Salami Stick & Last NEPA Smoke

[watchdog56]

Thanks for all your tips Nepa and pictures. They were a great help. I only hope and assume that you will not leave us totally and will be under a new name. I hope your move goes very smooth and without a hitch. One question? Do you soak your casings for your sticks or do you just stuff them dry and smoke them right away or put in frig overnight? I plan on doing some more sticks this weekend and the last batch after a few days and also the ones that went into the freezer the casings started to separate from the meat. I take my IT to 152 and then ice bath. I am thinking about doing the hot water method after 2 hours of smoke and then ice bath to cool.

[northof60girl]

Have a great trip...you won't be going hungry and you may even find cars following closely behind you will the smell of salami coming out of your windows! 

[NePaSmoKer]

Thanks for all your tips Nepa and pictures. They were a great help. I only hope and assume that you will not leave us totally and will be under a new name. I hope your move goes very smooth and without a hitch. One question? Do you soak your casings for your sticks or do you just stuff them dry and smoke them right away or put in frig overnight? I plan on doing some more sticks this weekend and the last batch after a few days and also the ones that went into the freezer the casings started to separate from the meat. I take my IT to 152 and then ice bath. I am thinking about doing the hot water method after 2 hours of smoke and then ice bath to cool.

Naa i wont be leaving the forum anytime soon  ;D and will keep the same name.

On your question, no i dont soak the collagen stick casings allthough i have tried before and had no problems. 99% of the time i stuff and smoke right away. If i cant i just mix the meat and fridge without stuffing and stuff the next day. I dont do hot water bath much because i find the meat gets soft and mushy feeling.

[watchdog56]

What would cause the casings from pulling away from the meat. It has happened whether I do the hot water way or just leave then in the smoker?

[Sailor]

What would cause the casings from pulling away from the meat. It has happened whether I do the hot water way or just leave then in the smoker?

The only time I have had a problem with the casings separating is if I stuff and then put them in the fridge overnight.  I also had a problem using some old casings that did not feel "oily" when I stuffed them.  I do not do the hot water bath on stixs so I can't say that does it or not.  I hang my sticks in the OBS and never get the cabinet temp over 175. 

Bottom line (IMHO) is that if you stuff and put in the fridge, the moisture will leach out causing the meat not to stick to the casings.  I thinks NEPAS has left them in the fridge overnight but covers them to keep the moisture in.  I may be wrong on that but I think I read a post from him on this subject.

[dbondy]

Good luck on your move Rick, and can,t wait to see your new smoking place. By the the way the snack sticks look awesome too. ;D ;D

[NePaSmoKer]

Thanks everyone for the kind words on our move.