What company makes the best snack stick recipes?

[Shorty]

Going to try my hand at making snack sticks. Any suggestions as to which recipe is a good one to use? Thank you, shorty..

 

[j_jim]

I follow Waltons Inc recipes and their Willies snack stick seasoning has been a big hit. Usually a mix of deer and pork butt, sometimes with added high temp cheese.

 

[Shorty]

Thank you JJ. I am very familiar with the waltons as i just ordered their 11 pound stuffer. I did not order any spices yet. Was waiting to hear from people like you. I will try that Willie's seasoning, sounds great. Your picture is making me hungry. Also what is the ratio of deer meat to pork butt you use? Thank you shorty..

 

[MrTom]

View attachment 18067
I follow Waltons Inc recipes and their Willies snack stick seasoning has been a big hit. Usually a mix of deer and pork butt, sometimes with added high temp cheese.

This ^^^^ 50-50 pork butt and venison. Use the 21 mm smoked or cured stick casings and you'll find the stuffing easier and you'll get a far better stick. That "Willies" seasoning is top shelf.

I have a 67 pound tub of ground, cured, and Willies seasoned meat to stuff into sticks tomorrow.

 

[Shorty]

Thank you Mr.Tom. I am going to order some of that there Willie's seasoning. I had to buy a sausage stuffer. When i used the smaller stuffer on my hobart no.12 grinder, it would not push the sticky snack stick meat through the stuffer. So i ordered a seperate stuffer from Walton's. Your previous post got me hungry and revved up to make some. Thank you for sharing your knowledge with us all.. shorty.

 

[bandicoot]

Shorty, only YOUR tongue can answer that question.

 

[Bphunter1974]

Once you're ready to stuff your casings put meat in freezer when it's semi froze it'll run through your grinder a lot better

 

[MrTom]

Thank you Mr.Tom. I am going to order some of that there Willie's seasoning. I had to buy a sausage stuffer. When i used the smaller stuffer on my hobart no.12 grinder, it would not push the sticky snack stick meat through the stuffer. So i ordered a seperate stuffer from Walton's. Your previous post got me hungry and revved up to make some. Thank you for sharing your knowledge with us all.. shorty.

Here ya go Shorty.... if the previous picture got you revved up, here's 67 pounds of sticks just stuffed and ready for the smoker tomorrow.

Pick up a stainless 1/4" stuffing tube and use the 21mm "smoked" casings and things will go much smoother stuffing these things. I used to do the 19mm casings but they are the pits to stuff and the product dries out so bad with them.

These are 50-50 venison/pork. I have another lug with 12 pounds of sticks that are pure venison and ready to smoke. The nephew wanted to try some straight vennie sticks so I did 12 pounds for him. I prefer the pork-venison blend myself.

 

[Shorty]

Mr.Tom..Wow, they look delicious. Just think if i was your nephew, i could sit on your couch eating snack sticks and drinking your beer. Life would be so good!!! Lmao thx again shorty, will do as you said. Experience counts...ty kindly

 

[Shorty]

Oh by the way my grinder is a hobart #12 head. A little two small on the regrind when meat is sticky. Today i found a new whole head in a 22. Should be alot better for regrinds.Great price..

 

[j_jim]

22 looks nice, and bigger should be better but "sticky meat" when grinding can be a problem no matter the size. Should be partially frozen and ice cold even going into second grind and your meat will move though much more efficiently. Your new Waltons stuffer will be a blessing for that part of the process and you will be able to move some meat quickly.

 

[Shorty]

A buddy ran the meat through his stuffer. This is the seasoning i used, Legg's. I also use their seasoning for breakfast and hot sausage, its excellent. Never tried their snack stick before until now, something i bought last year. Hope their good because i got 35# in the smoker now. I will let you guys know how it tastes. Thanks for all your help...shorty..

 

[Deersknot]

I used ths LEM peperoni flavor last batch to test. It was excellent. I used an LEM Jerkey Cannon, and did my sticks with no casing, then smoked on the pellet grill on a few slicon grill matts. Nice and firm, very easy too.

 

[Shorty]

Taste test complete. The Leggs snack stick and barbecue recipes are good. Not as great for my pallet to do again. Do not get me wrong they are just ok , i am not overly excited about their flavors. Next batch will be the Willie's. I will keep trying different recipes until i find one that makes me excited to open another package. Still looking for the great snack stick taste/recipe..

 

[MrTom]

Shorty, when I got as far into the taste testing/sampling of different seasoning blends as Willies, I put the brakes on. I just finished vacuum sealing my 67-pound batch and the nephew's 12-pound batch. Willies all the way.

I think that the only difference between stick seasoning and jerky seasoning is price. Willies makes a real nicely flavored, easy to eat without a ton of heat, stick. The Walton's Colorado jerky seasoning is a little spicier and every other year I use that in lieu of Willies. I use it the same exact way.... just cube the meats and mix them together well and add the seasoning and cure and re-mix well. I cover the lug and let the seasoning and cure work thru the meat cubes for 24 hours, then grind thru the coarse plate, switch plates and knife and re-grind thru a 1/8" plate. Grinding all done, I stuff and let rest for 24 hours then smoke, followed by oven time to get the links to 152 degrees and package/seal when cooled completely. Ma and the kids like the extra zing when they use these Colorado sticks in their Bloody Marys. I like the extra pop too. Last year I mixed the Willies and the Colorado jerky blends together to see what I got and those sticks flew out of the freezer.

I've done Leggs, Sausage Maker, LEM, High Mountain and a couple others in addition to the Waltons and the Waltons has won out hands down in every way.

 

[Shorty]

Thank you Mr.Tom for that great bit of useful information. With out a doubt that will be my next experiment. Also was wondering what that batch you made for the nephew with no pork tasted like? Was it too fine and dry? Ty again ...p.s. i will also have to try out when i am having a vodka, like a phisal stick to stir with..

 

[MrTom]

The nephew's batch smoked up nice and oven finished nice too, but I didn't bother to try it. I don't know how it happened, but everything was cut to the same lengths and in the end every package had 8 sticks in it without a single loose one to sample. As a matter of fact MY big batch filled an even 62, one pint bags with six sticks in each bag. My sticks were cut a hair longer than his. The difference in count comes from the fact that straight vennie shrinks up more than a pork/venny blend. I fried up his stuffer plug when I finished his stuffing and it was a tasty meat.

 

[ShawnT]

I use the LEM. I really like their Lower sodium one as I can't have the extra salt content of some of them. I do add a good dose of my homemade Pepper Powder, either Jalapeno or Serrano or a blend of the 2. Give it a god Kick. Somewhere between 50/50 or 75/25 Blend of Venison to Pork. Once in a while I use the same seasoning to make up some Turkey sticks too.