I want to make a 12.5 # batch of snack sticks. My question is how much water should I add when mixing ? I will be using either a 19mm or a 21mm collagen casing. Any tips to get a stick that has a nice snap to it. My batch I tried last time didn’t have any snap to them. Taste was good just no snap. Also seemed like a lot of moisture on them when the were done. Any ideas ?
Try doing a search for souse vide snack sticks,
JohninPa did you ice bath them last time?
twilliams said in Snack sticks?:
JohninPa did you ice bath them last time?
Yes. I did everything was good on them except they didn’t have a snap to them. You could just bend them and finally they would break. They just seemed to have excess moisture to them. I don’t know if I messed up on the drying stage. I know the temp dropped a good bit until I got the smoker loaded.
Thats why I didn’t know if I could of used too much water when mixing them. I know they were a bit of a pain to stuff which leads me to believe I didn’t use too much water.
JohninPa my recipe book i got from smoker is telling me 2 to 3 cups distilled water for 25 lb meat block
Ok. Thanks
So following that I would at 1 to 1.5 cups for a 12.5 lb block. I seen a post on here from one of the guys at Walton’s and believe it was a quart to 25 lb but home processors could go up to 2 quarts.
This was my process. Ground the meat, added the seasoning, cure , sure gel binder and water. Mixed it until I had good protein extraction. Then I stuffed it and let it set overnight for the cure to work.
The next day I started them at 125* in the smoker for 1 hour with vent fully open. After that hour I bump temp up to 140* close vent and added smoke for 1 hour. After this hour I bumped temp up to 155* for 2 hours and added a pan of hot water and closed vent completely. When these two hours were up I bumped temp up to 175* until IT reached 160. Then I pulled them out and did an ice bath .
JohninPa the guys that work at waltons is correct. So a 1/2 quart for 12.5 lbs. Depending on what seasoning you have you may need to add more. Such as the honey bbq or anything sweet. There is alot of seasoning with those.
JohninPa your smoke and cook process is good except im not sure on the pan of hot water. I never use it but i dont have a problem with stall.
twilliams said in Snack sticks?:
JohninPa your smoke and cook process is good except im not sure on the pan of hot water. I never use it but i dont have a problem with stall.
Well do you think I should try without a pan of water this time ? When the last ones were done you could see alot of moisture on the sticks and inside my smoker.
JohninPa wouldnt hurt to try not using the pan of water to see if that is what your looking for. If you are comparing to the snap that a big manufacturing commercial processor gets from their snack sticks im not sure a home processor will achieve that. They have a much more controlled environment. I prefer my sticks over and processor, snap or no snap.
Ok. Thanks
I liked the taste and texture just felt the sticks weren’t dry enough. I don’t know if that was because of the water pan or another reason. More than likely I will be trying another batch on Tuesday.
Anyone have a suggestion if I should use a pan of water or not? I am using a masterbuilt smoker. I keep going back and forth on this.
after the drying cycle i always use a water pan it aids in preventing case hardening meaning that the outside cooks and not the inside, more of a problem with larger products than sticks
This is just me but after reading about finishing in water that’s what I do for everything from snack sticks,ring sausage to summer sausage…smoke till internal temp of 140° then I throw them in my electric roaster with 170° water til they reach 160° internal… then ice bath til cool and let them bloom overnight in a cooler in the garage or fridge. Next day cut to your size and vacuum pack.
blackbetty61 said in Snack sticks?:
This is just me but after reading about finishing in water that’s what I do for everything from snack sticks,ring sausage to summer sausage…smoke till internal temp of 140° then I throw them in my electric roaster with 170° water til they reach 160° internal… then ice bath til cool and let them bloom overnight in a cooler in the garage or fridge. Next day cut to your size and vacuum pack.
Curious about the way you finish them. Do you put the sticks themselves directly in the water? Also any idea how many pounds you can fit in an electric roaster? This might be something to consider if I could fit 12.5 pounds in the roaster.
JohninPa yep put the sticks right in the water… they might look wrinkly when you take them out but they should tighten up after you bloom them. I wanna say you could fit 12.5 lbs in a roaster…that’s usually how much I do when I do a batch by myself… I have a 26qt roaster…I believe…also if you search finish in water on the search page there’s a whole thread worth reading
blackbetty61 said in Snack sticks?:
JohninPa yep put the sticks right in the water… they might look wrinkly when you take them out but they should tighten up after you bloom them. I wanna say you could fit 12.5 lbs in a roaster…that’s usually how much I do when I do a batch by myself… I have a 26qt roaster…I believe…also if you search finish in water on the search page there’s a whole thread worth reading
Thanks. Might be a dumb question but I take it you just heat the water right in the electric roaster? Seems like this would make the process go quicker .
JohninPa yep just use your meat thermometer to check temp of the water
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