Made a batch of snack sticks today. Used 4lbs beef chuck & 1lb pork butt, 104g A C Legg #116 Blend Snack Stick Seasoning, 1 tsp cure #1, 10ozs very cold spring water and 5 tsp ECA. Ground partially frozen meat with 3/16" plate. Mixed in 6 oz water, Legg seasoning and cure #1. Back into freezer for a while to get good and cold. Reground through 3/16" plate again. Then mixed in remaining 4 oz water and ECA. Stuffed into 18mm collagen casings with 3/8" 1 9/16" base LEM tube.
Heated the MES 40 up to 100-110° and hung the sticks to dry for an hour without smoke. Then added the 6x6 AMZN loaded with Hickory & Cherry. Bumped the temps 10-20° every hr. or so and finished them off to 155° IT at 180°. Cooled them down in cold water, let them hang at room temp for a couple of hours, then sliced 'em up.
I liked how they turned out. They tasted great. I'm really liking the Legg seasonings so far. A couple of the casings seemed a little loose, but I think that's just from my lack of stuffing experience.
Heated the MES 40 up to 100-110° and hung the sticks to dry for an hour without smoke. Then added the 6x6 AMZN loaded with Hickory & Cherry. Bumped the temps 10-20° every hr. or so and finished them off to 155° IT at 180°. Cooled them down in cold water, let them hang at room temp for a couple of hours, then sliced 'em up.
I liked how they turned out. They tasted great. I'm really liking the Legg seasonings so far. A couple of the casings seemed a little loose, but I think that's just from my lack of stuffing experience.