I did 25# of snack sticks on the Camp Chef XXL vertical pellet yesterday. I was able to fit the whole batch in the smoker using the racks. The smoker worked great it was 35 degrees out and very windy and had no trouble with temps. The lowest temp setting is 150 so I started there with the vent wide open for the first hour and it held steady at around 120. After the first hr I rotated tracks and left it at 150 with the vent half open and the temp rose into the 130’s. The 3rd hr I rotated racks and turned it to 175 and put the 2 meat probes in. When the meat temp broke 130 I pulled them and finished them in an electric roaster with the water temp 170-180. I was impressed with the Camp Chef, the pellets produce a good amount of smoke while cooking. The sticks turned out great thanks to all the good information on this website!

I used 3.75 cups non fat dry milk and 5 tbsp cold phosphate per 25lbs. The summer sausage turned out the same as using sure gel.

Stats77
Low Smoke setting

Stats77
Hey Stats77 I made some H Summer Sausage 50/50 pork and venison on the Camp Chef yesterday. The smoker had no issues, and the sausage turned out great! It took 6hrs for the meat temp to get to 160 with the smoker started at 150 for 2hrs then to 175 for 2hrs and 185 2hrs. The meat wasn’t over smoked at all if you are worried about that. Thanks for all the great info everyone!

I just picked up a Camp Chef XXL vertical pellet smoker for $500. I have been using a Bradley electric for years with no issues, but decided to make the switch to the XXL because of the bigger smoking chamber for sausage making. I think the pellet smoker will do a better job of getting up to temp when it’s Minnesota cold out. I plan on making some snack sticks in the next week or two. I will do a follow up review if anyone is interested?

twilliams Thanks for your help!

Can Jalapeño snack stick seasoning be used to make summer sausage? Also does ECA go good with jalapeño?

@Brian-Ragland I found it on BBQGUYS website for $499.

I see 2oz cold phosphate is recommended for 25lbs of meat which is 4 tbsp. The summer sausage I made using 3.75 cup non fat dry milk and 5 tbsp cold phosphate wasn’t overly juicy, was the same end product as sure gel binder. I will use less cold phosphate next batch I’ve read too much can give off a soapy flavor.

twilliams Sounds good will do, making two batches of sticks this weekend habanero BBQ with ghost pepper cheese also.

twilliams Thanks for your help!

twilliams Ok thanks how much do you add for a 25lb batch?

Has anyone used bacon taste booster in snack sticks? I’ve read some reviews on the sweet maple bacon seasoning and some say not much bacon flavor, just curious if any ones has tried this?

I used 3.75 cups non fat dry milk and 5 tbsp cold phosphate per 25lbs. The summer sausage turned out the same as using sure gel.

processhead Thanks for the good info!

YooperDog Thanks YooperDog

I’m going to make 2 batches of sticks and I have to use ECA in one. Does ECA go better with Pepperoni or Habenero BBQ?

I haven’t tried the pepperoni seasoning. I would use the sure gel meat binder over the carrot fiber for sticks. I used ECA in summer sausage and liked the added tang, the flavor was not overpowering at all. Make sure you use Sure Cure along with the ECA, if you use ECA you will have to smoke them right away there is no curing time.