Sticks too soft

[HairyHound]

Just made a batch of dill pickle flavor snack sticks with venison/pork (80/20). They are not as firm as I am used to. Soft and a little mealy. Any ideas as to what causes this?

[Lance]

When my snack sticks or sausage is mealy it’s usually because I didn’t get good protein extraction. That mite be adding to the firmness problem as well.

[samspade]

Lance I’ve seen that term mealy use a couple times. What is mealy? Is it a texture or a greasy feeling ? Just wonderin.

[Lance]

samspade What I call mealy is when the meat is almost grainy or in severe cases can be crumbly like it won’t bind together.

[mrobisr]

Years ago my first couple attempts at snack sticks ended the same way grainy, mealy, or crumbly, pick the word of your choice, but it was not enough mixing to get the proper protein extraction. The deer camp guys loved the flavor and would devour them, but I was not happy until I fixed the problem.

[samspade]

Lance ok. It sounded to me like a gooey or slimy word thanks for correcting my definition.

[Dr_Pain]

I agree with protein extraction and also not stuffing them tight enough. About the stuffing If I see that I made the mistake I just twist at different lengths just to pack them tighter