Any experience with ground jerky sticks?

[Deleted member 38069]

One advice from someone who has made jerky and sausage most of my life, once you have it all mixed up, let it sit in the refrigerator so the spices kind of marinate the meat and brings out the flavor. I am not fond of ground meat for jerky but I do like it for snack sticks.

I also keep everything that touches meat ice cold, which means I put all the metal pieces for my grinder or sausage stuffier in the freezer for an hour or so. Meat gets too warm, it's not as easy to work with than if you have it semi-frozen.

Thats a good idea. Last batch I was grinding got warm and it was a mess!

 

[WyoDoug]

Thats a good idea. Last batch I was grinding got warm and it was a mess!

Letting meat get warm also risk introduction of bacteria and parasites into your finished product. Even warming the meat to 160 degrees internal temp does not always get rid of problems with contaminated meat so you really want to be careful that your meat is not allowed to get warm until you cook it.

 

[Walkathon]

I'm a fan of the ground as well. I keep everything cold, use ice water for whatever liquid is needed and then let it sit for 12 hrs in the fridge like the other people mentioned above. Good luck to you!

 

[WyoDoug]

I also add one level teaspoon of pink curing salt #1 (sodium nitrate) to 5 pounds of meat. That acts as a preservative and is actually a natural salt that has been used to cure and preserve meat for centuries. Curing salts help to preserve meat by drawing excess moisture out. It also helps your meat to cook more evenly. You can find pink curing salt at most sportsmans shops like Cabelas, Sportsman Warehouse or you can buy it online. My recommendation with jerky and snack sticks, use this and you will never have a batch go bad on you.

 

[stealthy_bowman]

Love the ground meat jerky. I use Nesco mix for the seasoning and add plenty of habanero sauce to the meat as well (the spicier, the better!). After mixing, I also like to have the meat sit overnight in fridge before running it through the jerky gun. If in a rush though, this last step isn’t an absolute must, just be sure to mix everything up thoroughly.

 

[JohnCushman]

I also add one level teaspoon of pink curing salt #1 (sodium nitrate) to 5 pounds of meat. That acts as a preservative and is actually a natural salt that has been used to cure and preserve meat for centuries. Curing salts help to preserve meat by drawing excess moisture out. It also helps your meat to cook more evenly. You can find pink curing salt at most sportsmans shops like Cabelas, Sportsman Warehouse or you can buy it online. My recommendation with jerky and snack sticks, use this and you will never have a batch go bad on you.

Most of the commercial seasoning kits come with a cure seperately from the seasoning pouch

 

[JohnCushman]

The jerky cannon lever will definitely work out your 'self love' forearm muscles if they aren't properly broken in already, especially cold meat going through

 

[WyoDoug]

Most of the commercial seasoning kits come with a cure seperately from the seasoning pouch

It sure does, but I don't buy the kits. I found good recipes and uses spices at half the price you would find in the kits. The kits are mostly blended spices at more than twice the cost of what you can do by blending your own spices. They do a huge markup to sell those kits.

 

[WyoDoug]

The jerky cannon lever will definitely work out your 'self love' forearm muscles if they aren't properly broken in already, especially cold meat going through

You can beat this problem though. Something simple. Add a half cup or so of ice cold water so that the meat goes through the jerky cannon easier. The water will eventually cook out of the meat especially if you have curing salt in the mix.

 

[JohnCushman]

It sure does, but I don't buy the kits. I found good recipes and uses spices at half the price you would find in the kits. The kits are mostly blended spices at more than twice the cost of what you can do by blending your own spices. They do a huge markup to sell those kits.

Roger that!!!

 

[WyoDoug]

Any yall ever go hunting with me, I will likely have jerky sticks I made myself. That along with my venison bologna which is a hit when I fry it up with some eggs and sliced taters.

 

[Deleted member 38069]

Any yall ever go hunting with me, I will likely have jerky sticks I made myself. That along with my venison bologna which is a hit when I fry it up with some eggs and sliced taters.

Where do I sign up?

 

[WyoDoug]

Where do I sign up?

This year is locked up and most everyone has submitted for their draws. When it gets close to 2020, I got one plus his family going to hunt the big horns up north. Once I talk to him to be sure he's OK with it, then I will be looking to build a steady hunting group to go well into the future before it's too late. I am 63 now the like Randy says in his movies, the time will come when I can no climb those hills. So if you are serious, shoot me a PM and I will make contact when I start talking about building the hunting group. Ideally, I want a group of about 6 plus their immediate family that wants to come.

Next year we are planning on the Big Horns up north (south for you) which will include bear.

 

[Birddy]

Do you mix while the meat is semi-frozen?

Very cold is the best/safest

 

[Deleted member 38069]

Very cold is the best/safest

Cool beans. Hopefully this turns out well!

 

[Hilljackoutlaw]

I can see it now boomerusaf this weekend.

 

[Deleted member 38069]

I can see it now boomerusaf this weekend.

Hilarious! I hope production is that strong!

 

[WyoDoug]

LOL comedy aside, I always mix my meat and grind it partially frozen and all the metal pieces that touch the meat is frosted up by putting in freezer for an hour or so. Any liquid that goes in it should be very cold. I use water, usually my bottled water, that has been in the refrigerator overnight. Any liquids I put in have been in the refrigerator for at least 24 hours. I have also been known to use ice cubes when making sausage to keep everything cold. Ice cubes grind up just fine. Just don't run a whole bunch at a time into a grinder. Dry ingredients even though the recipe don't call for it, I always mix them up with the liquids into a bowl and then mix that into the meat. It distributes the ingredients better. The only thing that goes in completely dry is peppercorns or cracked pepper or add-ins like cheese, jalapenos, etc. I go to the extremes to keep meat processing safe.

 

[cowboy]

Has anyone added brown sugar into their ingredients, and if so, how much brown sugar per lb of meat??

 

[1_pointer]

I like the NESCO basic jerky seasoning which I then dress up; I'm a fan of adding some chipotle powder. If you go this route, I suggest you keep notes so as to be able to repeat one's you like. And be sure you son doesn't delete the notes off your phone...