Venison snack sticks (Qview)

xray · Dec 26, 2016

A special thanks to CrankyBuzzard and Nepas for answering some questions on a previous thread.

I used a snack stick kit from Hi Mountain, it was their Hickory blend. 70/30 venison to ground park was used and stuffed about 14lbs of meat.

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xray
Dec 26, 2016

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xray
Dec 26, 2016

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xray
Dec 26, 2016

I started the smoke at 130 degrees and bumped up the temperature every hour by 10 degrees until I reached 175. This ended up being easier said than done due to high winds and freezing rain.

I pulled the sticks when the IT was 152. The sticks varied greatly in temperature. Some sticks had a difference of almost 15 degrees between their tops and bottoms.

Sticks were hung for an hour prior to cutting. Weighed in at just under 9lbs.

All in all, a good smoke but just a tad too salty for me.

xray · Dec 26, 2016

So I stored the sticks in gallon zip lock bags in the fridge...I noticed the amount of moisture forming inside the bag.

I didn't have any paper bags so I lined a cookie sheet with parchment paper, laid the sticks in the paper and then covered with another piece...I hope this will dry them out better?

I think I did the right thing here? Tommorow night, I'm going to bag them back up and deliver to my brother-in-laws.

pc farmer · Dec 26, 2016

Never use zip lock bags as you found out.

I think what you came up with will work.

BTW, they look great

xray · Dec 26, 2016

Thank you Adam. I kept checking them, and they were getting soft, I was worried about them losing their snap and having the collagen casings seperate from the meat.

Although not as enclosed as a paper bag, I think it will work too.

pc farmer · Dec 26, 2016

Let us know how it works.

whistech · Dec 26, 2016

Great looking sticks.

okbow68 · Dec 26, 2016

Those look really good.

SmokinAl · Dec 27, 2016

The sticks look fantastic!

Great job!

Al

BGKYSmoker · Dec 27, 2016

Them look good.

Yes zip lock bags are bad for smoked sausage. Un waxed white or brown butcher paper is good if you dont have any brown lunch bags. Keep in mind that in paper in the fridge the sausage wil start to dry some making a semi dry style sausage (which is fine for me)

Some of my family members and friends dont like the collagen casings so a peel of the casings at times is good.

xray · Dec 27, 2016

whistech said:
Great looking sticks.

Okbow68 said:
Those look really good.

SmokinAl said:
The sticks look fantastic!

Great job!

Al

Thanks guys!

nepas said:
Them look good.

Yes zip lock bags are bad for smoked sausage. Un waxed white or brown butcher paper is good if you dont have any brown lunch bags. Keep in mind that in paper in the fridge the sausage wil start to dry some making a semi dry style sausage (which is fine for me)

Some of my family members and friends dont like the collagen casings so a peel of the casings at times is good.

I will pick up some paper bags after work today, the parchment paper was a "what would MacGuyver do" moment. It was all I had at that time. The original plan was to just give them to my bro-in-law after cutting them and have him do whatever he wanted with them(his deer)....but he ended up no-showing so I got stuck keeping them overnight. He will get them later this evening.

I tried some this morning, sticks were drier but the casing is softer. They're still good.

What is the best way of storing them so they keep that snap? unrefrigerated?

BGKYSmoker · Dec 27, 2016

Xray said:
Thanks guys!
I will pick up some paper bags after work today, the parchment paper was a "what would MacGuyver do" moment. It was all I had at that time. The original plan was to just give them to my bro-in-law after cutting them and have him do whatever he wanted with them(his deer)....but he ended up no-showing so I got stuck keeping them overnight. He will get them later this evening.

I tried some this morning, sticks were drier but the casing is softer. They're still good.

What is the best way of storing them so they keep that snap? unrefrigerated?

You used cure 1 with the mix.

Shelf life unrefrigerated is only a week or so before they start to develop mold. Now if they were cure 2 sticks the mold would be good and counter life would be a few months

In the fridge the moisture will make the casing soft

JckDanls 07 · Dec 27, 2016

nepas said:
Xray said:

Thanks guys!

I will pick up some paper bags after work today, the parchment paper was a "what would MacGuyver do" moment. It was all I had at that time. The original plan was to just give them to my bro-in-law after cutting them and have him do whatever he wanted with them(his deer)....but he ended up no-showing so I got stuck keeping them overnight. He will get them later this evening.

I tried some this morning, sticks were drier but the casing is softer. They're still good.

What is the best way of storing them so they keep that snap? unrefrigerated?

Click to expand...

You used cure 1 with the mix.
Shelf life unrefrigerated is only a week or so before they start to develop mold. Now if they were cure 2 sticks the mold would be good and counter life would be a few months

In the fridge the moisture will make the casing soft

How long will they keep vacuumed seal and in fridge only (not freezing) ??

BGKYSmoker · Dec 27, 2016

JckDanls 07 said:
How long will they keep vacuumed seal and in fridge only (not freezing) ??

2-3 months.(properly cured) once you open the seal the sand starts to drop..... lol

driedstick · Dec 29, 2016

Nice looking sticks,,,

A full smoker is a happy smoker

DS

xray · Dec 29, 2016

Thank you DS! They've been getting better since sitting in the fridge the past few days.

They were originally salty but mellowed out a lot. I would use this kit again.

redheelerdog · Dec 29, 2016

Nice venison sticks, look tasty. Hi Mountain is good stuff.

smokin jay · Dec 29, 2016

Sticks look great! I have a hi mountain snack stick kit for my fist go at sticks. Used there jerky kit and was really good!

xray · Dec 30, 2016

redheelerdog said:
Nice venison sticks, look tasty. Hi Mountain is good stuff. Thumbs Up

Thank you!

Smokin Jay said:
Sticks look great! I have a hi mountain snack stick kit for my fist go at sticks. Used there jerky kit and was really good!

Thank you! If I remember correctly, we both used the Hi Mountain jerky kit and smoked it on the same day.

smokin jay · Dec 30, 2016

Xray said:
Thank you!
Thank you! If I remember correctly, we both used the Hi Mountain jerky kit and smoked it on the same day.

We did! I think you used the hickory blend and i used the cracked pepper n garlic.

xray · Dec 30, 2016

Smokin Jay said:
We did! I think you used the hickory blend and i used the cracked pepper n garlic.

This was a hickory kit as well, it was picked up by my brother in law who wanted me to make venison sticks with the deer he shot.

The kits are exactly alike. The snack stick kit only gives you more seasoning and cure plus the collagen casings.

You could make a small batch of sticks using any leftover fracked pepper n garlic that you have.

Venison snack sticks (Qview)

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