Help on snack stix

[rich-]

First I must opalogize that I am not posting any q-view with this question. I'm not proud of what I have been attempting.

I have been trying to develope my own recipe for making beef / venison snack stix. I have been mixing up approx. 1/2 pound of meat at each try so I don't have so much to give to my dog if it isn't what I want, Therefore, I haven't taken pictures of these few small batch's.

Here is my question, I see in several recipes that non fat dry milk is added and is said to be used for a binder. I have found the flavor in my stix that I want, but the texture of the finished product is fairly mushy and it is not a nice fine smooth texture and look when cut cross ways of the stick.

So far I have not added N F D M to my recipe, which again brings me to this question, will the non fat dry milk blend the meat into a nice smooth texture much like balongna and hot dogs?

I will be giving it anopther try some time next week, any help is greatly appreciated. I will add some cross section Qview of my next attempt.

Rich-

 

[woodcutter]

Double or triple grinding through a small grinding plate makes the meat smooth. I know NFDM helps hold the moisture but I'm not sure if it helps the texture or not. When I have had sausage that was a little mushy it was because my smoker has hot spots around the walls and when I pulled the 152 degree sausage the middle sticks were a little under done.

 

[BGKYSmoker]

NON-FAT DRY MILK - Milk powder has been used for years in sausage making. Acts as a binder by helping to retain the moisture of the meat. Although not highly effective as a binder, it can impart a creamier taste to some sausage products. You can use up to 12% (of the meat weight) without affecting the taste of the sausage. This product is good at hiding salt flavor in most sausage and is used in liver sausage, hot dogs and bologna.