1st shot at snack sticks (Greg's Spicy Stick)

Sailor · November 13, 2010, 06:17:56 AM

Mixed up a 5lb batch of Greg's Spicy Sticks (pensrock) last night stuffed and let stand in the fridge overnight. Just put them in the OBS and will smoke with Hickory for 2 to or so hours. I keep forgetting that size matters when stuffing as I got them a bit to long but I think they will work. First time that I stuffed a 19mm casing and found that I had to put lots more pressure on the crank to get the stuff to flow.

Letting come up to room temp.

You can see that I stuff them a bit long. Note to self ....measure the length of the hanger and OBS and stuff to length

SouthernSmoked · November 13, 2010, 06:28:11 AM

Awesome Job!

Tenpoint5 · November 13, 2010, 06:35:50 AM

Looks Good Sailor I have some to smoke today as well

pensrock · November 13, 2010, 06:55:08 AM

Looks good, just so you know.... I now add a little more of the hot pepper to kick them up some more. The basic recipe is meant for everyone, I like things a little more spicy. Let me know how they come out for you. :)

Sailor · November 13, 2010, 07:06:33 AM

Quote from: pensrock on November 13, 2010, 06:55:08 AM
Looks good, just so you know.... I now add a little more of the hot pepper to kick them up some more. The basic recipe is meant for everyone, I like things a little more spicy. Let me know how they come out for you. :)

Yep....I looked at my spicy Italian recipe and noted that you were a bit light on the ground red pepper so I upped it a bit to 1 Tablespoon. I fried up the paddy I collected from the stuffer and it was pretty tasty. The real test will be to see what my wife has to say. She is not a big sausage fan and when she likes one of my concoctions I call that recipe "good" and don't tinker with it any more. ;D ::)

RAF128 · November 13, 2010, 07:46:47 AM

You've sure got an assortment of lenths there. I see you too the v tray out to make room. I would be concerned those sausages right over the burner would cook before the rest get done. I guess you didn't have a choice because of the length. Do you rotate them around in there?

pikeman_95 · November 13, 2010, 07:50:07 AM

Looks good Sailor.
I am back from hunting and have a couple hanging in the garage. I am getting back on the stuffer so maybe you won't have to crank so hard. I will post pictures when done. At some point I might ask you for your sweet Italian recipe. I do not have a good recipe for Italian and would like to make a small batch. How many pounds did you make? It looks like you have a smoker full.

Kirby

Sailor · November 13, 2010, 08:09:00 AM

Quote from: RAF128 on November 13, 2010, 07:46:47 AM
You've sure got an assortment of lenths there. I see you too the v tray out to make room. I would be concerned those sausages right over the burner would cook before the rest get done. I guess you didn't have a choice because of the length. Do you rotate them around in there?

Yep had to take the V-tray out. I have the hanger move to the front to keep it away from the element. One length is a several inches from the puck burner. I guess I could have tied to tie and cut the lengths to fit in a rack. Made a note on the recipe sheet to measure the lengths to either fit hanging or to fit in a rack. I seem to always learn from my mistakes but I think I will still be able to eat these mistakes ;D

Sailor · November 13, 2010, 08:23:19 AM

Been rollin smoke for 1 1/2 hours. The cabinet is now up to 150 and the IT is 124. The sticks are starting to change colors as the cure is kicking in. I expect a stall any time now.

pikeman_95 · November 13, 2010, 08:36:29 AM

Looks good. Have you ever tried to put a fan in you smoker to help with the smoke penetration. I have a fan system in my big smoker and I also hang a couple of larger Radio Shack fans to stir the air.

Kirby

Sailor · November 13, 2010, 08:50:34 AM

I have not modified the smoker yet. I know that some on the forum have added fans and extra element. For the small batches the I am doing it seems to do a good job as is. I am still wanting to covert a proofer and do larger batches and when I do that I will put fans in.

dAWGS · November 13, 2010, 11:32:48 AM

you said you expect a "stall" any minute now. im a newbie here and trying to learn. what do you mean by "stall"?

pensrock · November 13, 2010, 11:59:32 AM

Stall is when you are watching the internal temp and it sits around the same temp for a while, then it begins to rise again.

Sailor · November 13, 2010, 12:03:10 PM

I just wrote a long winded post about stall and said a more experienced smoker would come alone and better explain it. And then see the Pen's did it before I could post it. He has you covered 100%.

dAWGS · November 13, 2010, 01:12:22 PM

how long is an average stall?