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  • Casings, seasonings cheese and the like

    HAve my stuffer ordered. Now I need to make sure I got the right stuff here to use that dude soon as it shows up.

    First thing I want to try is snack sticks. Off the waltons website that was recommended to me on my stuffer thread. For a 21mm snack stick tube what size casing and wat type of casing should it get ? Natural or collagene or do I need to use a different type casing? Do I Half to get the cure and all the rest of the stuff like citric acid? This is all new to me so I'm not sure what to order.

    So let's not forget the cheese. Anyone have any particular they like with certain kinds of seasoning? Can I add beer instead of water to the snack stick mix?

    Also how do you check your sticks to see if they have hit 160 internal?

  • #2
    Looks like I need

    Seasoning
    Cheese
    Cure
    Sure gel
    Casings
    And beer replacement of the water?

    Comment


    • #3
      I will shed some light your way.. If this is your first swim in sausage making and snack stix I would say first try a packaged seasoning mix to get your feet wet. Yes you can substitute beer for the water.. As for casings, I am a firm lover of natural, but the collagen will give you a better constant size.. And yes you have to add cure, I am sure you could get the IT temp to 152° in under four hours but why temp fate..

      Now once you get more comfortable on making sausage you can dabble in making your own seasoning mix.. The way I do mine is I test one pound batches, add seasoning do a test fry and then adjust as needed.. Then I place it covered in the fridge for the night and test fry again the next day since the flavors will meld and become more prevalent and you will see what a flavor profile you have.. Then adjust from there on your next batch add more of one seasoning or lessen a seasoning..

      Hope this helps and I am sure we will get more feedback from some of the other sausage heads..
      Ken


      I Should Have Been Rich Instead Of Being So Good Looking

      Comment


      • #4
        ^ What he said. Don’t rush too much. I know the fever... and I know the shits too. Crawl..walk..RUN!
        In God I trust- All others pay cash...
        Check out the Mad Hunky and products at https://madhunkymeats.com or https://www.facebook.com/MadHunkyMeats
        Lang 60D, The Beast, 18 and 22 WSM, Brinkmann Backroads trailer, Weber 22 Kettle, gutted MB burning watts

        Comment


        • #5
          Originally posted by Texas-Hunter View Post
          I will shed some light your way.. If this is your first swim in sausage making and snack stix I would say first try a packaged seasoning mix to get your feet wet. Yes you can substitute beer for the water.. As for casings, I am a firm lover of natural, but the collagen will give you a better constant size.. And yes you have to add cure, I am sure you could get the IT temp to 152° in under four hours but why temp fate..

          Now once you get more comfortable on making sausage you can dabble in making your own seasoning mix.. The way I do mine is I test one pound batches, add seasoning do a test fry and then adjust as needed.. Then I place it covered in the fridge for the night and test fry again the next day since the flavors will meld and become more prevalent and you will see what a flavor profile you have.. Then adjust from there on your next batch add more of one seasoning or lessen a seasoning..

          Hope this helps and I am sure we will get more feedback from some of the other sausage heads..


          As far as the brats I can say I can do them but the snack sticks are a new beginning.

          I will Half to look at the Walton she and see if I can find a package deal. That's kinda what I was looking for at waltons but didn't find it but I may have over looked it. Any kinda of package deals u may recommend?

          Thanks for the long post. I appreciate the explaining of it. I was hoping I could replace it with beer. Can you tell a difference by using ale or other beers to that matter?

          Comment


          • #6
            Originally posted by Richtee View Post
            ^ What he said. Don’t rush too much. I know the fever... and I know the shits too. Crawl..walk..RUN!


            The squirts.....man i HATE the sqwuirts. Cows have them currently after opening up the silo lol

            Comment


            • #7
              My favorite snack sticks are put together like this...

              Order a snack stick mix (they come with the right amount of cure...Willie's is one of my favorites.) They say you can add ECA if you want an extra tang, but I never have used it. Maybe I'll experiment with that next time.

              Grab some high temp cheese if you want that. The last few batches of snack sticks I made were without...I didn't miss it and figured that it only served to up the cost of my sticks, but it is a personal preference.

              Grab some casings. I prefer collagen casings...super easy to work with and very uniform. I have used the smoke and the clear...both produce a beautiful red casing after smoking.

              Tips - get more casings than you will use. They keep and I have found that I need just a tad bit more than what they spec them out at... And since you are new at this you may waste a bit with blowouts.
              The seasoning is for 25 lbs and has the appropriate amount of cure in a separate packet...if you make less than 25 lbs, you will need to accurately divide the cure for the amount of sticks that you make (read this as an accurate gram level scale). When I add the cure, I dissolve it in some liquid and add that as I believe it to more evenly distribute when I'm mixing it.

              Here is my typical process and I use my grinder to help mix things up...
              Course Grind
              Season and cure (cure dissolved in water or beer and then rough mix by hand)
              Fine Regrind
              Mix in Cheese cubes by hand and add rest of liquid
              Stuff
              Rest overnight
              Smoke slowly to 160°
              Eat the hell out of 'em.

              My last 25 lb batch...I'll add them here since photobucket effed up my posts (have I mentioned lately that they can kiss my ass?)






              I added extra dehydrated jalapenos to the jalapeno mix - do this at the cheese add stage.


              This pic has both clear and smoke (mahogany) casings... The lighter red sticks are in the clear casings.
              Last edited by BBQ Engineer; 11-29-2017, 08:33 PM.
              BBQ Eng.

              The "Cow Girls" were adopted from the shelter, and found on petfinder.com.
              Adopt a homeless pet - http://www.petfinder.com
              I built the Iron Maiden - Iron Maiden Smoker Build

              Over 5000 unreadable posts...Photobucket can kiss my ass...they will never get a dime. I will not pay a ransom.

              Comment


              • #8
                It’s a labor of love for sure. And I’d love one Dana
                In God I trust- All others pay cash...
                Check out the Mad Hunky and products at https://madhunkymeats.com or https://www.facebook.com/MadHunkyMeats
                Lang 60D, The Beast, 18 and 22 WSM, Brinkmann Backroads trailer, Weber 22 Kettle, gutted MB burning watts

                Comment


                • #9
                  Originally posted by Blinginpse View Post
                  Can you tell a difference by using ale or other beers to that matter?
                  ALWAYS use a good beer. Newcastle Brown is my call.
                  In God I trust- All others pay cash...
                  Check out the Mad Hunky and products at https://madhunkymeats.com or https://www.facebook.com/MadHunkyMeats
                  Lang 60D, The Beast, 18 and 22 WSM, Brinkmann Backroads trailer, Weber 22 Kettle, gutted MB burning watts

                  Comment


                  • #10
                    Originally posted by BBQ Engineer View Post
                    My favorite snack sticks are put together like this...



                    Order a snack stick mix (they come with the right amount of cure...Willie's is one of my favorites.) They say you can add ECA if you want an extra tang, but I never have used it. Maybe I'll experiment with that next time.



                    Grab some high temp cheese if you want that. The last few batches of snack sticks I made were without...I didn't miss it and figured that it only served to up the cost of my sticks, but it is a personal preference.



                    Grab some casings. I prefer collagen casings...super easy to work with and very uniform. I have used the smoke and the clear...both produce a beautiful red casing after smoking.



                    Tips - get more casings than you will use. They keep and I have found that I need just a tad bit more than what they spec them out at... And since you are new at this you may waste a bit with blowouts.

                    The seasoning is for 25 lbs and has the appropriate amount of cure in a separate packet...if you make less than 25 lbs, you will need to accurately divide the cure for the amount of sticks that you make (read this as an accurate gram level scale). When I add the cure, I dissolve it in some liquid and add that as I believe it to more evenly distribute when I'm mixing it.



                    Here is my typical process and I use my grinder to help mix things up...

                    Course Grind

                    Season and cure (cure dissolved in water or beer and then rough mix by hand)

                    Fine Regrind

                    Mix in Cheese cubes by hand and add rest of liquid

                    Stuff

                    Rest overnight

                    Smoke slowly to 160°

                    Eat the hell out of 'em.



                    My last 25 lb batch...I'll add them here since photobucket effed up my posts (have I mentioned lately that they can kiss my ass?)













                    I added extra dehydrated jalapenos to the jalapeno mix - do this at the cheese add stage.





                    This pic has both clear and smoke (mahogany) casings... The lighter red sticks are in the clear casings.



                    Dude.....killer thanks very very much for taking the time to do this and explain. I'll go order it now. I have gotten confirmation my stuffer has shipped. Glad they come in 25# batches of seasons that's how it was with the brats and I liked that.


                    Quick question what ration y'all use for lean vs fat 80-20 70-30 60-40?

                    Comment


                    • #11
                      Originally posted by Richtee View Post
                      ALWAYS use a good beer. Newcastle Brown is my call.


                      You use all beer for liquid or do you go half water half beer?

                      On my brats last year for the beer and cheddar and cheddar jalapeņo I used a local brew called devils backbone. They turned out great. I'll look to see if Newcastle brown is local and give that a try

                      Comment


                      • #12
                        Originally posted by Blinginpse View Post
                        Glad they come in 25# batches of seasons that's how it was with the brats and I liked that.
                        Heh..wait till ya run 25 Lbs stix... PHEW!

                        Umm keep yer stix lean. Use a Newcastle for lube. Enjoy!
                        In God I trust- All others pay cash...
                        Check out the Mad Hunky and products at https://madhunkymeats.com or https://www.facebook.com/MadHunkyMeats
                        Lang 60D, The Beast, 18 and 22 WSM, Brinkmann Backroads trailer, Weber 22 Kettle, gutted MB burning watts

                        Comment


                        • #13
                          Originally posted by Richtee View Post
                          Heh..wait till ya run 25 Lbs stix... PHEW!



                          Umm keep yer stix lean. Use a Newcastle for lube. Enjoy!


                          Yes sir lean it will be.

                          Have you guys made beef sticks from hamburger? I intend to do deer sticks but idea of lean hamburger came to mind since I'm about to kill a 1000# beef.

                          Comment


                          • #14
                            Ok boys Willie snack stick mix collagen casings and high temp cheddar has been ordered from waltons. 65$

                            Comment


                            • #15
                              All beer. Life is short. More beer. That is all.
                              In God I trust- All others pay cash...
                              Check out the Mad Hunky and products at https://madhunkymeats.com or https://www.facebook.com/MadHunkyMeats
                              Lang 60D, The Beast, 18 and 22 WSM, Brinkmann Backroads trailer, Weber 22 Kettle, gutted MB burning watts

                              Comment

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