Preventing soggy snack stick casing

[USMCPaul]

Hello all, I have been lurking for some time, watching the videos and reading.

First, thanks to all. My 50/50 venison/beef snack sticks have come a long way from all that I have learned here.

I have been using the Gigawatt hot seasoning in a 19mm collagen casings. I am using Sure Gel binder, Sure Cure and encapsulated citric acid.
I am smoking them at the recommended temps and all is well up to this point.

After I remove them from the smoker, I soak them in an ice water bath for about 10 minutes Then let them cool for about an hour.

I then vacuum seal them and immediately refrigerate them.

They appear mostly dry when I vacuum seal them; however, when I open the packages the cases are all soggy and nasty looking/feeling.

Does anyone see something that I am doing wrong?
Has anyone ever had this happen?
Do I need to let them dry longer? like maybe overnight?

[processhead]

I suspect you probably need to let them dry longer.
I always dry mine a minimum of overnight in a cooled space on open racks. Sometimes they get dried longer than that to get the texture I am after.

[lkrfletcher]

You need to let them air dry to room temp. This will dry out the casing and help them adhere to the meat even more. I usually let mine dry for at least 1 hour. You do not want to vacuum seal them right away as condensation will occur. When you vacuum seal with moisture the vacuum pull the moisture and can actually boil it at room temp under vacuum. Once on the surface of your snack sticks. They will freeze like that and be soggy.

[USMCPaul]

Ok guys thanks. The next batch I will let them dry over night, then vacuum seal them. I was reluctant to let them dry “too long” to prevent any spoilage, but I did not know what “too long” was, hence my rush to vacuum seal them and refrigerate immediately.

[lkrfletcher]

You have cure and Eva in there and have brought them up to a safe temp. You can dry them a while.

[lkrfletcher]

It’s really all about practice. Trial and error.

[USMCPaul]

What would a “safe” time be, before I have to seal them.
Also, what is your opinion on how long so you think they can stay at room temp after vacuum sealing?

I realize I do not have the proper equipment to call them “shelf stable”, but what is a good rule of thumb.

[lkrfletcher]

It’s all about preference. We are all different. I’d say I average about 2 -3 hours. I just like to finish up and clean everything rather than carry over to the next day.

[USMCPaul]

Gotcha…

I’m gonna try it like Paul suggested next time.

Hey Paul, is that you in your avatar?

[twilliams]

USMCPaul i may be confused or reading this wrong, so here is my take on it. After the ice bath, lay them out individually on paper towels in a some what cooler temp room if available for atleast 1 hour. Pat them dry with paper towels. After resting put them in fridge over night. Next day cut to length and vacuum seal then freeze.

[JoeB]

lkrfletcher Error could be Lethal… Lets be safe

[JoeB]

twilliams You ice bath or shower to stop the cooking process, and some say stop the wrinkles. Air dry for an hr is fine, and bag. Or refer. over night before bagging helps the sausage to bloom before vacpaking. Just be safe…

[RJ Adventures]

Just have to be careful when you put in the fridge overnight then vac bc moisture could redevelop on the skin of the sticks due to fridge humidity, I always seal before fridge

[JoeB]

USMCPaul i always process: Grind, stuff and link, then refrigerate for 24hrs. i do use a drain pan in my lug. Next day vacpac and freeze or poach w/ice bath and freeze. To your answer. I chill my meat to stiff before grinding. Use ice or near ice water with my seasonings for mixing. Stuff immediately after mixing or your dealing with concrete . Link and place on the counter to air or / hang for an hour to dry. Refrigerate for 24hrs to bloom, and vacpak The longer the meat increases to room temp the more bacteria / pathogens multiply to an unsafe level. Ok i’m a math guy soooo risk has a direct proportion to the rm ambient temp, and correlated directly by current temp of the meat. No easy answer… Keep your meat cool below 40* Hopes this helps… Cheers

[twilliams]

JoeB im assuming you meant to tag the original poster and not me?

[JoeB]

twilliams said in Preventing soggy snack stick casing:

JoeB im assuming you meant to tag the original poster and not me?
I guess? Little confused on the reply of the reply to the reply. Sorry

[opah73]

i dry at room temp on racks so air gets all around over night , then place in refridge in brown paper bags for a day or 2 whitch removes more moisture. i like mine a little drier than some i think. but lots of people seem to like them

[USMCPaul]

Thanks for all the replies and ideas. My plan for next time is to Ice bath for 10 minutes, dry at room temp overnight, vacuum pack, then refrigerate.

It will be a few weeks probably, but I will update this thread and let y’all know how they turned out.

[JoeB]

USMCPaul I don’t do snack sticks but I know that if I vac pac sausage and don’t freeze quickly the vac will pull out the juice. When I thaw a pack I always break the seal to keep the juices intact. Could be you’re using too much vac. Never saw a stick in the store vacpaked. Just a thought.

[USMCPaul]

JoeB that is a good point. I wonder how many people do vacuum pack their snack sticks?

I will start a new thread and ask.