To finish sticks in water bath or not?

[zombini]

I have 10lbs of snack sticks in the MES 40 presently. Contemplating finishing in the water bath.
At what temp do you water bath and for how long?
Do you vacuum pack and then remove from the vac bag after water bathing, then revac?

thanks z

[Mark R]

If you can vac bag them in a single layer, 150 for 3ish hours. No reason the rebag.

on edit; make sure they are fully dried in the smoker.

[zombini]

Thanks Mark...i just finished them in the smoker to 154... they seem a little dry.... good reason to finish in the bath i guess.



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[Mark R]

Look Good from here!

[driedstick]

Looks good to me,,, what is your recipe,,, Did you use NFDM or anything like that to retain moisture?? what was your fat ratio??

Never have done water bath may have to try some day.

[zombini]

Looks good to me,,, what is your recipe,,, Did you use NFDM or anything like that to retain moisture?? what was your fat ratio??

Never have done water bath may have to try some day.

After chilling and nibbling on all afternoon they are growing on me. They are not dry, just have some integrity to them. I cheated and used 80/20 burger on sale at the local grocery and seasoned with Dobesh smoked sausage seasoning from Allied Kenco. When I deer hunted we used it to make summer sausage, fresh links and smoked sausage. This is the first time I used it for sticks. I added a little binder I had on hand from butcher packer and 1/2 can of beer which was not enough. I thought I was going to strip the gears on the 5lb Lem stuffer.
z

[dward51]

Ain't nothing wrong with those sticks at all. Fine looking product!!!!!

If you used the B&P #414 binder, did you let it sit in the fridge overnight? That stuff does get real stiff. I like it though and generally use it all the time. I've found that I use some beer or other liquid to mix the seasoning (with the #414 phosphate binder) and then let it sit overnight in the fridge like normal. Then I add another bit of beer/liquid just before stuffing to help loosen the mix back up as it is pretty stiff after sitting. The 414 will still have enough action to firm it back up and retain moisture as it finishes. Makes a great texture stick.

I usually finish mine in the smoker. If you are going to vacuum pack most of the sticks, there is no reason not to pull them at 140* as the meat should be mostly set for shape at that point and then bag and straight into the sous vide or Nesco roaster bath to finish at 152 to 154*. They are then already bagged for refrigeration or freezing as well. I do this with summer sausage all the time and it should work just fine for sticks.

[zombini]

Ain't nothing wrong with those sticks at all. Fine looking product!!!!!

If you used the B&P #414 binder, did you let it sit in the fridge overnight? That stuff does get real stiff. I like it though and generally use it all the time. I've found that I use some beer or other liquid to mix the seasoning (with the #414 phosphate binder) and then let it sit overnight in the fridge like normal. Then I add another bit of beer/liquid just before stuffing to help loosen the mix back up as it is pretty stiff after sitting. The 414 will still have enough action to firm it back up and retain moisture as it finishes. Makes a great texture stick.

I usually finish mine in the smoker. If you are going to vacuum pack most of the sticks, there is no reason not to pull them at 140* as the meat should be mostly set for shape at that point and then bag and straight into the sous vide or Nesco roaster bath to finish at 152 to 154*. They are then already bagged for refrigeration or freezing as well. I do this with summer sausage all the time and it should work just fine for sticks.

Thanks Dave for the good information........I did use that binder and let meat set in fridge for a while. I usually stuff immediately.

[DanMcG]

Great looking sticks!

[HawgHeaven]

Grate looking stix z... I'd say ya' done gooood!

[Richtee]

Thanks Dave for the good information........I did use that binder and let meat set in fridge for a while. I usually stuff immediately.

Yeah..some of that stuff sets up like concrete. I try to avoid using them if I can.

[dward51]

Another thing I have noticed is since I started using the B&P 414 binder, I have seen zero casing separation of the collagen casings after the sticks dried a little more. The meat seems to shrink less (well duh, less moisture and fat loss is what the binder is supposed to do) and the meat sticks to the casings better. To my eye, the phosphate binder makes for a better finished product (with excellent mouth feel texture as well).

For those who have not tried phosphates in their sausage making, you should give it a try. It's not expensive and you only use a very small amount (a little goes a long way). Butcher & Packer #414 is what I'm using now, but I have also used AmesPhos. Works great in sticks, summer sausage, and I'm thinking about using it in pretty much everything. I've even seen a discussion in another forum about using it in ground beef for premium burgers (but have not tried this yet).

[Bearcarver]

Hey Z,
I can't help you with any technical stuff on Sticks, other than to say-----

Your Sticks Look GREAT !!!! ---

Nice Job!

Bear

[TKOBBQ]

Tasty looking sticks.