Deer sticks

[Mike3888]

Picked up my early Md primitive harvest today. Teriyaki, Honey and Pepper sticks. Ended up with 46 pounds minus the backstraps of that old girl. Just finishing vacuum sealing and stuffing the freezer. These things don’t last long between family and friends.

 

[Ninering62]

Picked up my early Md primitive harvest today. Teriyaki, Honey and Pepper sticks. Ended up with 46 pounds minus the backstraps of that old girl. Just finishing vacuum sealing and stuffing the freezer. These things don’t last long between family and friends.

30 sum yrs ago I got introduced to deer sticks by the guys I hunted & fished with. There is a fam run butcher shop in Waldorf or Laplata that made them. They became a staple in my hunting & fishing gear. I’ve missed having them since I moved out of Md 10yrs ago.
A brother in MML has shared his amazing deer snack sticks with me the last two yrs which I have immensely enjoyed.
Enjoy those tasty treats.

 

[Mike3888]

30 sum yrs ago I got introduced to deer sticks by the guys I hunted & fished with. There is a fam run butcher shop in Waldorf or Laplata that made them. They became a staple in my hunting & fishing gear. I’ve missed having them since I moved out of Md 10yrs ago.
A brother in MML has shared his amazing deer snack sticks with me the last two yrs which I have immensely enjoyed.
Enjoy those tasty treats.

I’ve used these people for a very long time and is also a family run meat market. The last few years they weren’t taking deer brought in from out of state unless it was cut up because of CWD, I have no issues with it but sometimes the weather is the deciding factor on me doing it. Found out last year they started to take whole deer again. Win Win for us..

 

[Bkusch53]

Do you save anything by vacuum sealing yourself?
My processor charges $7 a pound already sealed. more if you add cheese or jalapeno.

 

[Mike3888]

Do you save anything by vacuum sealing yourself?
My processor charges $7 a pound already sealed. more if you add cheese or jalapeno.

These people I use do not offer vacuum sealing unfortunately. They process so much apparently it’s not cost effective on their side. Every time I’ve picked up or dropped off they always have a line.. I also prefer to be able to put what amount I want in bags.

 

[Bkusch53]

Can I ask what they charge to make them?

 

[edmehlig]

I tell my butcher to start at the nose and when you get to the tail cut it off and make pepperoni sticks. He charges $4.50 a lb.

 

[Mike3888]

Can I ask what they charge to make

https://www.charlesilyesfamily.com/
I have plenty of bologna. Deer before this one got made into bologna.

 

[MrTom]

Deer sticks are very expensive to make, largely due to the cost of the casings and the fact that the casings will not handle stuffing pressure very well. The meat mix has to be fairly wet so it flows through the stuffer tube easily and because its wet the smallest deviation in stuffing pressure can blow out the casing because the wet meat weakens the casing. Starting and stopping the stuffing to cut out a blowout gets old. I use a mechanical stuffer where shops generally use an electric or hydraulic stuffers and often cannot set pressure low enough to prevent blowouts.

If the shop uses the smaller 19mm casings they have an increase in stuffing headaches. Personally I use 21mm casings and have pretty much gotten the blowouts resolved. I did a hair over 50 pounds of sticks in January and never blew a casing. It took about 2 hours to stuff that quantity.

 

[Bkusch53]

I wanted to try the venison bologna by my guy doesn't do it.. Might take a crack at it myself next year

 

[Jitterbug]

@MrTom -

Are those “collagen” casings, or what kind?

My favorite meat market makes their beef sticks in natural casings. I like the “snap” it gives them.

Owners are retiring soon… and I question whether they will find someone to buy the business.

I asked, “What am I going to do, for beef sticks?”

Owner said, “I’ll give the buyer all of my recipes, but I guarantee they won’t make them the same as I do- too much work!”

I’ve done some smoking, and a very little sausage making… maybe I’ll have to get into making my own.

My annual vow for virtually anything hobby-related:
“Next year, for SURE!”

 

[MrTom]

There are two kinds of collagen casings that are of snack stick size: smoked and fresh. Both are edible. The fresh collagen are thin walled and will not hold up to smoking especially if the sticks are being hung. "Smoked" casings will withstand the rigors of smoking and have a nice "snap" to them when being bit off.
Sheep casings and smaller "smoked" collogen casings are both very spendy and both are prone to blow-outs if stuffing pressures and stuffing too fast if one has little or no experience. If you are going to spend the time and money to try your hand at sausage making and have sticks in the mix, do yourself a favor before you even get started and buy a 5 pound vertical crank stuffer along with a sticks tube. Get the metal tube that fits your stuffer. Trying to stuff of the grinder is a lesson in futility.

Honestly, and I am certain Shorty will pipe in on this, there is no more satisfying culmination to a hunt than properly blending fat pork/venison and seasonings, then grinding and stuffing and smoking you own sticks. Summer sausage will be a snap for you, and I'd bet ring bologna will be added to your list soon afterward. Then you'll discover fresh pork breakfast sausage and bratwurst, both done in natural casings.

 

[Shorty]

I agree with everything MrTom says above. I have made a lot of different smoked meats. Getting the proper mix ratios of meat to pork is a little tricky but they all come out good in the end. For me my snack sticks are a must a couple times a year. They are outstanding and a cold beverage with them is a real treat. What I learned the hard way was that if the meat was too dry it will not go through the stuffer, easy fix add more water or pickle juice from your jalapeño side mix. They often soak them in water to lesson the hot bite it you choose hotter sticks.
I prefer to use the 19 mm cases as the sticks are skinnier, i add 10 percent cheese to mine and follow the package directions . In a 25 lb. batch i only use 3 lbs. of pork, this makes the sticks more firmer as pork makes the product more softer.
Getting the grinder, stuffer, smoker are the pricer things you’ll need but once gotten, you’re set to go for years. Here is a few picks on how i do mine with the seasoning i love.

 

[Bkusch53]

Definitely going to try the bologna. It's doesn't get smoked does it?

 

[MrTom]

Definitely going to try the bologna. It's doesn't get smoked does it?

Ring bologna? Yes, its typically a smoked sausage.

I'm going to toss this in here on smoking.

Smoking is a very individual process. Its something that each person should develop over several sessions, maybe even over years. The only three things I am a real stickler on is using cure in any meat that is going to be smoked [ and yes that includes the fish I smoke ] and getting the cured meat's smoked temperature to at least 152 degrees AND keeping an absolutely clean work area. Aside from those three things I think the sky's the limit. Play with this stuff and it will reward you. Much like working up black powder loads, keeping good, concise notes is imperative too.

Lots of people smoke their sausage until the internal temp has risen to the point that the cure has done its work and continued smoking until the sausage is done to their finished texture preference. The smoke does not have to be running while the sausage is finishing. Smaller sausages like the sticks finish quicker than say, ring bologna or summer sausage, but because they are thin the smoke can get overbearing if too much smoking time is used. A lot of this will depend on the product - sawdust, pellets, pucks or chunk wood - used to create the smoke. Regardless of the preferred finish texture of the meat, it has to reach at least 152 degrees for the cure to do its work completely and it's recommended that the temp gets to 162 and I find I get a better tasting product by doing the smoke at the beginning of the process rather than thru the entire process. This of course is my personal preference and most certainly not a hard and fast rule.

With sticks I fill the cabinet with the strings of meat, then I close and latch it. Next, I start the smoker with the smoke working right off. I keep my heat at about 170 degrees for about 4 hours, letting the smoke run out at around the 3-hour mark and a 21mm snack stick is finished. At 4 hours the heat is killed and the meat is left in the cabinet until its cool. Then I hang the links on a rod in the garage for two days to mellow before trimming to length and vacuum sealing them.

Summer sausage and ring bologna are much thicker and require a longer cooking time. I refer to it as cooking time even though its is actively smoking during much of the time. I hang these sausages in the cabinet then start the heat only. I get the links to about 90 degrees, then start the smoke and lift the cabinet temp a bit but not much. Smoke is going on for four hours and then is halted but the cabinet heat is still cooking the sausage until the internal temp hits 152-154 degrees in all of the links, then the heat is killed, and the sticks left in the closed cabinet until completely cooled. Way too many people smoke the death out of sausage thinking they need smoke going on it the whole while. The warmed links will suck smoke like crazy and 4 hours will leave a nice bark on the meat in the casing and when the heat is shut down at 152 degrees and the cabinet yet closed up the temp inside the links will continue to rise for maybe thirty minutes and will get very close to 160 degrees which assures of a safe product.

On ring bologna, I used to smoke it for a couple hours then use boiling water to finish it but that got to be too much of a hassle and some collogen casings would split, creating other issues. I smoke my bologna just like I do my summer and its excellent and when cooked with sauerkraut or other foods its not the least bit dry.

I know I have mentioned the venison/pork ratio I use here and will do so again. 50/50, very lean, clean venison to pork shoulder minus the bone and gristle. I use all of the shoulder meat and fat. This stand for all of my summer, bologna and sticks. Others may choose to change the ratio to fit their own tastes and preferences and that fine because there really is no carved in stone ratio of pork to venison.

I mentioned a clean work environment above. This is important in every aspect of making sausage. I keep at least two ice cream buckets of mild bleach water and clean wash clothes available at all times. Take time to wipe up bloody surfaces especially any clotted blood or hair of membrane that's stuck to the cutting surface. Its amazing how fast these always present elements can sour and spoil a batch of meat. I use one bucket for the sole purpose of cleaning my knives and when a knife needs it, take time to wash it and sharpen it. Dull knives may get your blood in a batch of meat in a blink.

 

[Bkusch53]

Dang, what a wealth of knowledge right there!!! Like I hit the jackpot....Any bologna recipe you'd share?

 

[MrTom]

Dang, what a wealth of knowledge right there!!! Like I hit the jackpot....Any bologna recipe you'd share?

I just use Walton's bologna seasoning and their casings. I use their summer sausage, stick and jerky seasonings too. I can list them if you want.

www.waltonsinc.com

 

[Shorty]

There is another method that you can use to make your bologna. You can cook it in the oven and use liquid smoke in the recipe. I have heard of people doing this in smaller batches.

 

[Bkusch53]

I just use Walton's bologna seasoning and their casings. I use their summer sausage, stick and jerky seasonings too. I can list them if you want.

www.waltonsinc.com

Thanks. I think I can google Waltons

 

[MrTom]

When I am smoking summer and bologna, I use this thermometer in the meat....

https://buythermopro.com/product/tp27/

With the four probes I can place them randomly is sticks or rings in the cabinet to watch for hot spots developing. I have an app on my phone which allows me to be anywhere within 500 feet and be able to read each probe independently.