Best Snack Stix I Ever Had (W/ Pics & Experiment Notes)

[tx smoker]

WOW!! Thanks to everybody who has read and responded to this post. I've gotten so much info from this place and thought I had something noteworthy to give back but never in my life expected this. I cannot tell you what an honor it is to have made the carousel. With all the great people here and the creativity I've witnessed, it's very humbling to be in such esteemed company.

Wowed....
Robert

 

[dward51]

"Nice looking sticks, can I ask what size hog casings you used? They look real small in the pictures."

They are 18-20 mm purchased pre-tubed from Syracuse Casing Company. I bought them for breakfast sausage but have found several other uses for them.

1st - Great looking sticks and great post of the process!!!

The 18-20 mm casings at Syracuse Casing are SHEEP casings. The smallest HOG casing they carry is the 29-32 mm. In use there is virtually no difference between sheep and hog casings (other than size and the sheep are generally thinner). But for someone who wanted to replicate this smoke, you will not find 18-20mm HOG casings anywhere that I know of. Syracuse Casing Company has some of the best quality casings you can find too.

 

[Steve H]

I agree. Though I have limited experience with casings. I used Syracuse hog casings for my Bratwurst. And had no issues with them. The "snap" was very nice as well. Not to mention they are just a hour away from where I live.

 

[johnnyb54]

"Nice looking sticks, can I ask what size hog casings you used? They look real small in the pictures."

They are 18-20 mm purchased pre-tubed from Syracuse Casing Company. I bought them for breakfast sausage but have found several other uses for them.

Those are some great looking sticks! I think TX Smoker has a typo error in his post. The 18-20mm pretubed casings are sheep casings not hog.

 

[crazymoon]

Robert, those are some fine looking sticks and you pepper mix sounds lethal ! :) like

 

[tx smoker]

"The 18-20 mm casings at Syracuse Casing are SHEEP casings. The smallest HOG casing they carry is the 29-32 mm."

Well sir, I stand corrected and honestly don't know where the mistake stems from. I ordered two different size casings and both were intentionally supposed to be hog casings. I'd read some stuff indicating that sheep casings can be more difficult to work with because they tend to be thinner and more delicate. Being that these were used in my very first batch of sausage I didn't want to set myself up for failure by adding to the difficulty level, hence wanting hog casings. My apologies for the misinformation but I assure you it was unintentional :-) Probably just a newbie mistake on my part. I did go back to my order confirmation from Syracuse and it surely does state "18-20 mm sheep casings"

OOPS!!
Robert

 

[DanMcG]

Not a problem Robert.

 

[tallbm]

Great looking sticks!!!

Hmmmm you mention something interesting about the color.
So far I have made mostly wild pork Franks as my smoked sausage. They come out very mahogany reddish.
This past year I didn't shoot a wild hog so I just bought farm raised pork sirloin roast (cheapest pork at Costco at the time) and made my pork franks with that meat. The franks finally came out pink but I only took them to about 153F or so.
I take my wild pork franks to about 165F to make sure no parasites can survive.

The wild pork meat is inherently darker and I believe that is a major reason why the wild pork franks turn so reddish.
I'm also wondering how much affect the increased IT contributes.

I have some unsmoked farm raised pork franks from this year I'll have to experiment with and see if I can turn them darker by taking them to 165F IT.

If you have anymore insight on your stick darkening experience please share. I was dumbfounded as to why I couldn't get pink wild pork franks until this year when I used store bought pork meat lol.

 

[Steve H]

Look what I got yesterday! Thanks again Robert!

 

[tx smoker]

"Look what I got yesterday! Thanks again Robert!"

Beware that pepper spice!! That stuff will put the smack-down on you if you're not careful :-)

Couple things to note: I let the links hang in the fridge overnight before smoking them, then let them sit overnight again before cutting to length. That seems to really allow the spices to open up.

I don't know when you're planning to make these but please remember to post to the group how they turn out.

 

[Steve H]

"Look what I got yesterday! Thanks again Robert!"

Beware that pepper spice!! That stuff will put the smack-down on you if you're not careful :)

Couple things to note: I let the links hang in the fridge overnight before smoking them, then let them sit overnight again before cutting to length. That seems to really allow the spices to open up.

I don't know when you're planning to make these but please remember to post to the group how they turn out.

Thanks for the tips. And, I'll be careful of the spices! It will be awhile before I make them. I still need to get my smoker ready. And I ordered the sheep casings this morning. I will remember to post my results.

 

[petehalsted]

Just mixed up my batch

No grinder, so used 94/6 and ground pork.

As we discussed I am saving your pepper mix for something that I will be only one eating, think it would be to much for the boss. I did 1 1/2 tsp of Chipotle Chile in place of both the Cayenne and you pepper mix. Followed the rest of the recipe exactly. Hoping it won't be to spicy for her.

I don't have casings, going to use my LEM Jerky Cannon and do some as sticks and some as strips. Using Qmatz in MES 30.

Smoking plan from what I deciphered from your post.
Start smoker @130, I will be have AMNPS with Apple/Cherry/Pecan 40/40/20 running the whole time
Every hour bump 10 degrees until smoker @170 or IT hits 150, guessing IT will hit 150 first?
When IT hits 150, bump to 210 until IT hits 160.

I am thinking Ice water bath when pulled, wipe any formed grease on outside off and in fridge overnight before packing.

I am hoping that hold up well without casings, worst case scenario I will have some ugly but good tasting sticks.

I will say the mix smells fantastic! Can't wait to see what final product come out as.

Let me know if you see any holes in my plan or adjustments I should make.

 

[tx smoker]

"No grinder, so used 94/6 and ground pork."

This should work but you may not get a high quality beef using something that's pre-ground. Should be fine though

"I did 1 1/2 tsp of Chipotle Chile in place of both the Cayenne and you pepper mix."

Great idea!! This should give you just a bit of tingle but a very deep, rich flavor. Matter of fact, I just got some high temp Habanero cheese which I plan to put into my next batch. If the cheese is as spicy as the pepper has a tendency to be, I may not use any of the cayenne or my spice pepper, switch to Chipotle, and let the cheese add the zing that we like

"I don't have casings, going to use my LEM Jerky Cannon and do some as sticks and some as strips. Using Qmatz in MES 30."

I've seen some folks that didn't use casings for these and they came out just fine. Looked a bit mis-happen but that's the beauty of something that's hand made

"Smoking plan from what I deciphered from your post. Start smoker @130, I will be have AMNPS with Apple/Cherry/Pecan 40/40/20 running the whole time"

This is the only potential adjustment I might recommend. I only put smoke to mine for about 4 hours....but probably neglected to put that in my post. With you not using casings and planning to smoke the entire time, I'd be concerned about getting too much smoke. The "exposed" ground meat may very well take on a lot more smoke flavor than something that is cased. If you like a heavy smoke flavor, this may work though. We love a smoked flavor but not super heavy.What I might recommend is after 3 hours of smoke, break off a small piece, toss it into a frying pan on low heat, cook till done, and taste it. If it's good, remove the AMNPS. If you feel it needs more time, repeat skillet test in an hour.

Good luck and I can't wait to hear the results!!
Robert

 

[petehalsted]

"No grinder, so used 94/6 and ground pork."
This should work but you may not get a high quality beef using something that's pre-ground. Should be fine though

Wife only buys "quality" ground beef at $$$, the conspiracy theorist in me suspects its the same meat that is in the bulk packages relabeled.

"No grinder, so used 94/6 and ground pork."
I may not use any of the cayenne or my spice pepper, switch to Chipotle, and let the cheese add the zing that we like

I didn't have any Ancho or I would have probably used that to be a bit safer for her, but I have been slowly adjusting her taste buds with my pork dry rub, I managed to get a nice smoky warm undertone. I call my rub "Sweet Heat"

"No grinder, so used 94/6 and ground pork."
This is the only potential adjustment I might recommend. I only put smoke to mine for about 4 hours

Thanks I had wondered about that part of the plan, that is one nice thing about using the AMNPS it is so easy to control the smoke separate from the smoker, so I will follow your suggest and test after 3 and go from there.

What should I expect for total cooking time? Any idea?

 

[tx smoker]

"What should I expect for total cooking time? Any idea?"

Apologies for the delay in responding. Mama and I have been working in the yard since the sun came up. We are taking advantage of the balmy 90 degree temps today before the frigid Arctic cold front comes in tonight and temps plummet to a bone-chilling 66 degrees tomorrow :-)

When I'm cooking to temp I don't typically pay attention to time. I go by the Maverick, appearance, and feel. When all of those things tell me it's done, I pull it. If memory serves me correctly I think it took about 6 hours to get the stix where I wanted them to be. Hopefully I got back to you in time.....but I feel confident that you have the ability to make an educated assessment as to when they are done if I missed the window of opportunity to get back to you.

Loading up the firewood bin and preparing for the bitter cold,
Robert

 

[petehalsted]

All done. Total of 26 oz in the fridge to settle.

I made a separate post with all the details from my smoke, including my experiences with the LEM Jerky cannon, you can read all about it by following this link.

Thanks again Robert for your generous offer, you were dead on, if folks like spicy snack sticks this recipe is great! Now I need to either find a Teriyaki recipe for ground jerky for the Mrs. or try my hand at Teriyaki muscle jerky for her.