Ok, it's been a while since I made sticks. I was looking at my smoking notes and apparently I have not made any stick since last fall before my surgery. And the last batch of sliced jerky is gone, so it's time to make some sticks!!!!
Figured I would deviate from my usual recipe which is a AC Legg #116 base with modifications. I've still got some Owens BBQ "Honey BBQ" stick mix and figured that would be one batch. I've also been making what I call "Jerky Rounds" which are based on a modified version of the Smoking Gun liquid jerky marinade. I've never tried that in a snack stick casing, so that will be the other batch (again with modifications).
I was at the local Sam's Club on Friday to pick up some meat in anticipation of a stick making weekend and I found these. 85% lean beef and they came pre-sealed in 1 pound square portions, 6 portions to a pack (for 6 pounds). And they were selling this pre-packaged meat for the same per pound price as their 80% lean bulk package ground beef!!! Picked up 3 of the 6 pound packs. I'll be using one of them to make 3 pounds of the Owens Honey BBQ sticks and 3 pounds of the Smoking Gun sticks today.
The last time I made the Owens BBQ "Honey BBQ" sticks, I ran the mix as on the label. For my taste, the sweetness was a little much. I'm going to bump in a little spice this time to offset that sweetness, but no overpower it or make them too hot for general consumption. I will be adding some ground jalapeno powder. I think I'm also going to add in some ECA tomorrow when I stuff them as I've not tried that with this spice blend before. Here is the recipe for this batch:
Modified Owens BBQ - Honey BBQ snack sticks
The dry ingredients ready to go.
As with all my smokes, I measure my spices, cure and extras with a precision gram scale that can handle 1/100th of a gram resolution. I also check the scale calibration before weighing and again after I'm done to ensure what I weighed is accurate. This is what lets me work with small batches and get consistent quality.
Modified Smoking Gun Jerky Marinade snack sticks
This is the cast of characters:
I did not take a photo of the mixed meat. It's basically a slightly darker colored ground meat. Placed both batches into the fridge to let the flavors meld and the cure work overnight. I will stuff and smoke these tomorrow.
More to follow tomorrow and of course I will post more photos then as well...
Figured I would deviate from my usual recipe which is a AC Legg #116 base with modifications. I've still got some Owens BBQ "Honey BBQ" stick mix and figured that would be one batch. I've also been making what I call "Jerky Rounds" which are based on a modified version of the Smoking Gun liquid jerky marinade. I've never tried that in a snack stick casing, so that will be the other batch (again with modifications).
I was at the local Sam's Club on Friday to pick up some meat in anticipation of a stick making weekend and I found these. 85% lean beef and they came pre-sealed in 1 pound square portions, 6 portions to a pack (for 6 pounds). And they were selling this pre-packaged meat for the same per pound price as their 80% lean bulk package ground beef!!! Picked up 3 of the 6 pound packs. I'll be using one of them to make 3 pounds of the Owens Honey BBQ sticks and 3 pounds of the Smoking Gun sticks today.

The last time I made the Owens BBQ "Honey BBQ" sticks, I ran the mix as on the label. For my taste, the sweetness was a little much. I'm going to bump in a little spice this time to offset that sweetness, but no overpower it or make them too hot for general consumption. I will be adding some ground jalapeno powder. I think I'm also going to add in some ECA tomorrow when I stuff them as I've not tried that with this spice blend before. Here is the recipe for this batch:
Modified Owens BBQ - Honey BBQ snack sticks
- 3 pounds of 85% lean beef
- 285 grams of Honey BBQ snack stick seasoning
- 3.4 grams of cure #1
- 3.5 grams of ground jalapeno powder
- 6.8 grams of Butcher & Packer #414 binder
- 1/4 cup (slightly less by eyeball) water
- 1/4 cup orange blossom honey (again by eyeball)
- 10.2 grams of ECA (to be added at stuffing and smoking time)
- 21mm collagen casings to be used for stuffing

The dry ingredients ready to go.

As with all my smokes, I measure my spices, cure and extras with a precision gram scale that can handle 1/100th of a gram resolution. I also check the scale calibration before weighing and again after I'm done to ensure what I weighed is accurate. This is what lets me work with small batches and get consistent quality.

Modified Smoking Gun Jerky Marinade snack sticks
- 3 pounds of 85% lean beef
- 7.2 fluid ounces Smoking Gun Jerky Marinade
- 1.2 tsp of crushed black pepper
- 1.2 tsp of onion powder
- 1.2 tsp of liquid hickory smoke
- 3.5 grams of ground jalapeno powder
- 3.4 grams of cure #1
- 6.8 grams of Butcher & Packer #414 binder
- 10.2 grams of ECA (to be added at stuffing and smoking time)
- 21mm collagen casings to be used for smoking
This is the cast of characters:

I did not take a photo of the mixed meat. It's basically a slightly darker colored ground meat. Placed both batches into the fridge to let the flavors meld and the cure work overnight. I will stuff and smoke these tomorrow.
More to follow tomorrow and of course I will post more photos then as well...
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