Had family coming over for Turkey Day so decided to make some stack sticks to feast on before the feast. I bought the seasonings from Owens BBQ website. It was tough deciding as they have many blends to choose from. I decided on Original, Hot Honey, 7 pepper, and Bloody Mary. The favorite was the 7 pepper. I typically just try and mix my own but think I made a smart move as all of these have really good flavor profiles. I made 5 #s of each.
I had bought a side of beef about this time last year. The steaks and roasts werent very good, tough and very little marbling. So decided to grind it up for the sticks and add back fat. Bought the back fat from a local grocery store, were pretty proud of it, costs $2.75 / lb. I did a 60 beef / 40 pork blend plus added the fat. Tried to hit a guesstimate of 25% fat.
Did a double grind, course then fine.
Separated it into five pound containers then mixed the appropriate amount of seasoning and cure (came with the kit) into 1 cup of cold water. Added it all to my Weston Meat Mixer and cranked til it appeared to be all mixed and sticky. Put into the little LEM 5# stuffer. Luckily my deep freeze was mostly empty so had room for the mixtures to keep it cold during the process. I drilled holes into a large cutting board and countersunk the stainless steel bolt heads to keep the stuffer steady. I also clamp the board to the countertop to hold it all in place.
Wrapped each batch in pink butcher paper for day and half sit til onto the smoker. I used to have a masterbuilt electric smoker until I gave it to my brother. It was nice being able to hang the sausage. Took me a minute to figure out the best way to layer the sausage on the Yoder 640S. Tried up and down and left and right but ended up with going in a concentric circle shape. It would hold 10 lbs per run. I would love to have a dedicated sausage smoker but time to build it and not sure how often I would get to use it, so on the back burner.
I ran out of the 17 mahogany casings I used (didnt stuff completely full) so had run to Bass Pro as they are the only place in town that have them. Had to get 19 clear since sold out of anything else. Cant taste any difference and once smoked not a whole lot of difference in appearance.
Finished smoking and let sit in the fridge a couple of days. I put 4 bags in ziplocks for Turkey Day and the rest I vacuum sealed for the freezer.
I like all the flavors. The bloody mary was a totally different flavor profile which made it stand out from the others. They all had some little spice kick to them. Not sure I personally have a favorite. Since each spice pack makes 20 lbs I think, I have plenty for future batches. Off to take another bag out of freezer for my trip to Wichita next week.
I had bought a side of beef about this time last year. The steaks and roasts werent very good, tough and very little marbling. So decided to grind it up for the sticks and add back fat. Bought the back fat from a local grocery store, were pretty proud of it, costs $2.75 / lb. I did a 60 beef / 40 pork blend plus added the fat. Tried to hit a guesstimate of 25% fat.
Did a double grind, course then fine.
Separated it into five pound containers then mixed the appropriate amount of seasoning and cure (came with the kit) into 1 cup of cold water. Added it all to my Weston Meat Mixer and cranked til it appeared to be all mixed and sticky. Put into the little LEM 5# stuffer. Luckily my deep freeze was mostly empty so had room for the mixtures to keep it cold during the process. I drilled holes into a large cutting board and countersunk the stainless steel bolt heads to keep the stuffer steady. I also clamp the board to the countertop to hold it all in place.
Wrapped each batch in pink butcher paper for day and half sit til onto the smoker. I used to have a masterbuilt electric smoker until I gave it to my brother. It was nice being able to hang the sausage. Took me a minute to figure out the best way to layer the sausage on the Yoder 640S. Tried up and down and left and right but ended up with going in a concentric circle shape. It would hold 10 lbs per run. I would love to have a dedicated sausage smoker but time to build it and not sure how often I would get to use it, so on the back burner.
I ran out of the 17 mahogany casings I used (didnt stuff completely full) so had run to Bass Pro as they are the only place in town that have them. Had to get 19 clear since sold out of anything else. Cant taste any difference and once smoked not a whole lot of difference in appearance.
Finished smoking and let sit in the fridge a couple of days. I put 4 bags in ziplocks for Turkey Day and the rest I vacuum sealed for the freezer.
I like all the flavors. The bloody mary was a totally different flavor profile which made it stand out from the others. They all had some little spice kick to them. Not sure I personally have a favorite. Since each spice pack makes 20 lbs I think, I have plenty for future batches. Off to take another bag out of freezer for my trip to Wichita next week.
