Sous vide snack sticks/ sausage

[Mean Dean]

There was still plenty of “snap” in the casings.

[jpurol]

Thanks for the info!

[jpurol]

Well johnathon has me convinced to try finishing snack sticks sous vide style. I had 2 500 watt aquarium heaters, a pid control, and a aquarium wave maker. I put it in a big cooler and I’ll give it a shot this weekend. I tested it today and it held water at 177 perfectly.

[Jonathon]

jpurol Darn it, you guys doing all of these awesome mods is going to almost force me to do one! Poor lil ole me has to build something to make sausage processing easier on company time…love my job!

[jpurol]

It is so much fun trying to come up with creative ways to make things easier.

[jpurol]

Did 20 pounds of snack sticks finishing sous vide. Had the temp set at 173. Pulled from smoker at i.t. Of 130 took 15-20 minutes.
Pros:
Takes hours off finishing them in the smoker.
Flavor seems to be there immediately after ice bath
Consistent firmness
Great snap ( used natural sheep casings)

Cons:
Only one I can think of is you better be ready to move fast it is quick!

Conclusion:

Should of tried this years ago!

[jpurol]

[jpurol]

[jpurol]

[PapaSop]

jpurol
Just did the same thing. Pictures to come later.

[Jonathon]

Both jpurol and PapaSop We need to start doing a better job of pointing this out. IF you used Encapsulated Citric Acid then you need to keep it above 130 for an hour to let the encapsulation dissolve fully.

[jpurol]

I didn’t use encapsulated citric acid on this batch but that is good to know. So when I do,I think holding them between 130-140 for a hour before pulling from the smoker would be best?

[Nicolai]

Would it be better to leave in the smoker longer or in the sous vide?

[jpurol]

Smoker. In the sous vide the fat will melt.