A guilty pleasure for many, these meaty snack sticks are often found at markets and delis but can cost an arm and a leg. This recipe uses A.C. Legg's blend of spices but the flavor is undeniably delicious. Give it a try!
*Chef's Note*
This recipe will produce a partially self-stable snack stick I have tested a number of times using vacuum sealed bags they can withstand room temp for 7-10 days but I would not rely on open-air or non-refrigerated for any duration of time. There are ways to improve this using Potassium Sorbate rinses and other preservatives but that is not covered here.
Coarse grind the beef/pork or deer/pork meat mixture. Use 3/8" grinding plate or similar.
Mix water and Sodium Nitrite thoroughly. (Water to meat ratio is 2 cups of water for every 10 lbs. of meat).
Add Snack Stick Seasoning to the water/sodium nitrite and mix and stir thoroughly.
Pour the water/seasoning/sodium nitrite mix into the coarse ground meat and mix/stir thoroughly. Use a mixer with a dough hook (2-3 mins) if you don't have one hand mixing works but takes about 10 mins.
This is to break down the proteins and helps with the texture in the end.
Grind this mix of meat/seasoning through next size down from previous one.
Stuff into collagen casings
Place the stuffed snack sticks in refrigerator overnight (12 to 24 hours) in a plastic or glass container. If you use encapsulated citric acid (not covered in this recipe)
Place in smoker/grill setup on screens. Set temperature to 160-180° F. with damper completely open and no smoke. If you don't have a smoker, you can "cook" your snack sticks in your kitchen oven, see This Post for instructions.
After 2 hours, raise temperature to 190-200° F, close damper to 1/2, and add wood chips to begin the smoking process.
After 2 hours raise temperature to 160° F, keep the damper at 1/2 open and continue smoking.
After 2 hours, raise temperature to 200-220° F, close the damper to 3/4 closed and continue smoking until the internal temperature of the snack sticks reach 160° F.
Remove snack sticks from smokehouse and leave at room temperature for 2 hours.
Then package snack sticks (vacuum packing is best) and keep in the refrigerator. The Snack Sticks are now ready-to-eat!
Ingredients
Directions
Coarse grind the beef/pork or deer/pork meat mixture. Use 3/8" grinding plate or similar.
Mix water and Sodium Nitrite thoroughly. (Water to meat ratio is 2 cups of water for every 10 lbs. of meat).
Add Snack Stick Seasoning to the water/sodium nitrite and mix and stir thoroughly.
Pour the water/seasoning/sodium nitrite mix into the coarse ground meat and mix/stir thoroughly. Use a mixer with a dough hook (2-3 mins) if you don't have one hand mixing works but takes about 10 mins.
This is to break down the proteins and helps with the texture in the end.
Grind this mix of meat/seasoning through next size down from previous one.
Stuff into collagen casings
Place the stuffed snack sticks in refrigerator overnight (12 to 24 hours) in a plastic or glass container. If you use encapsulated citric acid (not covered in this recipe)
Place in smoker/grill setup on screens. Set temperature to 160-180° F. with damper completely open and no smoke. If you don't have a smoker, you can "cook" your snack sticks in your kitchen oven, see This Post for instructions.
After 2 hours, raise temperature to 190-200° F, close damper to 1/2, and add wood chips to begin the smoking process.
After 2 hours raise temperature to 160° F, keep the damper at 1/2 open and continue smoking.
After 2 hours, raise temperature to 200-220° F, close the damper to 3/4 closed and continue smoking until the internal temperature of the snack sticks reach 160° F.
Remove snack sticks from smokehouse and leave at room temperature for 2 hours.
Then package snack sticks (vacuum packing is best) and keep in the refrigerator. The Snack Sticks are now ready-to-eat!