jalapeno snack sticks

[t-bone tim]

been wanting to do a batch of sticks ... butt no time off and this dern winter weather has held me off .

I followed Rytek's slim jim recipe pretty much to a T except the addition of some finely minced jalapenos , added 7 peppers to this 15 # batch and I used 12 # beef along with 3 # pork for some added flavor, also added 4 C water to mix the spices and ensure proper distribution of the cure .

The pics show the meat ground once thru a 1/8 th plate , the minced pepper and pre-mixed spices ...notice my hi-tek mixer in the second photo

... the last pic is 1 hr into the smoke...

my little MES is awful crowed , not sure how they will turn out ...we'll see

 

[smoke freak]

Got the magic gloves to do your mixin for ya, eh.

Good lookin sticks for sure.

 

[dadwith4daughters]

Tim, have my new grinder and stuffer coming in the mail this week. Just bough Rytek's book too. Never done it before but looking at your pics makes me want to start today! And that stuffer...man, is that a 25# capacity? Makes my 5# look like, well, small...

 

[grothe]

Lookin good Tim, be sure ta post your final results

 

[t-bone tim]

Dadwith4daughters ... that stuffer is the Cabelas 30 # unit .... awesome for large batches ... but I'm gonna need a 5 lber for doing the smaller batches

... ah well an excuse for another toy

... makin sausage is like smokin meat ..it's addicting

 

[dadwith4daughters]

I'm banking on it! Thanks for the q-view and the guidance.

 

[sumosmoke]

Tim - the MES is full but it looks great!! Thanks for sharing pics of your slim jim process. I've always wondered how those were made. I'm anxious to hear how much heat the japs added!

 

[t-bone tim]

here's a few update pics ....6 hrs at 105 * to 110* with hickory smoke ... sausage in smoker , temp gauge mod to the side and mid rack of the MES , and me playin with the chip loader to keep the chunks and chips smoking without too much heat

...

I used 22mm casings , looks like it's still gonna be awhile

 

[kingudaroad]

Those are looking great Tim And I didn't even know they made Moosehead Light.

 

[fire it up]

Those are looking great Tim.
Getting to the level of making my own sausages, a beautiful smoker, doing the things that so many of you guys do with smoke and meat, it is such a beautiful art that I hope to one day master.

 

[daboys]

Those look very tasty Tim. I love making sticks. Gotta freezer full now but keep on making more. It is addicting!

 

[mossymo]

T-bone Tim
The sticks are looking great and I am interested in hearing your final outcome. I have never smoked my sticks in either of MES 's, I have always used my large vertical upright. Interested in what you think of a MES for smoking sticks.
P.S.
Same as you I am also thinking about a 5 lb. stuffer for smaller batches.

 

[t-bone tim]

okay they finally finished up after 15 hrs in the little MES ... smoked with hickory at 110* for the first 8 hrs as per Rytek's recipe ... then bumped the heat to 130 for 3 hrs , then up to 170 for the last 4 , finally pulling them at 150*.

Mossymo.

Doing a 15 # batch in the 30" MES is a challenge due to height restriction for hangin ... 5 to 10 lb batches and 19mm casings would be better , but they turned out good and look okay , but I am dissapointed in the japs , not enough flavor or bite , peppers prolly weren't great , all we get here seems to be tasteless ,maybe throw the seeds in next time ... I also would up the pepper in the recipe as well as add some cayenne ... all in all a good first run here's a finished shot.

 

[coffee_junkie]

This will be my next adventure, I plan to use duck.

 

[pineywoods]

Tim those look fantastic thanks for sharing the info and Qview

 

[racemonkey]

Look great Tim.

 

[desertlites]

t-bone"s posts have inspired me through the last 2 years I been here-sure have used alot of his learning to make my Q better.

 

[carpetride]

Looks great!

 

[nogoer]

Ok you're not getting off that easy

I also followed Rytek's recipe but i had to make some adjustments since i refuse to pay the exhorbatent prices for fermento. Still trying to figure out what that dang stuff actually is!

Like you i figured a spicy version was most certainly in order and i actually almost tried using diced japs like you did. However since it was my first attempt i opted to stay generic. I had the same issues with space in my MES as you did. I was trying to keep them long for conveniance but still in 6inch increments and wound up with them dragging on the floor of the smoker.

Soooo, did you do fermento or try encapsullated citric acid? Did yours snap? Did they have that nice tang to them?

Somewhere on here is a thread with some of my thoughts on my own batch. From what i remember though they didn't really come out like i expected.

 

[bigarm's smokin]

Great job Tim, I think you got most all of us in the mood to make sausage. I just bought enough lamb casings to do 60# of sausage. I have never used natural casings so I am a little nervous, the butcher that I bought them from said, be very careful, they tangle very easy.

I hope I don't end up with a mass of tangles and have to throw them away.