Bacon ends and pieces to cook or not for snack sticks ?

[xp3]

I want to make 5 lb batch of lean venison with bacon ends and pieces . I read its better to cook bacon then add to the venison , more flavor . I use the LEM snack stick packets. Going to cook 2 lbs of bacon pieces then add to 3lb venison . Then smoke with applewood. By using cooked bacon will that throw the mix off ,2 lbs cooked will not weigh 2 lbs? I have made these before using 90 percent lean ground beef and turned out great .Appreciate your thoughts .

 

[xp3]

Yes /no ?

 

[dward51]

Sticks generally are less fatty, so I would be concerned about adding 40% bacon (2 pounds in a 5 pound batch) as that is a lot of fat in the finished product. Cooked or not, I think it's a lot of fat, especially from ends and pieces. For example if you look up the label info for Wright's ends & pieces, you see a 2 ounce serving has 31 grams of fat. That is 55% fat. So in a 2 pound batch of ends and pieces you are adding a little over a pound of pure bacon fat to the finished product. But if the venison is 95% lean to start with that may not be a bad thing. You are probably looking at a 25% fat end product from that combo. I think that is a little fatty for sticks. It is my understanding that the nutrition labels are on the cooked results so the fat content might be higher if you grind the uncooked bacon (someone correct me if I'm wrong on that).

I would probably cook the bacon first then chill it to firm it up before grinding. That would also reduce the fat content. Bacon pretty much makes everything taste better, but too much fat make make the sticks want to turn rancid pretty quick. I would probably refrigerate the final product for that reason to be on the safe side.

Let us know how it turns out.

 

[xp3]

Dward51 i appreciate the reply . I have already ground the venison and bacon not mixed yet. The venison is 100% lean . I see what you are saying , i had a butcher tell me pork fat goes bad quicker than beef fat in the freezer . Instead of 2 lbs bacon ,1 lb to start off with . Again appreciate the feed back ! Opening day this Saturday here in Northern Wisconsin , looking to add some venison to the diet