Sous vide no bag = soggy sticks
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craigrice said in Sous vide no bag = soggy sticks:
how long do you let them air dry / bloom after the sv ?
They sat out a couple hours and then Started cutting them to length. That is when I noticed they were water logged. After I cut them to length I left them out a couple more hours hoping they would dry but they didn’t. Been in the fridge all day today. I have dried a couple small batches in the traeger. It got rid of the water but there is just no flavor at all. Probably going to trash the batch.
Grimpuppy it sounds like you did everything right, the only real difference is I am using sure gel as a binder. Sorry to hear you are having such a bad time with it.
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I agree with twilliams on the advantages of processing snack sticks in a traditional smoker.
Most small hobbyist smokers will do just fine to do the thermal processing on snack sticks if you don’t overload them beyond their physical capacity. IMO, the disadvantages of thermal processing snack sticks in hot water probably outweigh the advantages. -
Sounds crazy, I am now just the opposite now. I used to go the long traditional route in smoker the whole way. But after trying the sous vide, I do not think I will ever go back. Not sure why yours came out soggy and soft. Mine do not, and have incredible smoke flavor. Sure is strange.
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mrobisr low and slow smoke/cook schedule
110° dampers wide open no smoke (drying phase) for 1 hour
125° top damper open 1/8, bottom open 1/2 for 2 hours start smoke of wood choice
140° for 1 hour pull out smoke pan
155° for 2 hours
170° until IT temp reaches 160° -
I agree with twilliams on the advantages of processing snack sticks in a traditional smoker.
Most small hobbyist smokers will do just fine to do the thermal processing on snack sticks if you don’t overload them beyond their physical capacity. IMO, the disadvantages of thermal processing snack sticks in hot water probably outweigh the advantages.processhead in a previous life when I was in a commercial setting we cooked all the meats very slowly, only difference being instead of the ice bath the walk in smoker had a spray system to cool the product down. Think I’ll stick with the “traditional” method for time being, thanks for the info.
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twilliams said in Sous vide no bag = soggy sticks:
mrobisr low and slow smoke/cook schedule
110° dampers wide open no smoke (drying phase) for 1 hour
125° top damper open 1/8, bottom open 1/2 for 2 hours start smoke of wood choice
140° for 1 hour pull out smoke pan
155° for 2 hours
170° until IT temp reaches 160°My other 2 batches that I smoked all the way through today are perfect. I can ice bath them for 15 minutes and never had a problem with it. Just seems an hour in the Sous Vide and they are water logged. I Took my sausage poker and pricked the entire length of each one into the center of the meat. Wrapped in paper towel and squeezed a bunch of water out.
Guess I will just stick to the smoker.
Grimpuppy
An hour in the SV?. My last two runs took less than eight minutes. 135-160.
SV set at 170. 12.5# batches. -
I know some talk about putting them in the water bath at 130F. I don’t do that until about 150F, especially for something semi-dried.
Semi-dried need the time to dry out. Frankly, I don’t know how others do it, either.
I like the idea of finishing via sous vide, but I’ve also found that cutting corners does what cutting corners can do, and that’s often getting you a lesser product than you get doing something properly.
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Grimpuppy
An hour in the SV?. My last two runs took less than eight minutes. 135-160.
SV set at 170. 12.5# batches.PapaSop said in Sous vide no bag = soggy sticks:
Grimpuppy
An hour in the SV?. My last two runs took less than eight minutes. 135-160.
SV set at 170. 12.5# batches.Maybe that is the problem. I am doing it for way to long. I Will give this a shot and monitor the temp like a hawk and pull at 160.
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PapaSop said in Sous vide no bag = soggy sticks:
Grimpuppy
An hour in the SV?. My last two runs took less than eight minutes. 135-160.
SV set at 170. 12.5# batches.Maybe that is the problem. I am doing it for way to long. I Will give this a shot and monitor the temp like a hawk and pull at 160.
Grimpuppy I always leave my sticks in the smoker until the IT stalls out. That usually happens at 140 to 150. When it does stalls I wait an hour to see if it pulls through. If it doesn’t I have my turkey roaster ready and drop the sticks in with water temp at 165. They usually finish in 20 to 30 minutes. If they don’t stall for very long I finish in the smoker. Good luck on your next venture.
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PapaSop said in Sous vide no bag = soggy sticks:
Grimpuppy
An hour in the SV?. My last two runs took less than eight minutes. 135-160.
SV set at 170. 12.5# batches.Maybe that is the problem. I am doing it for way to long. I Will give this a shot and monitor the temp like a hawk and pull at 160.
Grimpuppy Good luck with the next batch. I am a new user of sous vide and I listened to several folks like PapaSop on this site for guidance. I’ve had no issues with my batches doing both sticks and summer sausage. Im not sure if it matters, but I do use Sure Gel as a binder with mine. I wish you luck.
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PapaSop said in Sous vide no bag = soggy sticks:
Grimpuppy
An hour in the SV?. My last two runs took less than eight minutes. 135-160.
SV set at 170. 12.5# batches.Maybe that is the problem. I am doing it for way to long. I Will give this a shot and monitor the temp like a hawk and pull at 160.
Grimpuppy you could always try to set the water temp at about 160-162 as well, I’ve had my sticks in for 30 min-hour and never had any issues
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I did a batch of sticks over the weekend, smoked to 132 degrees, transferred to the roaster pan at 175 until IT was 162, approx 15 mins in the “sous vide”, straight to the ice bath for 20 mins, then hung for an hour to dry, fridge for another hour and vac sealed. The 2nd best sticks I have made but plan on smoking to 135-137 next time to firm up the stick just a tad. Great taste, almost perfect firmness and great snap. Thanks to all who post ideas and processes because I have learned so much from this great community of smoking nuts.
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Ok, I am not giving up. Going to do some smaller batches this weekend and figure this thing out. Thanks for all the suggestions!
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Grimpuppy Good luck with the next batch. I am a new user of sous vide and I listened to several folks like PapaSop on this site for guidance. I’ve had no issues with my batches doing both sticks and summer sausage. Im not sure if it matters, but I do use Sure Gel as a binder with mine. I wish you luck.
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I have made 3- 25lb batches of snack sticks this spring using a turkey fryer to finish them off. I put them in the fryer when the sticks were between 125 to 145 degrees and the water in the fryer was close to 180. The sticks only took 10-15 minutes to reach 160 degrees. I havent had any issues with soggy casings, water etc. Make sure you are getting really good protein extraction. In my opinion, most processing problems can be traced back to this issue.
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I think (hope) I am just leaving it in the water for to long. I am pretty fanatical about mixing and protein extraction. I am not getting any water between the casing and the meat. Just taste like a soggy hot dog.
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I think (hope) I am just leaving it in the water for to long. I am pretty fanatical about mixing and protein extraction. I am not getting any water between the casing and the meat. Just taste like a soggy hot dog.
Grimpuppy If your not totally opposed to it, consider the sure gel as a binder. I was skeptical at first, but for me it made a big difference, compared to not using it.
“You never really die until you end up on the wall at a Cracker Barrel”
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Grimpuppy If your not totally opposed to it, consider the sure gel as a binder. I was skeptical at first, but for me it made a big difference, compared to not using it.
GWG8541 said in Sous vide no bag = soggy sticks:
Grimpuppy If your not totally opposed to it, consider the sure gel as a binder. I was skeptical at first, but for me it made a big difference, compared to not using it.
I use it in summer sausage with good results. It didn’t prevent the batch I did sous vide from getting soggy though. That’s why I think it is just to long. I didn’t realize you all were only sous vide them 15-20 minutes max.
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GWG8541 BTW Semper Fi brother.
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Grimpuppy I had a batch go a little longer, but I added a lot of HT cheese and figured it had caused the added time, but it was still under 45 minutes. You got this brother. Semper Fi
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