Paul, evening..... I do sticks and they come out pretty good... I don't run my smoker over 160....
I do the temp raise thing... start at 110 ish... dry the outside of the casings... then add smoke for a few hours until they have the smoke I like... then raise the smoker to 160.... I hold the 160 temp for 24 hours... the fat doesn't melt.... the sticks will dry from the water added.... At 24 hours they are at a temp of about 135-140.... They won't get any warmer due to evaporative cooling from the moisture inside the casing .....
Looking at a pasteurization table, they are very safe to eat... they are not overly dry but I think they are perfect....
As you can note from the USDA chart below, 121 minutes at 130 def. F, will return a 7 log lethality... That leaves only 1 bacteria alive out of every 1,000,000 bacteria in the meat.... I figure after 24 hours at 160, the meat has been at 130 for at least 3-4 hours so more bacteria has been killed.... It's a time at given temp that does them in...
If you have the capability, give this method a try.... you might like it... Dave
I have no idea why the disclaimer of final temp. has been added at the bottom of the chart... All sous vide charts say the meat is safe after the time/temp has been achieved.... Maybe it's an "insurance" disclaimer....
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