Greg's Snack Sticks Questions

[OTB]

I posted last night in the meat forum, which was the wrong place.  Sorry

I am thinking of trying my hand at Greg's snack sticks today.  I have a Grizzley 5lb stuffer, and kitchen aid grinder, cologen casings and DBS 4 rack all ready to go.

So here are my questions:
-Is there a substitute for encapsulated citric acid?
-Should I hang them in the smoker or put on racks?  I assume to hang them I can just go to hardware store and buy some doweling and cut to size...
-What is suggested programming of dual probe PID?  I assume there is a good way to ramp.
-Where do you place the PID meat probe?  I assume you just pick one sausage about in the middle of the smoker?
-about how long does it take to smoke them and come to temp, and what wood do you guys use?

[KevinG]

Encapulated citric acid is just citric acid in capsules. They break open at the appropriate temperature. It gives the meat a tangy flavor. I suppose you could just inject with citric acid after 135F degrees, but I am not sure if that would work or not because it wouldn't be distributed evenly within the meat and if you use too much it turns the meat white, so
I don't believe there is a substitute for encapsulated citric acid other than fermentation the long way, which I don't have the equipment for so don't know the process very well.

Hanging or racking shouldn't make too much of a difference. A lot of people hang to get more in the oven, and yes you can use dowels, but stainless steel is better for less chance of bacterial growth.

Any type of sausage should be ramped up slowly, too fast and it'll fat out. I usually do fresh sausage not sticks so no help here.

Probe position should be in the thickest one you have. You want to make sure that all the sticks are done, which they will if placed in the thickest one.

[lumpy]

I have used fermento as ECA replacement.

Lumpy

[Habanero Smoker]

You can try using buttermilk in place of the water in that recipe (or as lumpy pointed out, fermento if you have it; 5 oz. per 10 lbs.). That will give it some tang.

[OTB]

Ok.  I never got the time to do this on Saturday, but will give it a try today.  I will just skip the citric acid for this batch. 

How do you ramp up the temp so they don't fat out?

[Habanero Smoker]

I've only made sticks a few times. I would follow the guidelines and ramp them like Pens or NePas do in their recipes.

[OTB]

thanks!  I have to say that I am very impressed with my Grizzley sausage stuffer.  Last time we made fresh sausage I used the Kitchen Aid stuffer attachment and it was hours of work and mess.  We had these sausage stuffed (5lbs), and kitchen cleaned in about 30 minutes.

I could not find 85/15 ground beef so I used 80/20.  I also picked up some 1/2 in doweling and cut to 15 1/4 inches to hang the sausage on.  I set up my pid as follows:

C01   130    t    1.0 hours      
C02   150    t    2.0   hours       [will apply smoke here]
C03   170    F    155*          
C04  blank
C05  blank
Co6  blank

Here they are going into the smoker:

[OTB]

Once these hit the proper temp, I was going to turn off the smoker, prop the door open and leave until they cool.

Do these need to hang for a while?  Also, are they shelf stable that I don't need to refrigerate?

How do you store yours, in fridge, freezer, or just in a ziploc on the counter?

[NePaSmoKer]

OTB


Here is how i PID my temps. I think some of the other guys do just about the same.


C1.......130*...........1.5 hrs. This is to get the casings tacky and will hold smoke better

C2.......140*...........1 hr 40 mins (5 pucks)

C3.......140*...........2 hrs   no smoke.

C4.......150*...........3 hrs no smoke.........check IT of sticks

C5.......160*...........3 hrs no smoke.........check IT again.........You might have an IT stall here around 130-137* For sometime.

C6.......170-180*.....2-3 hrs.......keep checking IT of sticks. Keep going until you reach an IT of 152-155* of the meat. Sticks close to the heat will get done faster. Leaving the door open when done is ok or you can room temp or rinse them.


This can take several hours to complete.

As for storage i never use a plastic baggy, this creates moisture and will make the sticks go bad faster. Use a paper bag or plastic jar with holes in the lid. Shelf life will depend on the temps in your house. I keep mine on the counter unless its major hot outside.


Have fun

[OTB]

They have been stuck at 140 - 145 for the last two hours.  I am thinking it will be about midnight by the time they reach 155.  can I safely leave them on a cooling rack on the kitchen counter overnight one they hit the proper temp?  That way i can deal with packaging them in the morning once they have cooled.

[OTB]

So they reached an IT of 155 at about 10:30PM.  I took them out, and laid on a cooling rack overnight, with just a couple of paper towels on top to keep the dust off.

Here the are after coming out of the smoker:


I sliced them, vacuum sealed most of them, and into the freezer and fridge.  I will post the pic of sliced once it sends through my phone.

They have a great flavor and texture.  I must agree with other posts about not storing in a ziplock.  I placed a few sticks in a ziplock baggie to bring to work, and half way to work there was an accumulation of moisture in the bag.  I immediately had to take care of that so my co-workers and I ate them.   :) 

Thanks for everybody's help!

[pensrock]

They look good, I now add more pepper to kick up the heat some.  :)