Thought I would share a snack stick recipe I use and like very much. I just mixed up a batch last night (sorry no pics of the mixing process) and will be smoking them tonight. I will take pics as I go and post them later tonight or tomorrow. This recipe has very little heat because my wife and kids balk when I juice it up but I typically do (2) 5lb batches - one hot, one not. To make this hot just add 1 1/2 tsp of cayenne pepper, 1 tsp white pepper, and a tablespoon of Crushed Red Pepper.
5 lbs Beef Chuck
2 1/2 tbsp Kosher Salt
1 tsp Cure #1 (level tsp)
1/2 tsp mustard powder
1/2 tsp nutmeg
1/2 tsp ground celery seed
1/2 tsp ground coriander
3/4 tsp onion powder
1 tsp liquid smoke (i'm sure I will take crap for listing this but, eh, it works and I use a really good locally made liquid smoke)
1 1/2 tsp garlic powder
1 1/2 tbsp ground black pepper
2 tbsp corn syrup
1 cup non-fat dry milk
1 cup ice cold water
Mix all ingredients, cover and chill in refrigerator overnight to allow mixture to cure. Stuff into 19mm or 21mm collagen casing or natural sheep casings. Hang in a pre-heated 120-130 degree smoker for one hour to allow the casings to dry out. At this point I do things slightly different than most people in that I kill almost all of my heat (very low flame via gas smoker control all the way on low and an external needle valve on my propane tank to limit it even further) and I put my
AMNPS in the mailbox to provide smoke and very little heat. I allow the beef sticks to come to an internal temperature of 130-140 degrees and at that point pull them out and place them in a non boiling water bath until the internal temperature reaches 155 degrees. I pull them out of the water bath and immediately throw them into my sink filled with ice water to stop the cooking process (the temperature will rise slightly but not much more than 160*). I then hang them and allow them to bloom for a few hours. Stay Tuned...
Jim