Smokin-It User Forum!
Recipes => What's Cooking? => Topic started by: NDKoze on October 21, 2016, 03:31:36 PM
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Well, the Fall 2016 Snack-Stick-A-Palooza is underway.
We stuffed 3 - 28-pound batches of sticks last night, hung them, and then started the first batch this morning at 7:30. They are pretty close to coming off but have probably about 30-60 minutes to go.
We stuffed two batches of Original Pepper Stick (https://www.waltonsinc.com/pepper-stick-seasoning) and one batch of Buffalo Bleu Cheese (https://www.waltonsinc.com/buffalo-bleu-cheese-snack-stick-seasoning). We haven't tried the Buffalo Bleu Cheese (https://www.waltonsinc.com/buffalo-bleu-cheese-snack-stick-seasoning) before, so this is an experiment. For anyone who orders this one or the Teriyaki, the seasoning is VERY fine and can really get in your nose and/or lungs. So, if you have breathing problems, please beware. If we make this again, we are going to pour the seasonings and water in a bowl and mix outside instead of in the house and then mix in with the meat. The seasoning dust got in the air and had everyone in the house sneezing and coughing. It sure smelled good after getting the meat mixed and stuffed. We also made a test fry patty and it tasted pretty darn good too. It is hard to tell the final flavor when the meat is warm/hot, though. The real test will be after the sticks have been smoked and cooled.
I also took a video of the Smokin-It James Jerky Dryer doing its thing:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9BBvKNFo25c&list=PLAE-0jlCKPWfsc0eAkFBvLDoXrZRcroEj&index=1
More pics as they get done.
*** 10/22/16 Update ***
We packaged up the first two batches (56lbs worth) in about 20-30 minutes. The VacMaster VP215 worked flawlessly. It was fast and the seals were awesome. It seems like we almost always have at least 1-3 failed bag seals per batch, and we didn't have a single failure from packaging the first 2 batches.
I have added some new pics of our processing line. I cut the sticks into the right sizes, either my son or one of my nephews puts the date/style on the bag (along with their name because they think it is funny), my brother packs in the bags, and then my Dad seals the bags. My Dad was pretty impressed with the new sealer and he is usually the one that would be giving me crap for spending so much money on things. I am very happy with this purchase.
The batch of Buffalo Bleu Cheese is in the smoker and should be ready late this afternoon. I am interested to see how this batch tastes since we have not made this one before.
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Woo-Hoo! It's a thing of beauty, Gregg!!
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Gregg that is so awesome, I'm going to give that a try myself. looks delicious. I have a question, I'm making beef summer sausage for the first time in the mourning. in your vid is that steam coming out of the dryer or smoke? I ask because I heard you have to wait till it stops smoking to put the dryer on? whats your opinion?
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It was mostly steam. But, I typically put the dryer on after about 2.5-3.0 hours of smoke, so there was probably still some smoke coming out yet which isn't a big deal. Most of the smoking is usually done by this time. It is actually kind of hard to tell just how much of it is smoke and how much is steam.
Unless your summer sausage chubs are really short, I would strongly recommend smoking them horizontally like I do my snack sticks or they won't get done evenly as it is a lot hotter the closer to the element you get (unless you have the luxury of a #4 that is). Depending on how many trays you are using you will want to rotate the trays front to back and top to bottom a couple of times during the smoke. My first rotation is at 3 hours, then 2 hours twice, then every hour after that. On the last few checks, I often just start manually rearranging the sticks as they are needed and sometimes flipping them over if they look like they are getting done more on one side than the other. For me, doing close to 30 pounds of sticks at one time prohibits much of the airflow, so the sticks do not get done as evenly as they probably would for smaller batches. The good thing about this type of smoke is that other than the short rebound time to recover the smoking temp, it is not a big deal to open the door to check on the sticks/chubs. When you open the door, even with the dryer running, you will see a rush of steam flowing out of the smoker when you open the door. This quick removal of the steam will only help remove moisture from the smoker.
I have tried temping them in the past with my Maverick et-733, but with the hassle of corded thermometers and having to rotate trays, I gave up on temping the sticks and just go by eye and feel now. Maybe when I get my wireless Meater thermometers I'll be able to temp my sticks again. For summer sausage, it is going to be more important to temp them because it is harder to tell the internal temp from look and feel of a summer sausage.
Tomorrow the real fun starts when I get to put my new VacMaster VP215 chamber vacuum sealer to the test packaging the first two batches of sticks.
Let me know if you have any other questions and good luck on your summer sausage smoke. Are you in Jamestown or Boise? If in Jamestown, I will be coming up from Ellendale on Sunday afternoon and we could meet up on my way back to Fargo and trade some sticks for summer sausage if you are interested. Totally your call though. Just a thought. :)
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thank you for the very helpful reply, we are going to be out of town when you come through, or I would be all over trading sausage for snack sticks!!!we just finished our harvest and are heading back to boise.
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Wow. Nicely done as usual Greg. I also want your garage. Nice mix of work space and man cave. :)
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Now that's some hardcore snack-stick production. Sweet. :)
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I updated my original post with an update and some new pictures. :)
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Thanks for the pics and update. You really have this process down pat. Looks like a great friends and family project. Nice to see your Pops helping out there. Enjoy the fruits of your labor. :)
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Awesome, Gregg!! Looks like the new 215 worked really well!
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Yes, the 215 worked flawlessly. Super fast and quiet, and we didn't have a single failed seal. We usually end up with at least 1-2 bags that do it seal for whatever reason.
We packaged up 56 pounds of sticks in 20-30 minutes.
My only complaint is damn that thing is heavy! But I am definitely glad I went with the 215.
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Great to hear, Gregg! I was confident it would be a great choice.
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Wow!! Snack Stick Heaven. You really have the Process Down.
How did the Buffalo Blu cheese versions come out?
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Wow!! Snack Stick Heaven. You really have the Process Down.
How did the Buffalo Blu cheese versions come out?
The Buffalo Bleu Cheese is definitely a winner as far as me and my two boys are concerned. I will make this again, but next time I am going to add some High Temp Bleu Cheese to the mix.
Next up is Bloody Mary Mix Snack Sticks. This will have to wait until later this fall after we butcher deer/hogs again though.
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You are the undisputed snack stick king Gregg and its great that your whole family joins in this party! Enjoyed all the pics and glad to hear your opinions on the Buffalo Bleu cheese mix and the VP 215 too.
Were these 3 batches from this year's deer harvest or have you filled those tags yet?
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That was the last meat from our 2015 deer.
The 2016 deer gun season opens this Friday. So, hopefully we'll have a successful hunt again this year and have more sticks to do this year.