Snack sticks using beef

[lbnaz]

 I'm planning a run of snack sticks, if using beef to make snack sticks why not use pre ground beef (as opposed to grinding your own), you can get 80% or 90% lean  & it seems to me it would save a bunch of work. I'm thinking of doing a batch this way & thought I'd check to see what negatives there are to doing this.
 
 Another question, does the addition of pork help the favor profile? planning to use the Walton Pepper stix seasoning.
 Thanks
Any info is appreciated.

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[Grampy]

Larry, I do this all the time using store bought ground beef without any issues. My only advice is to use lean ground beef to avoid a lot of grease and to prevent much shrinkage.

[lbnaz]

Thanks for the reply, I bought some 90% lean and will stuff either tonight or tomorrow morning. Do you regrind after you add the seasonings?
 I make polish and Italian sausage and use a course grind, I think the snack sticks would need a finer grind than I am used to.
 I have been wanting to make these since I bought the smoker. Looking forward to the end results.

[Grampy]

Thanks for the reply, I bought some 90% lean and will stuff either tonight or tomorrow morning. Do you regrind after you add the seasonings?

Larry, no I don't regrind. I take the store bought ground beef and mix the seasoning in and stuff using 19 mm casings. I usually let the snack sticks sit in the fridge over night after they are stuffed and then smoke the next day.

[NDKoze]

We use pre-ground beef all the time. We have had years where our deer harvest has been low where we have had to add ground beef to our usual venison/pork mix. We have use both 80% and 93% depending on beef prices.

We usually make our sticks in the Fall when we have cooler evenings, so we just hang our sticks on racks in the garage.

Regarding the use of pork, yes I do think that the pork adds to the flavor profile especially when using lean venison or ground beef. We usually use about 1/3 pork.

The Excalibur seasonings from Walton's are the best that I have tried. I've been using them for close to 15 years now.

Good luck with your sticks and make sure to take/share some pics.

[lbnaz]

Thanks for all the Info. The sticks came out ok.  I had a problem with some of them getting burnt. I found too late that the ones on the shelf just above the wood box get too hot. I don't think I will use that position in the future for sticks. I also was having problems getting a good internal temperature reading, I gave up after a while and just went with visual.
 I added Encapsulated citrus acid based on info at Walton's, I didn't like the taste of it so I will not do that again. It was a learning experience, I think I will try smaller batches til I get the taste and technique down. Til then I have approx 18LB left to eat. I froze them in several small vacuum seal bags.
 I will try adding pork to next batch and maybe try different seasonings (Tried the pepper stix mix add Walton's).

[NDKoze]

Did you rotate your racks at all?

I rotate my racks top to bottom and front to back several times during my smack stick smokes. I usually end up having to use 6 racks and the ones closer to the element definitely get done faster, thus the need for the rotation.

I have had trouble probing too. Plus it is a pain with the wired probes when rotating the racks. So I go more by look and feel. I am hoping that when I get my wireless Meager probes they will work better for smack sticks.