half cooked snack sticks

Eric Smith · November 30, 2012, 09:15:09 AM

This was my first time smoking anything. I mixed my sausage 15 lbs venison, 8 pounds pork butt and 2 lbs pork fat I then cured my meat with the Cabelas snake stick Teriyaki kit and mixed it until it stuck to my hand. I then added the seasoning after mixing it really well I then stuffed them in 33 mm casings. I then let them sit in the fridge over night. I just bought a 6 rack Bradley smoker. I made dowels to hang the stuffed snack sticks from. I started the drying process at 6:00 am and dried until 7:15 with the vent all the way open. I then closed the vent to where it was only a quarter open and smoked the sausage for two hours with the temp. at 130 degrees for an hour and then increased it to 140 degrees for the last hour. I increased the temp every hour until I got to 170 degrees with the vent closed. I had to smoke until 2:00 am the next day before I got the internal temp to 156 degrees in the one snack stick that I had my internal meet thermometer in but when I opened my smoker both ends of the snack sticks where over over done and the middle of the sticks didn't look done. where does the vent need to be in this smoking process and why didn't the snack sticks finish evenly. please help."

GusRobin · November 30, 2012, 10:28:43 AM

My vent has been wide open since the day I bought the Bradley.
If I hang my sausage, I rotate them (top and bottom).
Where are you measuring the Bradley temp? If in the middle, the bottom is hotter and that could be part of the reason.
I usually take the IT on a number of pieces and in different spots on the individual sausage.
That's about the best I can offer. Experts will be around shortly.

Sailor · November 30, 2012, 10:37:59 AM

My vent has been stuck wide open forever. Closing the vent will cool the inside of the smoker as it will not allow the moisture to escape. I would suggest keeping the vent wide open or no less than 3/4 open. Snack sticks take me about 6 hrs from the start of 1 hr at 130 to dry the casings and then bumping the temp 10 degrees every hour. I never get the temp over 175 and normally have my PID set for the finish at 170. I do have a fan in my 4 rack Bradley and this helps with the cook time. Normally I do a 5lb load and have done 10lb loads without to much difference in finish times. The ends close to the V-Tray will get done faster but usually not that much faster. With a large load you will have at least a 10 degree swing between the top of the cabinet and bottom. There is a sweet spot to place the probe if you are using a PID or cabinet temp probe. With some practice one will be able to control the temp even if they are not using a PID. When you do sausage do not go by the door probe one digital read out. I would recommend that if you are going to make sausage you get a PID or at least get a Maverick so you can monitor the top and bottom temp.

Sam3 · November 30, 2012, 10:50:01 AM

Quote from: Sailor on November 30, 2012, 10:37:59 AM
My vent has been stuck wide open forever. Closing the vent will cool the inside of the smoker as it will not allow the moisture to escape. I would suggest keeping the vent wide open or no less than 3/4 open. Snack sticks take me about 6 hrs from the start of 1 hr at 130 to dry the casings and then bumping the temp 10 degrees every hour. I never get the temp over 175 and normally have my PID set for the finish at 170. I do have a fan in my 4 rack Bradley and this helps with the cook time. Normally I do a 5lb load and have done 10lb loads without to much difference in finish times. The ends close to the V-Tray will get done faster but usually not that much faster. With a large load you will have at least a 10 degree swing between the top of the cabinet and bottom. There is a sweet spot to place the probe if you are using a PID or cabinet temp probe. With some practice one will be able to control the temp even if they are not using a PID. When you do sausage do not go by the door probe one digital read out. I would recommend that if you are going to make sausage you get a PID or at least get a Maverick so you can monitor the top and bottom temp.

Great advice here.
I too have the fan mod as well as the 900w element. My times are about the same as well.

rsherman24 · November 30, 2012, 10:51:46 AM

When I do snack sticks, I tie them in a loop long enough to hang from the dowel to slightly above the V tray. Then rotate them every hour when I bump the heat up. If you just hang them, the ends near the V tray will get done much sooner than the top portion. You will lose heat when opening the door to rotate them, but it recovers quick and the consistency is worth it. Experiment with some small batches varying the heat, length and rotation schedule until you get dialed in. Won't take long.

Tenpoint5 · November 30, 2012, 12:38:18 PM

The main thing I see other then the issues already discussed is the size of the casing.. For snack sticks most of us tend to use stay around the 17 - 21 mm range. Those big 33mm casings are more for brat sized sausages. The smaller sized casings should finish a wee bit faster for you.along with the suggested vent settings.

viper125 · November 30, 2012, 07:53:43 PM

Yep I like the small sizes better too! But tried adjusting the vent when I first got mine. When my ribs wouldn't get done. Been smoking wide open since. But you do need to switch racks. I have the 1000 watt mod and fan and still switch and turn.

Eric Smith · November 30, 2012, 08:59:34 PM

Thanks for all the great advise. I will try a smaller batch. where is a good place to get a fan for the Bradley smoker and what would be the best place to install it in the smoker?