Smoked beef sticks...slim jims on steroids (w/pics)

[Stickbowcrafter]

Alright, so some of us are without venison thus far. Hopefully that will change in the late season. Been real tough with no venison in the freezer and the wild boar just about gone. But us smokers are adapatable folk.

The super market had buy one get one free on chuck roasts. I got two 2.5 pound roasts for under $10. Spent the morning grinding and stuffing.



-Brian

[Stickbowcrafter]

I ran the cubes through the 3/16" plate and added the dry ingredients. I used the "Dried Sausage Sticks" recipe on page 361 of Great Sausage Recipes and Meat Curing by Rytek Kutas.

For 5 pounds:

1 tsp Instacure # 1 (aka pink salt, DQ curing salt, Prague Powder #1)
2 Tbs paprika
2.5 Tbs ground mustard
.5 tsp ground black pepper
.5 tsp ground white pepper
.5 tsp ground celery
.5 Tbs mace
.5 tsp granulated garlic
2.5 Tbs salt
2.25 Tbs powdered dextrose
3/4 cup Fermento



-Brian

[Stickbowcrafter]

As with all sausage, keep the mixture as cold as possible. I like to put the cubed meat into the freezer until it starts to stiffen up before grinding. I also put all of my metal grinder parts in the freezer as well just before assembly and grinding.

After grinding, mix all the ingredients thoroughly for at least 2 minutes or until well distributed. I normally like to use natural sheep casings (similar to the size of breakfast sausage) but my sheep casings were giving me fits even after a long soak in warm water. I ended up using a similar sized edible collagen casing.

Stuff the casings but don't over stuff. You'll need some wiggle room for twisting links or bending over smoke sticks.



-Brian

[Stickbowcrafter]

OK, the Fermento needs some time to do it's thing. Hang the sticks (I like hickory rods) in a 98 to 110 degree Bradley and apply smoke. There is a lot of different opinions on how long a sausage will absorb smoke. You could probably get away with 2-3 hours of smoke. This recipe calls for 8 hours of smoke at this temperature. Regardless of how long you apply smoke, keep the sticks hanging at these temps for at least 8 hours. If you like a more tangy flavor, hold this temperature for 12 hours.



-Brian

[Stickbowcrafter]

Here we are about 6 hours into the smoking process. After 8 hours, I will slowly raise the smoker temperature and bring the sticks to an internal temperature of 145 degrees. You can see how the pink salt and smoke have transformed the dull, fresh sticks into the signature red beauties we associate with smoked meat sticks.



-Brian

[pensrock]

MMmmm looks real good, thanks for sharing. Hoping for some late season muzzeloader venison myself. The one we got in rifle season is about used up already and I have many more things to make.

[hillbillysmoker]

Great looking results. Now for the rewards....enjoy.

[Mr Walleye]

Holy crap Brian..... You're drivin' me nuts!  :D

I mean that in a good way!  ;)

All this sausage...... Man, I gotta get me a grinder & stuffer and start experimenting!

Thanks for sharing!

Mike

[Smoked]

Hey Stickbowcrafter-- I'm a noob (see my post count!) and haven't yet made beef sticks but that's one of the things I bought the Bradley to do.  Where do you buy the Fermento and the instacure & the dextrose as noted in your recipe-- is there a web site or local stores or???  Thanks for your help--

Ed

[Arcs_n_Sparks]

Smoked,

I get those ingredients from the Sausage Maker on-line. I suspect you can get those from many places on-line.

Arcs_n_Sparks

[Stickbowcrafter]

Still waiting for the sticks to get to 145 degrees, will post a finished picture then...

Thanks Mike. I figured you were on the edge and if I keep posting these, you'll break down and start experimenting  ;D

Hi Ed and welcome to the forum. Gander Mountain and Cabela's have a limited supply of some sausage making items. I buy most of the supplies I can't get locally from these 2 places on-line:

www.sausagemaker.com

http://www.butcher-packer.com/

Get these books too!

http://www.amazon.com/Great-Sausage-Recipes-Meat-Curing/dp/0025668609/ref=pd_bbs_sr_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1197599344&sr=1-1

http://www.amazon.com/Charcuterie-Craft-Salting-Smoking-Curing/dp/0393058298/ref=pd_bbs_sr_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1197599486&sr=1-1

-Brian

[La Quinta]

Stickbow...could I use pork casings? I realize it's "meat mixing" with the beef...but I doubt the casings really have a taste anyway. I've wanted to try the collegen ones...but read they're "tough". Although...gotta tell ya...I like a bite to my casings...a nice crispy texture. (Don't know if that's an accurate way to put it) hopefully you know what I mean...

[Stickbowcrafter]

OK, got to 145 degrees. I sampled one and they are fantastic. The above recipe calls for hanging them afterwards in a 50-55 degree environment (cool basement, etc.) to semi dry. But you can eat them as is. I set my digital temperature switch to 53 degrees and I'll leave them in the smoker for a few more hours and test again to see what the advantage of hanging afterwards is.



-Brian

[Stickbowcrafter]

Mmmm-mmm!  ;D



LaQuinta, you can use hog casings but you will have trouble finding them in the smaller diameters. Yes, of course they will not impart any flavors from the casings. I'd recommend sheep casings. I've never had a problem with these before, maybe I didn't salt them enough when I stored them last time. The collagen casings are slightly tougher than natural and they provide a decent bite. But again, nothing compares to natural casings in that department. Use natural whenever possible, in my opinion.

-Brian

[Stickbowcrafter]

This particular recipe gives you that authentic slim jim flavor...Amazing  ;D

-Brian