Last weekend I made a 25lb batch of snacks sticks with the Nacho cheese seasoning. My recipe was 100% pork trimmings (approx 25-30% fat), 2.5 lbs of high temp cheddar cheese & no ECA. I did not use a cure accelerator, so I held them overnight before smoking. I used only pork because I assumed the Nacho flavor would be mild & I did not want gamey meat flavors covering it up. The ingredient list includes bell pepper besides cheese/butter flavors. My overall impression is that it has a mild cheese flavor with a somewhat peppery aftertaste. I taste more black pepper than bell pepper. If you are looking for an overpowering cheese flavor you may be disappointed. My wife’s comment was- It has a good flavor, but I would not know it was nacho cheese if it wasnt labeled as such. This may be a good flavor to try for those who are looking for something a little different and on the mild side.

We butchered 4 hogs this past summer & saved the bellies for bacon of course. I started with 72 lbs green weight on friday night & wet brined them with maple bacon cure & taste booster. I fit them all in 2 smokers on Saturday & when they were finished I had 64.5 lb left. Sliced them all up with my berkel 909 slicer today. Most was thin sliced & the rest was a little thicker. Turned out great. My wife was impressed which was the most important thing. Took a few pics, sorry they didn’t turn out the best.

Recipe- 8.33 lbs. 5lbs of 70/30 ground pork, 3.33 lbs of 50/50 pork venison mix. (Cleaning out the freezer).
I used this amount because it is 1/3 of a 25lb batch & is perfect size for my bowl cutter.
Excalibur frank & bologna seasoning.
Sure gel
Smoked meat stabilizer, (wanted to smoke right after mixing
40 oz h2o/ice mix.
26mm cellulose casings
Mixed with a bowl cutter & stuffed with waltons 11lb stuffer.
Smoked untill approx 130 deg , then finished in a turkey fryer until 160
Ended with an ice bath.

I had a 6.5 lb (year plus old) pork loin in the freezer that needed to be used up. It was from Sams so was nothing special as far a quality goes. To be clear, it was a standard pork loin, not a tenderloin. As everyone knows, this cut of meat is very lean, so it turns out dry 99% of the time. I decided to inject it with Pa’s Black Bull marinade & then vac seal for 24 hours. I had to cut it into 2 pieces so it would fit in 2- 12×14in vac seal bags. I cooked it over charcoal with a rotisserie on a Weber grill. My target temp for the loin was 145. Since the loin was naturally smaller on one end, the 2 pieces were not uniform in size. The smaller piece reached 165 degrees while the other one was 130. This is usually game over if you want to have a chance at moist pork loin. I finally had to pull the spit off the grill & take the smaller piece off before it became leather. I let the smaller piece rest for 10 or 15 min & served it to my wife & two kids. I started slicing it at the table & there was juice running everywhere. It was one of the most tender, juicy pork loins that i have ever eaten. My family kept saying it was like eating candy. This was the piece that ended up with an internal temp of around 170. We also did not need any additional seasonings or bbq sauce. If you want to be the bbq master who knows how to cook moist, juicy pork loin, then you need to try Pa’s Black Bull!!

Attached is a link to an NHDSC website article on everything you ever wanted to know about hot dogs. Since we are so close to the 4th, i thought it would be appropriate. Hopefully the link works!
http://www.hot-dog.org/

Additional comments because my original post was longer than I intended:

1. I think the phosphates in the marinade are what really make the difference. I think you would get similar results with any marinade assuming it contains them.
2. I pumped a lot of marinade into the loin with an injector. I’m sure this made a big difference with moisture retention also.
3. In my opinion, lean cuts like pork loin that are easy to dry out when grilling respond very well to marinades with phosphates.
4. I understand that there are some people are hesitant to use phosphates due to health concerns. I am not saying to use them on a daily basis. These marinades are great to use for a special occasion or a treat.

cdavis Grain farmer & contract hog finisher in central Illinois. Between whitetail harvest & a few hogs that dont make it to market, i am usually exprimenting with how to make it into sausage.

Rutinbuck I have made those same sticks several times. I always air dry at room temperature after the ice bath for at least an hour. I next put them in a refrigerator overnight, because by then i either want to go to bed or do something else. When i am ready to freeze, I always wipe any moisture off the sticks before vac sealing. I have never experienced any quality issues with the above process. I have left them in my refrigerator for up to a week before freezing in the past, and they have turned out great.

ND Mike I agree with you 100%. They are a must have for the 11lb stuffer. Even if you aren’t running the stuffer by yourself.

processhead The Devro brand that Waltons sells seem to hold up to a lot of abuse. I have been finishing my sticks in hot water, then an ice bath, next room temp, then refrigerating, then freezing, finally thawing back out to eat. There really shouldn’t be anything left of them at that point, but i haven’t experienced any issues.

I actually have roasted my own coffee since 2003. I cant go back to buying roasted beans. My favorite origins are Kenya, Columbia, Guatemala& Ethiopia. Its just sucks you in just like home meat processing.

Miller Those look delicious. I see a box of chicken broth on the table. Was that also part of the recipe?

ND Mike I agree with you 100%. They are a must have for the 11lb stuffer. Even if you aren’t running the stuffer by yourself.

Pivodog What did you use to polish your chopper up? It looks really good.

Surg theres another clue right under those words.

Last weekend I made a 25lb batch of snacks sticks with the Nacho cheese seasoning. My recipe was 100% pork trimmings (approx 25-30% fat), 2.5 lbs of high temp cheddar cheese & no ECA. I did not use a cure accelerator, so I held them overnight before smoking. I used only pork because I assumed the Nacho flavor would be mild & I did not want gamey meat flavors covering it up. The ingredient list includes bell pepper besides cheese/butter flavors. My overall impression is that it has a mild cheese flavor with a somewhat peppery aftertaste. I taste more black pepper than bell pepper. If you are looking for an overpowering cheese flavor you may be disappointed. My wife’s comment was- It has a good flavor, but I would not know it was nacho cheese if it wasnt labeled as such. This may be a good flavor to try for those who are looking for something a little different and on the mild side.

Does anyone know if it is ok to let the sticks rest a couple of days before thermal processing? I may have a 3 day window next week for meat processing & want to maximize my productivity. I am hoping to process at least 5 batches of sticks in that time. I was thinking about stuffing all of my sticks at one time & then putting them in my cooler. (without any cure accelerators of course). I would then smoke my batches one after the other, but could take up to 3 days. This would eliminate multiple grinder/mixer cleanups and I would be able to focus on smoking. I have found info on minimum resting times when only using cure #1, but not much info on max times before smoking.

craigrice

twilliams When you said “it has an original flavor”, did you mean unique? Or is it more like a slim jim/pepperoni flavor profile that most people think of when they eat snack sticks? Btw, thanks for posting this, i love to hear different opinions on seasonings.

smokinbubba Mess? Never ran into that problem.