Hanging Sausage/Snack Sticks for Smoking

[thebig1]

Good evening everyone, I made my first batch of snack sticks this weekend. It was a lot of fun and amazing at how truly easy it is. Now I’m mad that I haven’t done it a long time ago and I’m also wanting to make absolutely every type of sausage I can find.

The only problem that I ran into was when I went to put it all in the smoker. It certainly didn’t look like I knew what I was doing.

I have an MES 40 and when I stuffed the skins I just did as long of a stick as I possibly could. Perhaps that’s the first problem.

What I’m looking for are ideas on additions or inventions that people have done to remedy this issue. Pics would greatly help.

I’m assuming that I need to make a trip to Lowe’s for materials. So please let’s hear your ideas.

Chad

 

[pc farmer]

Check this out.

https://www.smokingmeatforums.com/threads/sausage-jerky-rack-mes40-w-step-by-step.174140/

 

[thebig1]

Thank you PC, that’s a great thread. I really like that idea.

 

[hillbillyrkstr]

That is a nice get up for sticks in an mes!

You can also just buy some dowls and cut one side down so it’s flat and your all good. Not nearly as nice as the one in the link but it’ll do.

Good luck,
Scott

 

[thebig1]

Scott, I too really like that one. I want it high in the smoker too for more room as my stack is on the top.

 

[tom987]

Are you cooking them to completion in the smoker? I found that when I hung them I would get the bottoms over cooked before the tops. I now just lay them on racks so that I can rotate them. I just bend the sticks back and forth on the racks in a Z pattern. You really don’t get grill marks on them either

 

[thebig1]

Are you cooking them to completion in the smoker? I found that when I hung them I would get the bottoms over cooked before the tops. I now just lay them on racks so that I can rotate them. I just bend the sticks back and forth on the racks in a Z pattern. You really don’t get grill marks on them either

Tom, I’m actually confused now. Not sure what happened. I had to remove and rearrange them in 3 different batches.

The ones on the top shelf were done around the 8-9 hour mark. The ones hanging were still around 135ish. I put as many as I could fit on the top shelf after removing the finished ones and had to do it a third time to completely finish.

I did a total of 10lbs and it took a total of 11 to 11 1/2 hours.

I’m running a 2 year old MES 40 with Bluetooth model. Freshly cleaned of the black tar prior to smoking.

 

[hillbillyrkstr]

The bottom of your mes is going to be hot because of the heating element. The top will also be hot because heat rises. It’s been years since I tested both sides of all 4 shelves in my mes 40s. But I do remember the right side of the lowest shelf being the hottest because it’s right over the heating element.

I usually use the middle two shelves for this reason. I don’t mind using the rio shelve either but if it’s a long smoke like pork butts I’ll rotate the top shelve with a middle shelf in the middle of the smoke to even the finishing times out a bit. I almost never use the bottom shelf in my mes smokers.

Also the idea is just laying your sticks or sausage down on the racks is a good idea in my opinion. I’ve done it because of the different temps in the mes smokers. You don’t get grill marks but you get lines from the weight of the sausage in the racks. It doesn’t bother me but I’m sure it bothers some.

Also finishing your sticks or sausages in a sous vide is something I’ve done before and it’s the absolute best way to do it in my opinion. If you have a sv and vacuum sealer look into it.

Scott

 

[thebig1]

The bottom of your mes is going to be hot because of the heating element. The top will also be hot because heat rises. It’s been years since I tested both sides of all 4 shelves in my mes 40s. But I do remember the right side of the lowest shelf being the hottest because it’s right over the heating element.

I usually use the middle two shelves for this reason. I don’t mind using the rio shelve either but if it’s a long smoke like pork butts I’ll rotate the top shelve with a middle shelf in the middle of the smoke to even the finishing times out a bit. I almost never use the bottom shelf in my mes smokers.

Also the idea is just laying your sticks or sausage down on the racks is a good idea in my opinion. I’ve done it because of the different temps in the mes smokers. You don’t get grill marks but you get lines from the weight of the sausage in the racks. It doesn’t bother me but I’m sure it bothers some.

Also finishing your sticks or sausages in a sous vide is something I’ve done before and it’s the absolute best way to do it in my opinion. If you have a sv and vacuum sealer look into it.

Scott

I don't have a SV, other than understanding what it is, I would have no idea on how to use it.

As for the shelves, I pulled out the middle two and just used the top. I sit my AMNPS on the bottom and the sticks rested on the bottom as they hung. I think that with my next batch I'm going to try just laying them flat. Perhaps the problem was that I did 10 pound this time also. Maybe if I just do 5 pounds at a time I'll have better results with room and the finished product.

Marks don't bother me, we're more concerned with taste. It's funny that you guys also lay them down with sausage, etc...