Snack Sticks

[Beaver Camp Sausage Company]

Guys and Gals I need some help. I have been a lot of snack sticks lately they turn out flavor wise and the color and texter but I can not get them to firm up. The biggest question I have from my customers is can you make it so it snaps when you eat it. My thought is that I need to cook it longer at Lowe temps to get the moisture out. I start out around 100 for the first our or so with the vents open to get the moisture out then slowly ramp up to about 170 till I get my temp. I love the flavor but can not get it to cooperate with how firm the sticks turn out. Any thoughts or tips would be great. Thanks!

[Fishawn]

What type of casings are you using?....... I do them with Sheep casing & get a nice snap & do the same process as you described in the smoker..... I have some of the collagen casings, but have never used them.

[Jimr]

Could it be that you are not stuffing the casings tight enough??

[Beaver Camp Sausage Company]

I am using collagen casings. I get a pretty good pack in my casings I am using an LEM stuffer and it does a great job. What internal temp do you shoot for? I shoot for 155-160.

[Fishawn]

You may wanna try natural casings if you are looking for the snap?

I smoke/cook to an internal temp of at least 152* & as high as 162* as I recall.

Here's some I recently did.....
http://www.smoked-meat.com/forum/showthread.php?t=8651

[9manfan]

Guys and Gals I need some help. I have been a lot of snack sticks lately they turn out flavor wise and the color and texter but I can not get them to firm up. The biggest question I have from my customers is can you make it so it snaps when you eat it. My thought is that I need to cook it longer at Lowe temps to get the moisture out. I start out around 100 for the first our or so with the vents open to get the moisture out then slowly ramp up to about 170 till I get my temp. I love the flavor but can not get it to cooperate with how firm the sticks turn out. Any thoughts or tips would be great. Thanks!

I've had the same problem, sticks taste fine but the casing's are loose on some of the sticks, they are stuffed full also, so I don't think that is the problem, I'm doing a batch this sunday and I'm going to try smoking them longer at the lower temps to see if that helps, I'll let you know how they turn out,,

[curious aardvark]

Guys and Gals I need some help. I have been a lot of snack sticks lately they turn out flavor wise and the color and texter but I can not get them to firm up. The biggest question I have from my customers is can you make it so it snaps when you eat it. My thought is that I need to cook it longer at Lowe temps to get the moisture out. I start out around 100 for the first our or so with the vents open to get the moisture out then slowly ramp up to about 170 till I get my temp. I love the flavor but can not get it to cooperate with how firm the sticks turn out. Any thoughts or tips would be great. Thanks!

Actually it's the opposite. you need to cook them at a higher temperature and shorter time.
Also grind the meat less fine. Or mix a coarse and fine grind together to give a blend.

Reasoning being: At higher temps the muscle fibres contract more giving a firmer end product, having larger chunks of muscle fibre in the sausage (coarser grind) will also help firm it up.

Losing more moisture will not make it firmer, just drier - in fact you need to retain as much moisture as possible to keep it plump and firm.
So don't start low and raise the temp. just throw the stix in a the higher temp.

Try a test cook of a couple of pounds say 1-2 hours at 250 - 300, but no less than 250.
I'd be inclined to take a few out at 1 hour, then a few more at 1 1/2 hours and a few more at 2 hours.

The lower a temp you cook it at the softer it'll probably be.
I find that the stix I cook in the dehydrator are always softer than those that go in the smoker, where the temps are prone to the occasional spike.

It wouldn't hurt to use some oats in the mix either. As these seriously help maintain moisture, which keeps it firm and juicy and adds the 'snap'.

If you want it chewier, then longer and low to dry it out is the way to go.
But if you want it firmer, then hotter and quicker should do the job.
And less fat never hurts

[Beaver Camp Sausage Company]

I have no problem with it drying out they are quite moist actually. The hot and fast I have not done but I will give it a try. Everything I have read about making sausage and other smoked goods it says to cook slow to keep the fat and flavor from oozing out at higher temps. That is why I have been doing that, at this point I am willing to try anything. So I will give it a shot and if that does not work I will try the natural casings. Thanks guys for the info.

[Richtee]

Natural casings will give more snap as Fish mentioned...and the higher temps should help as well...

Good calls guys!

[Beaver Camp Sausage Company]

Great stuff thanks guys, I will be making the needed adjustments and looking forward to the results.

[curious aardvark]

shouldn't have a problem with fat escaping - that's what the oats help prevent, powdered skimmed milk will also do a similiar job, and I believe rich sometimes uses gelatin as well.
Also you'd be cooking for a lot shorter time, so while the fat might melt, as long as you get them straight into a water bath, it shouldn't pool or leak.

another thing - how are you storing them after cooking ?
I find that with the collagen casing, when they are cooked the casings are dry and crispy. But after vacpacking some of the moisture in the sausage gets squeezed out and the casings get moist and floppy again. These days I pretty much peel all my sanckstix after vacpacking.

I don 't have sufficient temperature control to follow the long slow build up that rytek recommends - and so far have never had any problems.
All the sausage pretty much comes out as I wnat it to. Using much highe temps than the commercial guys typically recommend.
But I am using less fat ('cos I just don't like high fat sausages) and a moisture binding agent (oats).

I did accidentally make a batch of snackstix up a month or 2 back without the oats (just plain forgot to add them) and there was a noticeable diference in texture and fat pooling round the casing.
Lesson learnt :-)

And if you're worried about people thinking you're making them eat healthy sausages - just don't tell them

[travcoman45]

I use the collagen casin, plenty a snap there. I start my smoke out at a 130° fer an hour, then up it ta 140° fer two hours then go ta 180° till I get a internal of a 155°. They be nice an firm an still juicy. Ain't had no complaints on em yet.

Run the dampers wide open durin the 130 dryin, then half on the rest a the smoke.