Sous vide snack sticks

[Jonathon]

lkrfletcher Couple of things go into that answer. Are you using a sous vide cooker that circulates the water or are you using a heating element that either is outside the water or is static? If you use one that circulates the water then you will want to bag it as the fats and oils could clog a filter. Other than that though you don’t have to bag it, it won’t remove the smoke flavor or anything. Parksider has done this 100s of times (or so) and he doesn’t bag them as he uses a turkey fryer (I think at least)

Here is some more information on the topic. https://meatgistics.waltonsinc.com/topic/1099/cured-sausage-205-advanced-thermal-processing We also talk about adding humidity but you’ll want to read the end of that post and then the comments.

[lkrfletcher]

Jonathon - yeah I would be circulating in a sous vide, so i think the bags are the way to go. - Thanks for the response and link!

[PapaSop]

lkrfletcher
My first time with this was in a turkey cooker. Last two times was in a meat lug with the Sous Vide circulator. No bags used. I’ve had no issues with meat particles or fats clogging anything. I know Jonathon errors on the side of caution with using bags but that’s up to you.

The main thing with the hot water bath is that it saves a ton of time to get the product finished. No more 10-12 hour smoke times. I’m smoking both sticks and sausage to 140-145 then finishing in the water bath. Sticks done in a few minutes, sausage in less than an hour.

As Jonathon said Parksider has done a lot of this and I’ve learned a lot from his methods.

[Parksider]

Quickest way to do sticks hands down. Never bagged it because we were doing this before sous vide became popular. I’ve been searching for a clam steamer since we do sticks that are 2’ long. Always looking to make the process smoother!

[pr0wlunwoof]

Glad I read this. My concern was over shooting in my smoker and fating out.

So most of my products will end vac sealed and frozen. I have several questiona:

Is it safe to cook to 140-145 then cut the kielbasa to package lengths seal and finish sous vide?

When you say finish you do mean set to finished temp on the sous vide? If so how are you checking the internal of them meat at that point if its bagged? Just give it a specific time?

Then after sous vide are you ice bathing it?

Does this process cause an issue with the bagging/ can I freeze in the same bag?

[craigrice]

Parksider have you thought about a propane burner and large pot like one used for a low country boil ?

[Parksider]

That’s what we use now. I’d like to lay the sticks flat because they bend trying to keep them vertical.

[craigrice]

Parksider what about a turkey roaster

[Parksider]

Not long enough…

[John Belvedere]

When the snack sticks are sous vide directly in water do the casings loosen up around the meat or does it stay tight? I like the snap that the casing provide and I don’t want to skin the snack sticks prior to eating. Thanks.

[Jonathon]

John Belvedere I have done it with snack sticks once or twice (I don’t do it all that often since the diameter is so small) and I have never noticed the casings separating. The most important thing for casing adherence is proper protein extraction, use of a binder and (most importantly) get it into an ICE bath once it has reached target internal temperature. Don’t use cold water, it should be 50/50 ice and water. Or, if you use a shower method make sure that their is a fan blowing on those sticks

[cdavis]

John Belvedere I’ve been finishing my snack sticks in a turkey roaster and the casings stay tight. I get a great finished product and it saves me 3 to 4 hours of smoker time.

[smokinbubba]

Just did trail bologna in the SV. Man what a difference! Before, I stayed away from 2.5”x24 casings because of the loooong cook. My last batch was smoked to 130 then finished in SV until 160deg. Only took an hour!! I will never do sausage again with smokehouse only. Oh, I didn’t bag. Straight into the bath. Perfect.

[kyle]

smokinbubba do you lose any flavor in the water? For some reason in my mind, I think how you boil other things to make stock

[Jonathon]

kyle I fought back against this for a long time because of that but you’re going to keep your water temp at 177 or around there so I don’t know if that makes a difference or what but it REALLY doesn’t reduce either the smoke or seasoning flavor as long as you let it smoke to 130 or so.

[kyle]

Jonathon thanks. So the one you have on sale for $75, would that be a good place to start, or would I be better off with the more expensive one? I hate to spend a lot on something I don’t understand. I did go back and watch your videos on this again. I know PapaSop started doing this. what one does he have?

[glen]

kyle I’m not PapaSop but I will weigh in that I have used a unit very similar to the Weston on sale and for home use it has worked great for 2 yrs
Also I highly recommend adapting an insulated cooler for your processing vessel
I cut a snug fitting hole in the lid of a Coleman 20 can party stacker and am very happy with it

[kyle]

glen thank you for your response. Do you put your meat in bags when finishing in water? I have been making sausage for many years, but this sous vide thing is all new to me. just want to learn a bit before investing in another “tool”

[johnsbrewhouse]

glen The Weston unit is really a good unit, it has a slight learning curve with the digital controls, but they are fairly easy to learn. The unit likes to default to certain things is what I found. You can’t go wrong with the price and quality of the Weston unit.

[glen]

kyle I vacuum bag but many here swear by "naked " Which I haven’t tried
I generally remove the product after short a heavy smoke then use the graduated step up heat method in the sous vide.
Also remember the direct heat conductivity of souse vide heats the internals relatively quickly and in my humble opinion at temps higher than 160 you can quickly over heat the product if not careful.
Monitor internals with your thermometer.
Don’t be intimidated, it’s much easier to learn than smoking

There are souse vide diameter/heat/time/pasteurization charts on line that are very helpful.
Kind of hard to find and it just occurred to me to print them out next time I need them LOL