Qview attempt #2

[marknb]

OK, how about this:



These are pepperettes I make using a jerky gun with round nozzle, no casings, right onto the dehydrator. While not smoked, they are still uber-fantastic

And this:



These kabanosys are smoked, and also pretty good eating

Finally this guy my Father in Law won at a local Muscular Dystrophy fundraiser last Christmas (boiled, not 'cued!). A 10lber along with F in L, wifey, and me boy. I'll leave it to you to figure out who's who.

 

[pandemonium]

Nice snack sticks and man thats a huge lobster mmm

 

[buffalosmoke]

Hey those look great!

Care to share the recipes for them?

 

[gene111]

looks good!!

 

[marknb]

I can share the recipes for both type of stix, but I'm at work so later today. Thanks for the compliments.

 

[newflame]

man that's a huge freakin craw fish right there!

 

[meat hunter]

Those snack sticks look pretty awesome. And that lobster, OMG, you could feast off that thing for a week

.

 

[denver dave]

That is one big crawdad you got there.

 

[mballi3011]

Now those snack sticks look great and I bet they won't last. Now that lobster is really a giant crawfish for sure I'm glad you didn't smoke him cause he probally would have opened the door and come out and whooped you a.....!!

 

[marknb]

hahaha, dem lobsters can be vicious! Unfortunately for this guy (and me father in law) he sustained some kind of injury and his claws were pretty much empty of meat. Probably would've weighed another pound if they had been full. Ray (FinL) bought an 8lb lobster at the same fundraiser the same year my son was born (also weighed in at 8 lbs at the time, I have a photo of him and the lobster together, pretty funnny), and those claws were meals unto themselves...

Onto recipes, sorry, I'm not all that creative. The stix on the dehydrator I got off the internet, and are made thusly:

Pepperoni Jerky Stix Ingredients:

• [font=Verdana, sans-serif]1 1/2 pounds of ground beef, venison, or any meat[/font]
• 1/8 teaspoon of garlic powder
• 1 teaspoon of paprika
• 1 1/2 tablespoons of Morton’s Tender quick salt
• 1 tablespoon of fennel seed
• 1 tablespoon of crushed red pepper

Since I can't get Morton's locally, I used the replacement found in 'Charcuterie' (makes a big batch, I still have enough for several more lbs of stix):

• 1lb salt - I used non-iodized sea salt, recipe calls for pickling salt
• 8oz. granulated white sugar
• 2oz. Prague #1 (Surecure #1, Instacure #1, or Peklosol)

Finally, the smoked Kabanosy are from a recipe given to me by Hank, a self described old Pollack found right here! Sorry my notes from the last time have some ingredients in spoon measures and others in ounces, must've been drinking wobbly pop at the time.

• 5lbs (actually measured 2331g) Pork Butt
• 1.75 oz. Salt
• 1tsp cure
• .5 oz. dextrose
• .375 oz. Black Pepper
• .5 tsp Nutmeg
• .5 tsp caraway
• .5 tsp granulated garlic
• .875 oz. corn syrup solids

If you can wade your way through my crazy measures, they are super terrific, honest! Just not too heavy on the smoke, say 3 hrs of med density, and you're home free.

 

[buffalosmoke]

Thanks for posting those.

As for the Kabanosy, what size plate do you grind through? what size casing do you use? Are they dried after smoking?

Thanks

 

[marknb]

I've only got the two plates for my Kitchen aid, a coarse and a fine, I've never measured them to see what they are exactly. Last batch of kabanosy was fine ground, but I've done it coarse too, and I think I like it better coarse ground. Casings were 19mm smoked collagens I got at Sausagemaker. One package of 3 should do 20lbs or so.

As for drying, if you like them drier like I do, I've hung them from the floor joists in my basement for as long as 6 days (anyplace cool, and not too dry), but given my druthers I think next time I'm going to get them up to temp (152F internal temp) in the smoker then reduce the heat to about 140F and leave them in there for another 6 or so hours. If I had a dehydrator with square trays I'd be putting them in there afterwards, but the trays in mine are round, and less than half of a 5lb batch would fit.

 

[marknb]

A couple more things if this is your first time through on snack sticks....all based on past failures mind you....

You don't soak collagen casings ahead, just pull them apart and use them dry, they draw the moisture they need to be pliable from the meat.

Once they are stuffed, allow the sticks to air dry for an hour or better. Outside of casing should be a little tacky/sticky, then they're ready to take smoke. Hang them someplace free of pests and with good air flow, some people even put them in front of a fan.

Put them in the smoker with the temp around 90-100F, and slowly, like, over the course of a few hours, bring the temp up to 165-170F. If you air dried them beforehand, you can apply smoke right away, other people dry them for an hour or so in the smoker at these lower temps, then add smoke. Both seem to work. If you add the smoke too early you'll get blotchy coloring.

Be careful not to allow the internal temp to get over 155 or so, otherwise the fat will start to melt out of the sausage and you'll have crumbly, poorly textured sausage. Not nearly so good. Remember, fat good, water bad, even in a really dry sausage.

 

[buffalosmoke]

Thanks for the additional info! I'll be trying these soon!

 

[slim]

Looks good man....love the avatar too

 

[marknb]

Yer welcome! FYI Slim, I too need more cowbell.

 

[mistabob]

Everything looks amazing! I'd like to try making some of those sticks sometime, I love the ones at gas stations, but my own would be cooler.