Question on casingless ground beef snack tips

[freakynorm]

I bought a bunch of jerky cures from Cabellas and want to make some ground beef snack sticks. I do not want to use casings, mainly because I am cheap and lazy. I do have a Lem Jerky Cannon, MES30, and a AMNPS.

I am going to try the Cabellas brand teriyaki jerky mix. It comes with 3 sets of seasonings and cure to make 5lb batches. I was planning on doing 15lbs total.

My questions are as follows...

1. The directions say to smoke at 190-200F which, to me, seems like cooking the meat and not actually drying it. Since there is a cure in the meat, I was thinking of starting at 140F for a few hours, then bumping it up to about 170F towards the end and taking the sticks to 160F and letting the carryover take it to 165. If this sounds ok, about how long might it take to cook these up?

2. I was going to make the first batch with just the seasonings provided. It doesn't say to marinate the mix overnight for the Cabellas mix, but some of the Hi-mountain jerky mixes I bought say to do this. Will it make a difference?

3. I was thinking of adding a bit of teriyaki sauce into the mix. So instead of using all cold water, maybe a bit of teriyaki sauce instead. I also was thinking of glazing the sticks with some sauce as well for added flavor. Will this hinder anything or cause problems?

4. How long will the sticks hold up sealed up in a vac-seal bag at room temp? Is it better to refridgerate them after sealing?

5. The directions call for the leanest ground beef possible but I've seen posts with people using 80/20. Is there much of a flavor difference or is it more about the cost difference?

Any tips or advice would be greatly appreciated. I'll make a new post this coming weekend with the results. :)

 

[themule69]

Take a look at this.

http://www.smokingmeatforums.com/t/...cy-beef-snack-sticks-in-the-mes-40-with-amnps

Also you don't want to go to 160° as that will render the fat.

Happy smoken.

David

 

[Bearcarver]

Norm,

Here's a bunch of different things you can do without casings, including Beef Sticks:

Unstuffed Beef Sticks (All Beef)           

Smoked Bear Logs (All Beef)           

Smoked Bear Loaf (All Beef)     

Smoked Mini-Bear-Loaves (All Beef)              

Bear

 

[dirtsailor2003]

Norm a few thoughts. follow the manufacturers directions. High mountain and cabelas may be different.

As for your teriyaki I would say glaze don't mix it in. Only do a portion of the batch. That way if you don't like the mixture of your store bought cure and the teriyaki you don't waste a whole batch.

I typically use 80/20 or 90/10, or grind my own. If going 80/20 I'd start at 110 for a hour, then bump temps 10 degrees every hour until you hit 170 or until the sticks are done.

 

[freakynorm]

Thanks for the responses. I always laugh at the different opinions. I picked up the ground beef today. It's 93/7 and I am going to do a 5lb batch first using just the seasonings and cure from the packet and then make adjustments on the 2nd and 3rd batches.

 

[themule69]

 
Thanks for the responses. I always laugh at the different opinions. I picked up the ground beef today. It's 93/7 and I am going to do a 5lb batch first using just the seasonings and cure from the packet and then make adjustments on the 2nd and 3rd batches.

That sounds like a plan. Let us know how it turns out.

Happy smoken.

David