Meat Stick Experiment

[Motorguy]

Over the years, I’ve tried a number of meat stick seasonings. Looking in my fridge, I have 4 that I can’t even remember trying so the marathon begins. My goal is to try them and decided, keep or not.

As an experiment, I decided to try using my Camp Chef pellet grill instead of my tried and tru MES40 smoker. There is the challenge. I can’t set the pellet grill to a low temp such as 130 degrees to start as 160 is as low as it goes. So, I set it on low smoke (160 degrees) but I put the sticks in as soon as I fired up the grill instead of waiting until it got to temp. That gave me about 30 minutes of lower temp. I used the jerky racks that I got for the Camp Chef a while back which worked perfectly.

I changed the low smoke setting to 160 degrees and smoke at 1 as I didn’t want too much, the first batch was PS Seasoning Honey BBQ so they didn’t need a lot. It took just about the right amount of cook time, 2-2.5 hours total.

Thought I would share my experiment. Three more seasonings to try and I think I’ll keep using the pellet grill and perfect the process. So far, so good.

 

[chopsaw]

Looks good . Using a pellet grill is a great way to do this . You just have to follow the cooking mindset and watch the IT and pull when done , or just before .
Great way to do smoked sausage in hog casings too , and no waiting around all day .

Nice work . Post up the rest when you get them finished .

 

[Motorguy]

Thanks. I pulled them at 155 degrees and popped them in the fridge. Turned out pretty well, but I think the seasoning is a bit sweet for my taste. Have to get some summer sausage done next for some friends. I plan on doing the other 3 seasonings next weekend. I'll post the results. I will say using the pellet grill is a lot faster and easier than the smoker for this kind of snack.

 

[chopsaw]

My new approach to smoked sausage is to get it made as normal , then freeze it . Cook on the pellet grill when I want to eat it . I stumbled on that one day when my MES was full and I overflowed to the pellet . Works great .

 

[Florida Chris]

I like this! Camp Chef is what I use. I've had a full cart on PS Seasoning's website for about 2 months now but haven't clicked the button. Thanks for being the guinea pig on this one!

I'll follow along closely!

 

[PapaRed]

You have piqued my interest, Chopsaw! So, is the sausage uncooked when you freeze? And is it frozen or thawed when you place it on the pellet grill?

 

[geostriata]

Thanks. I pulled them at 155 degrees and popped them in the fridge. Turned out pretty well, but I think the seasoning is a bit sweet for my taste.

So many times I've been disappointed on the taste after my snack sticks cool, only to find that the flavor is perfect after a week later. That last batch you made might make the same journey, and you may be more pleased with them a week from now.

I can’t set the pellet grill to a low temp such as 130 degrees to start as 160 is as low as it goes. So, I set it on low smoke (160 degrees) but I put the sticks in as soon as I fired up the grill instead of waiting until it got to temp.

Thought I would share my experiment. Three more seasonings to try and I think I’ll keep using the pellet grill and perfect the process. So far, so good.

That strategy sounds sound to me! Thanks for sharing your experiment!

 

[chopsaw]

You have piqued my interest, Chopsaw! So, is the sausage uncooked when you freeze?

Yes , uncooked .

And is it frozen or thawed when you place it on the pellet grill?

Thawed . Then I run the pellet grill as low as it will go on that day , and get it as far from the hottest area as I can . watch the IT and pull when it reaches 152 .

 

[Motorguy]

So, the experiment is complete. I did the final 3 commercial seasonings and I found that the Backwoods Original was much too salty for my taste. The Sausage Maker Teryaki was OK, but missing something. Not sure what. The Owen's Honey BBQ was probably the best of the 4 I made, but tasted a bit artificial. My goal was to see if I can find a premade seasoning mix that I really like. I'm glad I only did a one pound batch of each. Now the search begins for a spice mix I can make for all three of my favorites, Honey BBQ, Teriyaki and good ole plain smoked beef sticks.

Now, on to a big batch of Summer Sausage. My neighbor keeps bugging me.....Thanks all.

 

[geostriata]

So, the experiment is complete.

Now, on to a big batch of Summer Sausage. My neighbor keeps bugging me.....Thanks all.

To be honest, I haven't found a commercial seasoning I like 100% as-is.

Regardless, I'd recommend saving a bit from each batch and re-tasting after a week. Countless times I've dismissed a flavor as too strong, only to find out that it's perfect after a week or so. I almost failed to realize this entirely, until I found an old bag I "forgot to get rid of" in the fridge months later. Since then, I never dismiss a flavor test until at least a week of conditioning/settling.

 

[Motorguy]

To be honest, I haven't found a commercial seasoning I like 100% as-is.

Regardless, I'd recommend saving a bit from each batch and re-tasting after a week. Countless times I've dismissed a flavor as too strong, only to find out that it's perfect after a week or so. I almost failed to realize this entirely, until I found an old bag I "forgot to get rid of" in the fridge months later. Since then, I never dismiss a flavor test until at least a week of conditioning/settling.

Sounds like a good idea. Some things do mellow over time. The Backwoods was so salty though, that I don't think it would make much difference. The others, maybe. I kept some of each so we'll see. Thanks for the input

 

[geostriata]

Sounds like a good idea. Some things do mellow over time. The Backwoods was so salty though, that I don't think it would make much difference. The others, maybe. I kept some of each so we'll see. Thanks for the input

You're probably right that the backwoods won't be good over time. One example I remember is a version of my pepperoni sticks that had an initially overpowering fennel/anise flavor. I didn't like it too much at first, but after a week it balanced perfectly.