snus will not smell nor taste good until it has been aged in the fridge for a few weeks. It takes a while to fully alkalize and mellow out. Was the Pyrex bowl sealed so that the steam from the pot could not get into the snus? If not, that could be the cause of the excess moisture. I would use some canning jars that are designed to release internal pressure and prevent any water or steam from entering the jars. I suggest you buy a box of washing soda rather than sodium bicarbonate turned into sodium carbonate. The washing soda is pure sodium carbonate. The homemade stuff can revert back to bicarbonate if not stored properly. Last but not least, I'm not a fan of the pressure-cooking method, I prefer the longer slow cook method. Your instant pot should handle that nicely. (it's what I use) Good luck on your next try!

 

[manfisher]

A few questions and some suggestions. Did you age the snus for a few weeks after cooking? Freshly cooked snus will not smell nor taste good until it has been aged in the fridge for a few weeks. It takes a while to fully alkalize and mellow out. Was the Pyrex bowl sealed so that the steam from the pot could not get into the snus? If not, that could be the cause of the excess moisture. I would use some canning jars that are designed to release internal pressure and prevent any water or steam from entering the jars. I suggest you buy a box of washing soda rather than sodium bicarbonate turned into sodium carbonate. The washing soda is pure sodium carbonate. The homemade stuff can revert back to bicarbonate if not stored properly. Last but not least, I'm not a fan of the pressure-cooking method, I prefer the longer slow cook method. Your instant pot should handle that nicely. (it's what I use) Good luck on your next try!

Those are some great questions @wruk53 . I’m on my second batch now and used less water so the texture is nicer but the smell and flavor is poor. I didn’t let it age but I’m not getting any ammonia smell or flavor right out of the cooker which I’m told, is a sign it went properly. I used a Pyrex bowl with no cover so that could explain the excess moisture. This second cook I’m doing on my second bag is in an oven bag with a hole
In it. Im hoping that might help though in the future, im definitely going to use mason jars. I’m starting to think that the slow cooker method is better since it allows for more time to cook. If this batch doesn’t turn out, I’m going to order some more leaf and try that. I want to add 50/50 VA/Bur but I can’t seem to find any air cured VA for sale and don’t want to use flue cured VA because of the TSNA levels. Sort of defeats the point of snus in my opinion. For now, I might try some sun cured orientals and burley leaf in the slow cooker option and cook for 24 hours.

 

[wruk53]

I didn’t let it age but I’m not getting any ammonia smell or flavor right out of the cooker

Take my word for it, it will never taste or smell right immediately after cooking without a few weeks of aging in the fridge. Put it in a glad ware container, shove it in the fridge and try to forget about it for a few weeks before sampling. I think you'll be surprised at the improvement.