30 lbs of jalapeño and white cheddar snack sticks

hondabbq · January 2017

Stuffed 30 lbs of sticks at work yesterday and put them in the proofer to cook them up today.
Mi have never done them in the proofer before but with all things being equal, it's a temp controlled insulated cabinet, no outside elements to battle with keeping temps low. Just have to bump up the temp 10f every hour and rotate if necessary.
I have done several runs if stick in the past but never 30 lbs. I have only done 10 lbs based on my cooking limitations but having this cabinet at work I think will and should work just fine.

Mono there won't be any smoke on these. I don't think that every meat stick requires smoke. I have had zero complaints about not having smoke from those that have eaten them before.

Anywho, here's some pics of the load in this morning. I'll take a few more as the cook progresses. Temp was taken right after load in. It was at 140. The casings were already dry as I had my baker pull them out of the fridge when she got in this morning so I bumped it to 150 for the next 2-3 hours.

RedSkip · January 2017

@hondabbq
Hell yeah, do you want my address? I'll gladly pay for the shipping!

pab · January 2017

That is a really cool set up. What kind of stuffer did you use?

hondabbq · January 2017

pab said:

That is a really cool set up. What kind of stuffer did you use?

I used an 11lb vertical stuffer.

It it smells so good in here.

pab · January 2017

I have a 15 lb LEM vertical stuffer and according to the info they put out I need the deluxe model so the main rod doesn't bend when using such a small stuffing tube. I have really gotten into making sausages but have never done the snack sticks. Did you use the cheese made for higher heat?

hondabbq · January 2017

pab said:

I have a 15 lb LEM vertical stuffer and according to the info they put out I need the deluxe model so the main rod doesn't bend when using such a small stuffing tube. I have really gotten into making sausages but have never done the snack sticks. Did you use the cheese made for higher heat?

I have the Cabelas branded one. It was onsale when I was looking to upgrade from a 5lb plastic gear thingy. The center shaft on the Cabelas one is thick. I don't see how that would bend at all. Also if you added more water to the mix, your stuffing will slide into the horn easier.

pab · January 2017

I will check to see if the LEM stuffer has the small horn for the model I have. They do make a stuffer that has added reinforcement for making the snack sticks but didn't want to spend another $100 for it. I had a five pound model as well but since I use a couple of pork butts when I make sausage filling it several times was an added mess I didn't want to deal with. I have never added cheese, but am thinking of giving it a try. Your snack sticks look great by the way.

StillH2OEgger · January 2017

That looks outstanding. My buddy just left me with some venison sticks and those will not last long around here.

hondabbq · January 2017

StillH2OEgger said:

That looks outstanding. My buddy just left me with some venison sticks and those will not last long around here.

I love these things. I make 8 different flavors but this one and the pizza stick are my favorites hands down.

This volume of a run happened because one of my reps challenged me to building more than the normal 10 lbs I usually do. He said I should sell these things and said he could sell whatever I made. so he challenged me to make 30 lbs and I challenged him to sell them all. I made them, and he has already presold them all.

hondabbq · January 2017

pab said:

I will check to see if the LEM stuffer has the small horn for the model I have. They do make a stuffer that has added reinforcement for making the snack sticks but didn't want to spend another $100 for it. I had a five pound model as well but since I use a couple of pork butts when I make sausage filling it several times was an added mess I didn't want to deal with. I have never added cheese, but am thinking of giving it a try. Your snack sticks look great by the way.

I was just looking at the LEM site and it has the 15 lb stuffer with a 15.875 mm horn. Just put a 19 or 21 mm casing over that and let er rip.

The cabelas has a 10mm tube so your 1.5 times a big. I cant see that being a problem stuffing 19 or 21 mm casings.

StillH2OEgger · January 2017

hondabbq said:
I love these things. I make 8 different flavors but this one and the pizza stick are my favorites hands down.

This volume of a run happened because one of my reps challenged me to building more than the normal 10 lbs I usually do. He said I should sell these things and said he could sell whatever I made. so he challenged me to make 30 lbs and I challenged him to sell them all. I made them, and he has already presold them all.

That's fantastic! You certainly held up your end and it looks like he did, too.

pab · January 2017

@hondabbq - went to the LEM site and the kits they make for snack sticks has the 21mm casings. Think I will give it a try and as you suggested at a little more water. Thanks for the info.

Spaightlabs · January 2017

What'd you use for your meat and what kind of fat content?

hondabbq · January 2017

pab said:

@hondabbq - went to the LEM site and the kits they make for snack sticks has the 21mm casings. Think I will give it a try and as you suggested at a little more water. Thanks for the info.

Just be careful not too add too much water. the mix should be sticky, but not mushy. Plus the more water in the mix the longer it will take to dry out when cooking.

hondabbq · January 2017

Spaightlabs said:

What'd you use for your meat and what kind of fat content?

I have always used 50% lean ground beef and 50 % lean ground pork.

I have made some from 100 81% ground chuck.

Canugghead · January 2017

Awesome! You call that work? damn I'll work for free!

hondabbq · January 2017

Canugghead said:

Awesome! You call that work? damn I'll work for free!

I stuffed them after I was finished work yesterday and set them up on racks last night. Just had to slide them into the cabinet this morning. Not really looking after them constantly, so doesn't affect work at all.

Spaightlabs · January 2017

Nice job - jalapeño cheddar is what we do with all of our geese. We pay to get them processed, but I imagine it wouldn't take long to see the ROI to do it ourselves.

hondabbq · January 2017

The ROI will be quicker than what we spent/spend on our eggs.

hondabbq · January 2017

168 finished sticks. Bloomed overnight and ready for packaging.
The smaller insert I did something different than my normal procedure. I have read that plunging them into cold water right out of the cabinet for a couple minutes keeps them plump compared to letting them cool slowly on the counter which causes them to shrivel up more.
Looking at the pics I am a firm believer.

Killit_and_Grillit · January 2017

I swear I think between yesterday and today I've looked at this post like 7 times. I have been on the fence about starting to make these (my buddies all do jerky but I'm always very whatever about it)

I think you may have pushed me over the edge. I may be pushing you to post a recipe/flavor profile list here in the spring!! I guess I'll be scouting Bass Pro today at lunch to see what my "starter kit" options are.

hondabbq · January 2017

That's how I started. I bought a cheap stuffer and a kit or 2 to see if I liked doing it. I liked eating them but I wanted my own flavors.
Then I started adding flavors to the kits, ie pepperoni stick kit I added tomato powder and soaked dehydrated onion and Parmesan to make pizza sticks.
Mi blew out my cheapo stuffer and upgraded to metal gears and a larger capacity.
I have cure, bought a box of casings, I did buy a bulk bag of a garlic/pepper seasoning from the local butcher supply shop and I use that as a base for a few stick recipes.
Best part is you can make your seasonings and test fry prior to stuffing to see if it's the profile you like and adjust as necessary.

hondabbq · January 2017

That was a quick turnaround.

I ended up with 25x 375 gram bags of sticks. One of my reps wanted a bag of sticks so I sold him one. He took it to the gym with him last night and gave some to his buddies and it snowballed. He texted me last night saying he sold all the bags I made. Jesus.

herbu · January 2017

30 lbs of jalapeno sticks?

Life is like a jar of jalapenos. What you do today may become a burning issue tomorrow.

hondabbq · January 2017

herbu said:

30 lbs of jalapeno sticks?

Life is like a jar of jalapenos. What you do today may become a burning issue tomorrow.

Its the same mess for 10 so go big or go home I say.

20stone · January 2017

Those look awesome. Those would look pretty good wrapped in kolache dough as well.

You also appear to be headed down the tonnage slippery slope. Keep an eye out for biting off more than is fun to do.

hondabbq · January 2017

Gonna roll a couple up in some dough kind of like piggies in a blanket with some herbed cream cheese. Appy before dinner.

nolaegghead · January 2017

nice. Did you use the collagen casings?

hondabbq · January 2017

nolaegghead said:

nice. Did you use the collagen casings?

For the sticks? Yes.

Why did you ask that?

nolaegghead · January 2017

hondabbq said:

nolaegghead said:

nice. Did you use the collagen casings?

For the sticks? Yes.

Why did you ask that?

I make a lot of sausage but I've never tried the collagen. I picked some up a week ago, just wondering how they worked.

hondabbq · January 2017

nolaegghead said:

hondabbq said:

nolaegghead said:

nice. Did you use the collagen casings?

For the sticks? Yes.

Why did you ask that?

I make a lot of sausage but I've never tried the collagen. I picked some up a week ago, just wondering how they worked.

Ahh.
I only use collagen for meat sticks. For sausage I use naturals.
You can't link collagen as it has " memory" and unwinds easily. Easy to overstuff and have blowouts but only in the beginning uses. I got it down now.

What size casings did you buy?

30 lbs of jalapeño and white cheddar snack sticks

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