Snack stick seasoning blending?

[hsiddall]

Please help me if you can. Let’s say I wanted to mix two flavors like habanero and ranch yup that’s the request from the wife and friends and I’m down to try. Would I mix for the whole 25 lb batch or cut each in half? Main question is are there salts in these blends or just flavor?

[BevH]

There will be salt in the seasoning mix and, a snack stick mix will also have cure or pink salt in the kit as well.

Say each seasoning mix is for 10 lbs of meat but, you have 10 lbs total of meat: You need a good scale, weigh the seasonings and cure and use half of each by weigh.

If you must you can try to measure by volume but, weight is much more accurate.

[hsiddall]

BevH
Ok thanks for the response that’s what I was afraid of. Afraid as in loosing the potency of the heat and or the ranch in this case. I’ll have to play with it and see what happens.

[BevH]

You can always cook a small sample and add chili flakes or ranch dressing powder if needed. That’s what I do, I use premade mixes, then, sample and, if needed, add an individual seasoning to suit our tastes. Like the beats, we like more mace in them so, I add only mace to the mix before I put it in casings.

[Austin]

hsiddall
There isn’t going to be a completely right or wrong answer when mixing two seasonings. Be prepared for trial and error to get the right mix that you are looking for though. At the basics, I’d take half of each seasoning, mix them together, and then that mixture should make a 25 lb batch. But, if you want one of the flavors to be stronger than the other, try doing a 60/40, or 70/30 split. Just make sure the two ratios add up to 100%, and not too much higher. All the seasoning blends do contain salt (usually the #1 ingredient), so over usage would make things salty. Some quick math can definitely get you the right proportions though.

[hsiddall]

Austin
Thanks for that info about the salt, part of my solution would be to add red pepper powder to the ranch mix (100%). Im not at all new to this game but recently found your site and products. I’m excited to work on my archery double up!

[hsiddall]

Austin hey buddy my next question is this? With habanero or jalapeño Chile powders what is a good starting point for adding to an existing blend? 2tsp/ten lb perhaps?

[Austin]

hsiddall
I wish I could give you a better answer, but my best advice is to say “season to taste”. It will really depend on how much heat you want and what you can handle.

For reference, our Xtra Hot Ground Red Pepper Shaker is kind of similar to Habanero. We recommend starting with a usage at 3 oz per 100 lb of meat, so a very small amount.

If you start trying to add something like habanero or other chile powders, just be ready to have a little trial and error.

[Parksider]

hsiddall
I used ground habanero exclusively now. It give good heat but has a much richer flavor than crushed red. But I have never used dehydrated jalapenos either so I don’t have much to compare there.

[hsiddall]

Parksider
How much do you add? I just trialed my powder at 1/4 tsp in a bowl of chili. It was perfect

[Parksider]

i’d have to look at my notebook but i’m pretty sure we use 1oz for 20# of meat.