My 1st snack sticks, FINALLY!

PapaC · March 16, 2013, 07:47:49 PM

Well, it seems I've been busier than the proverbial "one legged man in a butt kickin contest" lately, but I was finally able to put my stuffer to work on some snack sticks. I went with the Hi-Mountain kit, and they turned out tasty! Here's the pictorial story........

Started out with a chub of deer burg, a deer roast, and a bag of ground pork shoulder.

Turned out not to be enough deer to pork ratio, so I went into emergency mode and thawed out two more chubs in the micro-wave. Ended up at 75% deer, and 25% pork. Ended up with exactly 10 lbs. Here it is all mixed up going into the LEM......

My lovley wife did the cranking, and here it is tubing up quite nicely......

All stuffed at 9:30 last night, ready to go into the fridge overnight........

into the OBS at 10:00 AM, 135* for an hour, then up to 150* for an hour, Then up to 160* with two hours of Hickory puffing away, shifting the racks top to bottom, and front to back at three hours. I then turned the control knob pretty much all the way and inserted the temp probe int a stick.

After six hours total, the IT HIT 152*......

Next into the water bath for about seven mins, then back onto the racks to bloom.......

Aaaaand, the money shot!!!

Then sealed up to be enjoyed whenever!

My thanks to all of you that have prieviously posted yous. I certainly learn alot watching the forum here. I hope to try a scratch recipe on the next batch, and maybe get a dowel set-up to hang them. We'll see. I purchased a Bratwurst kit that I've got to get to soon as well. Till then....

classicrockgriller · March 16, 2013, 07:54:50 PM

Them sticks stayed nice and fat.

You and Wifey done good!

SiFumar · March 16, 2013, 07:59:35 PM

They look mighty fine!

Scotty-G · March 17, 2013, 12:40:50 AM

Have made a few (~6) batches of sticks and none of them have come out looking quite as nice.
GREAT JOB!!

drunknimortal · March 17, 2013, 06:19:06 AM

They look good, why the water bath? I just let mine sit on the counter for an hr or 2.

PapaC · March 17, 2013, 06:47:58 AM

Quote from: drunknimortal on March 17, 2013, 06:19:06 AM
They look good, why the water bath? I just let mine sit on the counter for an hr or 2.

I'm not going to pretend I'm an expert, and I hope someone with more knowledge/experience will chime in, but it's my understanding that you want to stop the cooking process right away and get the IT down to 100* before the bloom. I think getting them immediately into ice water also helps prevent wrinkling.

Keymaster · March 17, 2013, 06:54:11 AM

Nice job Carl, Its always nice to have a helping hand while stuffing.

Sailor · March 17, 2013, 07:05:47 AM

Quote from: PapaC on March 17, 2013, 06:47:58 AM
Quote from: drunknimortal on March 17, 2013, 06:19:06 AM
They look good, why the water bath? I just let mine sit on the counter for an hr or 2.

I'm not going to pretend I'm an expert, and I hope someone with more knowledge/experience will chime in, but it's my understanding that you want to stop the cooking process right away and get the IT down to 100* before the bloom. I think getting them immediately into ice water also helps prevent wrinkling.

Them wrinkles add character ;D What I have found that if you stuff the collegen casings and put them in the fridge the casings will become loose after the smoke and want to peel off. Now I have never given the snack stixs a bath after the smoke as I was taught by the master (Nepas) to just bloom them for a few hrs. I am thinking that giving them a bath may loosen the casing up and make them want to peel. Let us know how the casings are after a few days. They sure do look good. You did a fine job on them.

PapaC · March 17, 2013, 07:49:03 AM

Will do sailor, it's great fun to go thru the learning process! I'll skip the water bath next time, just for comparison sake. Thanks all for the compliments.

mikecorn.1 · March 17, 2013, 10:11:28 AM

Very nice!

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drano · March 17, 2013, 12:17:53 PM

Looks great!

ragweed · March 17, 2013, 12:40:13 PM

Looking good!!

viper125 · March 20, 2013, 03:32:29 PM

Very nice and I dont ice bath either. I pull my at 138 or better then let bloom on the kitchen counter. I also like the wrinkles. As I never remember seeing sticks sold that wasn't. So I agree adds to the character. Those look very good and I bet they taste great!

pikeman_95 · March 20, 2013, 03:44:16 PM

I agree with viper125. I like mine a little dryer and wrinkled. They are so thin it takes very little to get them up to temperature in the smoker. Drop them on the counter to cool and put away.
KC

PapaC · March 21, 2013, 11:37:13 AM

Quote from: Sailor on March 17, 2013, 07:05:47 AM
Let us know how the casings are after a few days. They sure do look good. You did a fine job on them.

Opened a pack about an hour ago shared a few with my co-workers here. Casings were fine. Still hanging on quite nicely. Heading out to the coast tomorrow in the RV and they'll get snacked on over the weekend as well. They're goin fast!