Pepperoni Snack Stix

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lcruzen

Master of the Pit
Original poster
OTBS Member
Apr 16, 2007
1,023
10
Hell, Michigan
With hunting season here I need to re-stock my snack stix supply. So this past weekend I did about 8 lbs worth and used the recipe out of Rytek Kutas - Great Sausage Recipes and Meat curing for cooked Pepperoni. I used beef chuck and pork butt about 50/50 and stuffed into sheep casing.



I let them cure over night in the fridge and then onto the smoker. Started out at 130o for a couple of hours to dry then bumped it up to 150o with hickory.



Bumped it up to 170o to bring the internal temp up to 152o then into a ice water bath to cool and then hung up to bloom.



Did they ever bloom. You can see the difference in the color.



The taste was pretty good but I think the anise is a little on the strong side and I think these sausages texture will benefit by drying out some so they are now hanging in my beer fridge with a wet towel to keep the humidity up. I'll let them stay in that environment for about and week and see what gives.

I'll post final pics and thoughts when they finish drying.

Lou
 
Looks awesome to me! I got to get mine done too! I got the pork trim the other day, now all I got to do is get busy.I'm gonna do up 12.5#s of Venison snack sticks. Hopefully this week I can get them done.

Blza
 
Man those look awesome there Icruzen. You did a nice job on those sticks of goodness.
 
Thanks for this.....Look forward to your observations
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That's what I call a bloom! They look great Lou and I bet they taste as good as they look too!
 
Great looking stix. You got me thinking my supply is getting low. I just butchered a burger bull............
 
The smoker is a propane GOSM with a needle valve mod to obtain lower temps and I let them hang about 6 hours for the bloom. Not that it takes that long but I fell asleep.
 
Lou, they look fantastic!
Thank you for reminding me that deer season is right around the corner. lol I need to get busy and make some snacks or just come up there and hunt with you!
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It's really does my heart good to know that I'm not the only one out there that has done that!
 
Those do look ab fab. I made the same recipe this past weekend, 5lb batch, and I agree re: additional drying. I didn't have any ground Anise though, so I took seed and sort of mashed it some with a mortar and pestel, and it wasn't too licorice-ish.

Have you ever tried the smoked 19mm colligen cases (avail through The Sausage Maker, etc)? I still get a little unevenness in colouring and bloom, though it is much improved over my initial attempts, and I think I have it narrowed down to uneven heating/smoke in my MES 30" (electric), or the synthetic cases. I've never tried sheep casings, how are they compared to hog as far as handling goes? More delicate?

Cheers,

Mark
 
Mark,

Without a doubt the sheeps casings are more delicate than hog casings and blow outs occur easier but the same holds true whith the finished product, a much more tender casing and it just eats better.

Lou
 
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