Can I cut the fat on snack sticks?

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rhoffart

Newbie
Original poster
Jan 6, 2017
15
10
I going to make my second batch of snack sticks. I just got home from Costco and bought a 5# Beef Chuck Pot Roast. I cubed it up and trimmed it down to about 90/10, (my best guess).

I wanted to try a leaner, slightly healthier snack stick. What is the drawback to cutting the fat down?

thx, rick
 
They may dry out a bit.  I make turkey sticks all the time and grind some fat in and they do not dry out.

Are you planning on adding belly fat?  If so you could use pork shoulder for fat. 

Smoke ON!

- Jason
 
I was just going to run the beef straight without adding additional fat. It's chilling in the freezer ready to grind. As snack sticks I think I might be ok with dryer. No other risks?
 
Are you putting cure in it? That would be a risk if you did not add cure.

Other than that it should be fine. How much are you making? You could always make a little bit and see if you like it (less risk) of having a bunch of something you don't like.
 
I going to run the whole 5#'s. Yes I will be adding pink cure salt @ 1/4 teaspoon per pound. That's what the jerky seasoning calls for, I hope that is correct.
 
Great. Thanks for the tips. I'm going to run this instead of dry spice.

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I'm a lil confused... your gonna mix the marinade up and then mix that in the ground meat for sack sticks ?? or are you making jerky ?? you twice referenced to jerky ...

as for the pink cure #1... it is 1 level teaspoon for 5lbs meat...
 
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I going to run the whole 5#'s. Yes I will be adding pink cure salt @ 1/4 teaspoon per pound. That's what the jerky seasoning calls for, I hope that is correct.
Why add an extra 1/4 tsp of cure to a 5lb batch? 1 level tsp is enough for sticks or jerky.
 
Now after 4 hours of work an $24 worth of meat ... did I just screw it all up by adding marinade? Is it safe to eat? No real clear answer on the web. 

thx rick
 
Now after 4 hours of work an $24 worth of meat ... did I just screw it all up by adding marinade? Is it safe to eat? No real clear answer on the web. 

Sure, why wouldn't it be safe?
The marinade is just salt and spices right?
The amount of cure is a little over the recommended max, but it wont kill ya.
 
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Thanks Dan ... I backed off the cure to 1 tsp. I guess I freaked a bit. They are in the smoker now. In hind site I should have slowed my roll a bit and researched a good recipe. This is just so much damn fun. It was the first time I ever ground my own beef. It won't be my last, it was so freakin easy and the best looking ground beef I ever saw. I guess even at 55 your never to old to learn.

Worst case they don't taste good and I have a bunch of dog treats. Also, gives me an excuse to do it all again next weekend.

thx rick
 
Thanks Dan ... I backed off the cure to 1 tsp. I guess I freaked a bit. They are in the smoker now. In hind site I should have slowed my roll a bit and researched a good recipe. This is just so much damn fun. It was the first time I ever ground my own beef. It won't be my last, it was so freakin easy and the best looking ground beef I ever saw. I guess even at 55 your never to old to learn.

Worst case they don't taste good and I have a bunch of dog treats. Also, gives me an excuse to do it all again next weekend.

thx rick

Did you do a patty fry test? That will give you an idea of the general flavor of the finished product, minus the smoke of course.

About grinding your own meat, that's the way to go. When you grind it, you know exactly what's in it and you control the fat content as well

Let us know how it comes out.
 
Well the verdict is in ... my dog has a few weeks supply of lean meaty dog treats.

They were not good at all. I like the lean consistency. The flavor is just bad. Well I guess you learn by your mistakes. So if anyone ever asks; Can you use marinade to flavor ground beef ... Tell them NO!

 
This hobby can give ya a ton of enjoyment but it can also give ya a lot of disappointments along the way.
If it doesn't work out this time, try again .... we've all been down this road.
Good luck on the next batch.
 
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