Smoked Meat Sticks

[Rick]

AKA: Slim Jims

Just one of my things i been into since 1975.

Made these for a friend in Sept.
Heading to Paducah. Told Cathey last year i would make some for her. Sweet Slim Jims.
Used 19mm smoked edible collagen casings.

Ready to cut the ends down some.

Close to the same length.

Ready to go.

[Dave]

Looks great! Would you be willing to provide a recipe and a quick how-to narrative? I’d love to make this.

[Rick]

quote Bittle” post=8589:

Looks great! Would you be willing to provide a recipe and a quick how-to narrative? I’d love to make this.

This recipe is a non UMAi product. I use smoked edible collagen casings and cure #1
The mix i use is AC LEGGS #116 Stick mix.

Measuring is as follows for the dry.
5 lbs 80/20 or 85/15 ground beef or game (you will need to add some fat for game meat) Use good quality ground beef you can see in the package, NOT the cheap walmart 5lb chub of meat.
8-9 Tbs of the #116 (taste raw here if you can. if needed add 1more Tbs) Easier to add than to take out.
1 level tsp cure #1
2 Tbs table grind black pepper
1/2 cup honey.
NOTE: Feel free to add other ingredients like jalapeno powder, red pepper flakes and so on but remember the heat will decrease the sweetness so you may have to adjust the honey. I dont mind tasting raw meat but others dont. This is the way i can add more if needed. Making a small patty and frying it will disrupt the flavore content.

Combine the dry together and mix very well in a zip lock bag. After the dry has mixed i put it in a shaker jar.
Shake the mix into the meat, mix by hand or use a Kitchen Aid stand mixer with the dough hook. Re pete with the dry while mixing until all the dry has been incorporated into the meat. Lastly add the honey and mix well. The meat mix will be sticky.

I put the mix in a gallon zip lock bag and fridge overnight. My stuffer is a LEM 5lb horizontal and i use 19mm smoked collagen casings. Normally i hang these on dowels in my smoker but this time i put them on racks.

Below is how i have done my time and temps for 33 years which has worked well for me.

Here is the temp and time scale i use for most of my sausage making. I use this for chubs and sticks. Please note that
YOUR RESULTS MAY VARY.

Outside weather conditions can also have a big part of how long it takes the meat to target IT.

TRY NOT TO EXCEED SMOKER TEMPS OF 170

I do not use a meat probe while smoking, the probe can cause fat cavitation and give false readings. Use a Thermapen to check IT of meat. I know that opening the door is going to increase your time, just the nature of the game.

Sweet slim jims and sweet lebanon bologna are very popular in Amish areas of Lancaster County, PA where we lived for many years.

Hang your stuffed casings at room temp for 2 hours to dry and set. Have your smoker pre heated at 130* I use a Masterbuilt electric. Keep your top vent open. Closing the vent off will increase moisture inside your smoker and give you an unpleasant discoloration on your product. Remember this is semi dry sausage, not dripping prime rib.

1. Hang in smoker at 130* for 2 hours (no smoke)
2. 140* for 1.5-2 hrs smoke (Use of a water pan is your call)
3. 150* for 2.5 hrs (smoke opt)
4. 160 for 2.5-3 hrs (smoke opt) check meat IT here from the top of the chubs. You may have a stall in this time period.
5. Increase smoke temp to 170* (opt smoke) For 3-4 hrs. Check IT again, You should be close to your target IT of 152.
6. Important DO NOT GO HIGHER than 170* ON YOUR SMOKER OR YOU WILL RISK A FAT-OUT. CHECK IT OFTEN
7. If you dont have time to do a complete smoke you can use hot water to finish to your IT. DO NOT EXCEED A WATER TEMP OF 165 AND MOVE THE CHUBS/STICKS AROUND IN THE WATER. Cold water bath after your IT is up to you.

Hope this helps you some.

[Dave]

Thank you very much, I appreciate you providing all this information…I’ll be making this very soon. Quick question. For the smoking part, is this a cold smoker? I own a BGE but not a electric cold smoker, though I’ll be happy to purchase one despite the wife’s complaints.

[Rick]

quote Bittle” post=8595:

Thank you very much, I appreciate you providing all this information…I’ll be making this very soon. Quick question. For the smoking part, is this a cold smoker? I own a BGE but not a electric cold smoker, though I’ll be happy to purchase one despite the wife’s complaints.

No these are not cold smoked. Heat is used throughout the process.

I use a TSM 30lb digital smoker.
The
Sausage
Maker =TSM

I have used all types of electric smokers from Bradleys, Masterbuilts you name it. TSM Smoker is the best i have used and built in the USA Buffalo, NY

[Dave]

Although your smoker is clearly the best alternative, i’m wondering if there’s any way to use my Webber grill (indirect heat) to achieve the same outcome? I can easily achieve those temps (130-150) in my Webber gas grill. Would it be okay to rest the casings on the grills (turn them occasionally) rather then hang them. Again, I realize your smoker is by far the better alternative, I’m just spit-balling here (and trying to save money). Thanks again for your time.

[Rick]

quote Bittle” post=8597:

Although your smoker is clearly the best alternative, i’m wondering if there’s any way to use my Webber grill (indirect heat) to achieve the same outcome? I can easily achieve those temps (130-150) in my Webber gas grill. Would it be okay to rest the casings on the grills (turn them occasionally) rather then hang them. Again, I realize your smoker is by far the better alternative, I’m just spit-balling here (and trying to save money). Thanks again for your time.

Im sure you can with indirect het. I have a friend who made a sausage hanger for his MAK pellet grill and it works great for him. Maybe think about some frog mats to put on the grates this way you wont have grate marks on the sticks, they are food safe and can with stand heat, you can google them. If you use FaceBook you can join my group sausage, smoked, fresh and dry cured. I also run a UMAi FB group and Thea COO of UMAi helps with moderating.

[Dave]

Okay, great. I think I’m going to try doing them on my grill, while at the same time I begin working on the wife to permit the purchase of yet another toy (electric smoker). I appreciate all your time and all the information you have provided.

[Rick]

quote Bittle” post=8599:

Okay, great. I think I’m going to try doing them on my grill, while at the same time I begin working on the wife to permit the purchase of yet another toy (electric smoker). I appreciate all your time and all the information you have provided.

Your Welcome.

If you have any questions just ask.

[Olly Halleux]

Hey. Is your Umai Facebook group different from the Umai commercial one? Did a search and only found one. Cheers Olly

[Rick]

quote Olly Halleux” post=8602:

Hey. Is your Umai Facebook group different from the Umai commercial one? Did a search and only found one. Cheers Olly

Yes my FB UMAi group is not associated with the UMAi commercial group. Thea (COO) Of UMAi helps with the moderation of my group.

https://www.facebook.com/groups/666563176776694/

[Dave]

Oh, one more thing. After the cold water bath are they ready to eat? Or, should they be refrigerated for a period of time? Thanks!

[Rick]

quote Bittle” post=8605:

Oh, one more thing. After the cold water bath are they ready to eat? Or, should they be refrigerated for a period of time? Thanks!

Cold water is to stop the cooking process in the meat. Not saying you should not do this.

Lets say your IT of the meat is at 152* Yes cold dunk them just for a min to stop the heat. Now if you check the meat IT and its at 149-150 You can pull from the smoker, skip the cold water and hang or rack the sausage at room temp and they will IT by themselves.

I put the sausage in brown paper bags and in the fridge a couple days before cutting and vac sealing but this is your call. They are ready to eat right out of the smoker if you wish.

Target IT of the meat your looking for is 151-152* Anything higher your risking a fat-out of the meat and it will be greasy.

[Author]

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