I Frankensteined OU812's ham sticks

[Northern_Smoke]

I still haven't replaced my sausage stuffer that broke over a month ago but was craving some ham sticks. So I decided to adjust and adapt according to what I had. The plan was to turn the ham sticks into ham jerky. I must say it worked out splendidly :) The basics were the same as OU812's recipe. I cut the recipe in half so this was just a 5 pound batch. The meat was cubed and mixed with the brown sugar and TQ. I should also mention that it was trimmed to be quite lean.

Once it was ground I mixed it with the honey and added half a cup of NFDM.
I then pressed it into a sheet that would fit my whole rack. I have 2 pieces if 1/4x1 inch stainless steel that I lay on the counter. I put waxed paper underneath and then a scoop of meat and waxed paper on top. Then I press one of our solid cutting boards on it to flatten it out to a uniform thickness.

And once it is done in the Bradley, I pull it and slice into to strips

And the money shot


I must say that these were JUST as good as the sticks were. So until I finally make up my mind on which stuffer I want to buy, this is how I will be making OU812's ham sticks :)

[ragweed]

Great idea!  Think of what you'll save on casings.

[Northern_Smoke]

Yep, too bad I could just "jerky" all my sausage recipes lol

[Saber 4]

Nice looking jerky and the clean up looks easier than a jerky gun

[Northern_Smoke]

I had a jerky gun and gave it away cause it was a pain in the ace to always clean. This is much MUCH faster and cleaner.

[Tenpoint5]

Sometimes you just do what you gotta do!! That batch looks really good.

[Northern_Smoke]

This test batch tasted really good. All 5 pounds of jerky was gone within 30 hours. I will make it this way again for sure. It was almost like leathery breakfast. Grab that and a hard boiled egg in the morning and you are off lol