Fermented snack sticks?

[dward51]

I see plenty of threads about snack sticks but they are all the short term storage type and often the refrigerated style.  I can't seem to find any threads about fermented snack sticks, but do see the occasional reference to them.

Anybody got a good recipe for fermented sticks using a starter culture?  Or a thread with photos would be great.

I'm interested in them for the more classic flavor of the fermentation process as opposed to adding ECA or powdered milk products.  Plus they keep longer due to the acid content (which gives the tang).  I have a buddy overseas who keeps asking about shipping him some and I don't think the more common ECA version would ship well as it seems to take at least 2 to 3 weeks for a package to make it to his remote combat outpost. 

I just remember the fermented sticks/rope we used to get at Swiss Colony in the early 70's but have not seen a similar product in decades.  They kept it on an open stick display rack and it came in unwrapped 6' lengths draped over the stick display or in shorter lengths in a large jar.  Open to the air and no packing.  That stuff never seemed to go bad.  It was dryer than "slim jim's" or the snack sticks people make now.

I just can't seem to find much about the fermenting process or a thread from someone who has done it.  Is it that hard or dangerous?

 

[diggingdogfarm]

Kabanosy are the easiest to make, you don't need a special chamber and perfect conditions (you could use the same method for other sticks).
They would need to be dried down quite a bit to be reliably stable at room temperature.
If you get into raw fermented dry-cured sticks it gets a little bit more complicated.

http://www.wedlinydomowe.com/sausage-recipes/kabanosy

~Martin

ETA: Nepas has experience shipping sticks with mold inhibitor.

 

[jarhead]

Pork is not allowed in Muslem countries.

I don't know if you can sub beef for it or not.

 

[BGKYSmoker]

If your wanting fermented style you will need to use cure 2 and most of this type requires a controlled temp and humidity.

Try the recipe Martin posted the link to. Its easy. You can make sausage out of any kind of meat. Pork was used way back because pigs were easy to keep in smaller areas. Still cant understand why folks think you must always use pork.

Prague Powder #1
Also called Insta-Cure and Modern Cure. Cures are used to prevent meats from spoiling when being cooked or smoked at low temperatures (under 200 degrees F). This cure is 1 part sodium nitrite (6.25%) and 16 parts salt (93.75%) and are combined and crystallized to assure even distribution. As the meat temperate rises during processing, the sodium nitrite changes to nitric oxide and starts to ‘gas out’ at about 130 degrees F. After the smoking /cooking process is complete only about 10-20% of the original nitrite remains. As the product is stored and later reheated for consumption, the decline of nitrite continues. 4 ounces of Prague powder #1 is required to cure 100 lbs of meat. A more typical measurement for home use is 1 level tsp per 5 lbs of meat. Mix with cold water, then mix into meat like you would mix seasonings into meat.

Prague Powder #2
Used to dry-cure products. Prague powder #2 is a mixture of 1 part sodium nitrite, .64 parts sodium nitrate and 16 parts salt. (1 oz. of sodium nitrite with .64 oz. of sodium nitrate to each lb. of salt.)
It is primarily used in dry-curing Use with products that do not require cooking, smoking, or refrigeration. This cure, which is sodium nitrate, acts like a time release, slowly breaking down into sodium nitrite, then into nitric oxide. This allows you to dry cure products that take much longer to cure. A cure with sodium nitrite (cure 1) would dissipate too quickly.
Use 1 oz. of cure for 25 lbs. of meat or 1 level teaspoon of cure for 5 lbs. of meat when mixing with meat.
When using a cure in a brine solution, follow a recipe.

Come on over and i'll show ya how its done.