Well, my wife was out of town all weekend so I decided it would be a good time for a 1st attempt at making some sticks and SS. I'll do my best to document what I did....or maybe should have done ...
15lbs total....10lbs ground beef 80/20 mixed with 5 lbs pork shoulder roast ground with KA....split meat into 3 each 5 lbs batches.
All 3 batches use AC Leggs 116 mix with 1 tsp cure #1 per 5lbs as the base spice mix.
Batch 1 (sweet slim jims) courtesy of nepas...
Add to base mix
1 TBS course ground black pepper
1/2 cup honey
I added 1/2 cup water to spice mix, then mixed into meat. Then added honey and mixed again to a very sticky mixture. Refrigerate 24 hrs.
Stuff in 21mm collagen casings
Batch 2 (spicy slim jims) courtesy of gary s (http://www.smokingmeatforums.com/t/244854/jalapeno-snack-sticks)
Add to base mix
1 TBS course ground black pepper
4 – Heaping Tablespoons of Chopped Jalapenos (in a jar)
½ cup of Brown Sugar...(I dropped this to 1/4 cup as I didn't want them too sweet.)
¼ cup Teriyaki sauce
1 Tablespoon of Red Pepper flakes
About a cup of water, Mixed everything in the water then into the meat. Put in fridge till tomorrow.
Stuff in 21mm collagen casings
Batch 3 (garlic Parmesan summer sausage)
Add to base mix
1 TBS course ground black pepper
1 TBS garlic paste
1 TBS chopped parsley (freeze dried as I didn't have fresh)
1/2 cup Saco buttermilk powder
1/2 cup (heaping) cubed Parmesan cheese (I bought a wedge from grocery store and cubed 3/16-1/4 in or as best I could)...probably could have used a little more cheese.
Mix all ingredients with 1 c water except cheese. Mix spices into meat, then mix in cheese. Refrigerate 24 hours.
Stuff into 1-1/2"x12" fibrous casings.
Smoking with MES30 Gen 1....yes it's still going after +/- 10 yrs, although it gave me fits this weekend and absolutely ZERO sleep. Smoking was done in 2 batches from about noon Sat to 6 am (or so) Sun. I can't remember finish time as I think I was a zombie by then. I realize that I planned very poorly with a noon start, but originally I was going to save the second round for Sunday. No idea why I changed my mind ...huge mistake though :hit:
1. 130 for 2 hrs no smoke to dry casings
2. 140 for 1.5-2 hrs smoke
3. 150 for 2 hrs smoke
4. 160 for 2-3 hrs (smoke opt) check meat IT here
5. Increase smoke temp to 170* (opt smoke) Until IT 152 deg
Attempted to not exceed 170, but MES was acting wacky. I was constantly adjusting temps :mad: (on the second batch only...1st batch the MES was acting "normal")
I finished the Summer sausage in a 165 deg hot water bath due to IT stalling around 145deg. I could have left in the smoker longer I guess, but I was exhausted and wanted to be done.
All batches went into cold water bath at 152 deg IT. Then rest on counter for a few hours to dry. Will refrigerate in paper bag for 2-3 days then vac seal and freeze, if any is left by then.
Batch 3, 2, 1 ...left to right
Garlic Parmesan SS
Sweet batch on top..more red in color. Spicy ones on bottom.
Spicy sticks ready for fridge and my belly :biggrin:
Sweet sticks and SS
Money shot......
Dinner with some left over spicy mix ...:cheers:
My observations:
All 3 batches taste very good IMO. i don't think anything needs drastic changes, but maybe I'll tweak a little for next time. I doubt I would change anything in the sweet, unless you want more heat, but it is very good as is (thanks to nepas). I may consider more jalapeño in the spicy mix next time and/or perhaps some cheese, but still good as is.
The summer sausage I am happy with the taste. I think it could use a little more cheese. Is there a typical amount of cheese per 5 lbs of meat? Also, I was hoping for a little drier SS. Perhaps it will be better after a few days in the fridge, but would the buttermilk power contribute to moisture retention? Or cut water a little?
Any feedback or comments are greatly appreciated. Thanks for looking.
Thanks,
Tim
15lbs total....10lbs ground beef 80/20 mixed with 5 lbs pork shoulder roast ground with KA....split meat into 3 each 5 lbs batches.
All 3 batches use AC Leggs 116 mix with 1 tsp cure #1 per 5lbs as the base spice mix.
Batch 1 (sweet slim jims) courtesy of nepas...
Add to base mix
1 TBS course ground black pepper
1/2 cup honey
I added 1/2 cup water to spice mix, then mixed into meat. Then added honey and mixed again to a very sticky mixture. Refrigerate 24 hrs.
Stuff in 21mm collagen casings
Batch 2 (spicy slim jims) courtesy of gary s (http://www.smokingmeatforums.com/t/244854/jalapeno-snack-sticks)
Add to base mix
1 TBS course ground black pepper
4 – Heaping Tablespoons of Chopped Jalapenos (in a jar)
½ cup of Brown Sugar...(I dropped this to 1/4 cup as I didn't want them too sweet.)
¼ cup Teriyaki sauce
1 Tablespoon of Red Pepper flakes
About a cup of water, Mixed everything in the water then into the meat. Put in fridge till tomorrow.
Stuff in 21mm collagen casings
Batch 3 (garlic Parmesan summer sausage)
Add to base mix
1 TBS course ground black pepper
1 TBS garlic paste
1 TBS chopped parsley (freeze dried as I didn't have fresh)
1/2 cup Saco buttermilk powder
1/2 cup (heaping) cubed Parmesan cheese (I bought a wedge from grocery store and cubed 3/16-1/4 in or as best I could)...probably could have used a little more cheese.
Mix all ingredients with 1 c water except cheese. Mix spices into meat, then mix in cheese. Refrigerate 24 hours.
Stuff into 1-1/2"x12" fibrous casings.
Smoking with MES30 Gen 1....yes it's still going after +/- 10 yrs, although it gave me fits this weekend and absolutely ZERO sleep. Smoking was done in 2 batches from about noon Sat to 6 am (or so) Sun. I can't remember finish time as I think I was a zombie by then. I realize that I planned very poorly with a noon start, but originally I was going to save the second round for Sunday. No idea why I changed my mind ...huge mistake though :hit:
1. 130 for 2 hrs no smoke to dry casings
2. 140 for 1.5-2 hrs smoke
3. 150 for 2 hrs smoke
4. 160 for 2-3 hrs (smoke opt) check meat IT here
5. Increase smoke temp to 170* (opt smoke) Until IT 152 deg
Attempted to not exceed 170, but MES was acting wacky. I was constantly adjusting temps :mad: (on the second batch only...1st batch the MES was acting "normal")
I finished the Summer sausage in a 165 deg hot water bath due to IT stalling around 145deg. I could have left in the smoker longer I guess, but I was exhausted and wanted to be done.
All batches went into cold water bath at 152 deg IT. Then rest on counter for a few hours to dry. Will refrigerate in paper bag for 2-3 days then vac seal and freeze, if any is left by then.
Batch 3, 2, 1 ...left to right
Garlic Parmesan SS
Sweet batch on top..more red in color. Spicy ones on bottom.
Spicy sticks ready for fridge and my belly :biggrin:
Sweet sticks and SS
Money shot......
Dinner with some left over spicy mix ...:cheers:
My observations:
All 3 batches taste very good IMO. i don't think anything needs drastic changes, but maybe I'll tweak a little for next time. I doubt I would change anything in the sweet, unless you want more heat, but it is very good as is (thanks to nepas). I may consider more jalapeño in the spicy mix next time and/or perhaps some cheese, but still good as is.
The summer sausage I am happy with the taste. I think it could use a little more cheese. Is there a typical amount of cheese per 5 lbs of meat? Also, I was hoping for a little drier SS. Perhaps it will be better after a few days in the fridge, but would the buttermilk power contribute to moisture retention? Or cut water a little?
Any feedback or comments are greatly appreciated. Thanks for looking.
Thanks,
Tim
