Beef snack sticks callogen snap

[jroby]

Hi I’ve been making snack sticks for about two years. Last
batch used Willy’s with 80/20 ground beef plus sure gel. I used 10 lbs of meat and 1 qt. Of water. Mixed in meat mixer for good protien extraction. Smoking schedule used was as recommended by Jon from Waltons. Taste and texture turned out great. Trying to get a great snap I dehydrated them for about 6 hours. Came out with great snap. Put the finished sticks in the refridge overnight using a sealed contaner layered with paper towels. By morning snap was gone. Am i expecting too much in wanting a great snap? Or what is the secret here? I vac pack sticks after processing. Casing comes out soft. Any ideas would be appreciated. Thanks all.

[caryfr5]

jroby I’m finding going to 165 IT, ice bath, then wrap in a big fat towel before cutting to length and into the fridge for about 24 hrs before vacsealing works great. I also dry them really well before going into the fridge. I also use no more than 24 oz of water doing the same with 80/20 ground beef…turning out perfect!

[processhead]

jroby said in Beef snack sticks callogen snap:

Hi I’ve been making snack sticks for about two years. Last
batch used Willy’s with 80/20 ground beef plus sure gel. I used 10 lbs of meat and 1 qt. Of water. Mixed in meat mixer for good protien extraction. Smoking schedule used was as recommended by Jon from Waltons. Taste and texture turned out great. Trying to get a great snap I dehydrated them for about 6 hours. Came out with great snap. Put the finished sticks in the refridge overnight using a sealed contaner layered with paper towels. By morning snap was gone. Am i expecting too much in wanting a great snap? Or what is the secret here? I vac pack sticks after processing. Casing comes out soft. Any ideas would be appreciated. Thanks all.

I have had a similar experience with sticks stuffed in collagen casings on a few occasions. I think the casings have a tendency to reabsorb moisture out of the finished product, or possibly even humidity in the refrigerator which may cause them to lose the snap they started out with.

Vacuum sealing in a plastic package will tend to draw out moisture of any stuffed product and that will cause the casings to saturate if left unfrozen. If you have them frozen, it probably is a good idea to get them out of the package and eat them asap after defrosting.

One thing I tried that seemed to work at least short term, was to store the sticks in a porous cloth bag in my cold garage. I discovered this while air drying a batch that were not a dry as I preferred. Again, that was just a short term solution. I believe the key is keeping the exterior of the sticks in a cool dry environment while in storage and ideally without them touching.

[Harkness]

jroby Don’t put them in a sealed container. Chill overnight uncovered.

[jroby]

Thanks all for the suggestions

[twilliams]

jroby not sure if you will get any more snap however maybe your water amount is a bit heavy. I use 1qt for 12.5 lbs and that is pushing alot. Maybe cut it back to a 1/2 qt for 10lbs to start with. Im thinking the snap you are looking for is very hard to achieve as a home processor.

[processhead]

twilliams said in Beef snack sticks callogen snap:

jroby not sure if you will get any more snap however maybe your water amount is a bit heavy. I use 1qt for 12.5 lbs and that is pushing alot. Maybe cut it back to a 1/2 qt for 10lbs to start with. Im thinking the snap you are looking for is very hard to achieve as a home processor.

That can be an issue. Added water will need to be removed from the product at some point during the process. That can be part of thermal processing or afterwards as air drying.

Probably more of a challenge for guys finishing their sticks in a water bath where you don’t get any addition drying during the final cooking process.

Air drying after cooking is a good way to get the final dryness and texture you are after if you have a good place to do it.