Low Sodium Meat Sticks
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So am new to this site, etc. Very interesting hopefully can learn some things. Today I made first batch of meat sticks. I use a Jerkey gun that allows me to pump out two sticks at a time. No casing. I am just doing small batch stuff for me and my family. Right now just ground meat. I used 3 lbs of 90/10 which provided me with a lot of sticks.
I had no clue what to use for seasoning and cure, etc. So I went to Academy and bought a High Mountain original kit and followed the instructions for 3 lbs of ground meat. Let the meat cure overnight and this morning put them on my pellet grill. Started off at smoke setting which was the lowest 155 and after about 2 1/2 hours moved it to the 185 setting where I left it till the internal of the sticks was between 160-165.
They looked pretty good, had good smoke flavor but they were so salty tasting. Even my wife complained about the salt taste. As mentioned followed all the instructions. Really would not like something so salty one for taste and two for my health. HBP not good with high salt but fresh meat sticks are good for weight (LOL).
I am researching this site and trying to look at the seasonings offered, etc while seeing if there is something or someone who offers a more low sodium approach. Maybe I just have to make my own seasoning but seems you have to put quite a bit of curing salt. The High Mountain called for 2 Tablespoons for 3 lbs of meat along with the seasoning which also had pretty high sodium content.
Appreciate any advice or tips as I try to perfect this meat stick/jerky making adventure@mr-b I know that brand but I haven’t used it. Your meat block of 90/10 is pretty low in fat, fat carries the flavor. The snack stick and summer sausage mixes at Walton’s have served me well. I typically use pork and venison with pork fat back to bring up the fat ratio into the 20-30% range. You will need cure 1 appropriate for your meat block, a minimum percentage of salt and seasonings. I am not sure, but assume that Walton’s would have a low salt mix.
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@mr-b I know that brand but I haven’t used it. Your meat block of 90/10 is pretty low in fat, fat carries the flavor. The snack stick and summer sausage mixes at Walton’s have served me well. I typically use pork and venison with pork fat back to bring up the fat ratio into the 20-30% range. You will need cure 1 appropriate for your meat block, a minimum percentage of salt and seasonings. I am not sure, but assume that Walton’s would have a low salt mix.
YooperDog Thanks for the info. I was looking at some of the stuff on their site and videos. It seems like the amount of cure they call for is much lower than the High Mountain. I am going to order a few seasonings and give them a try. I suspect it just may take me some trial and error to get to something I like.
I did see they have high temp cheese which I will be ordering to use not only in meat sticks but when I smoke meatloaf. -
YooperDog Thanks for the info. I was looking at some of the stuff on their site and videos. It seems like the amount of cure they call for is much lower than the High Mountain. I am going to order a few seasonings and give them a try. I suspect it just may take me some trial and error to get to something I like.
I did see they have high temp cheese which I will be ordering to use not only in meat sticks but when I smoke meatloaf.@mr-b I like making my own recipes, but sometimes the convenience of a package product fits the bill. Keep notes of what you did and like and didn’t like even with the packaged products. You can adjust the seasonings, heat level, etc… even with those. There are some good books out there to help develop your own recipes and types of sausage. The Mariański brothers and Rytek Kutas are a good starting place. Meatgistics University on this site has a lot of good information and teaching. This site has many folks willing to share their knowledge and experience, feel free to ask questions and share.
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Are you sure it’s two tablespoons of curing salt? That seems excessive. Even two tablespoons of conventional salt seems a lot for 3 pounds of meat.
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Are you sure it’s two tablespoons of curing salt? That seems excessive. Even two tablespoons of conventional salt seems a lot for 3 pounds of meat.
D Halverson I agree. According to the Walton’s conversion chart, you should only be using 3/4 of a teaspoon for 3 pounds of meat.
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Are you sure it’s two tablespoons of curing salt? That seems excessive. Even two tablespoons of conventional salt seems a lot for 3 pounds of meat.
D Halverson Yes I double and Triple checked. It had me shaking my head also as I thought it was excessive but I had never done meat sticks before or used that type of kit
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D Halverson I agree. According to the Walton’s conversion chart, you should only be using 3/4 of a teaspoon for 3 pounds of meat.
wdaly That would seem more in line. But as I learn more about cure, etc and what is required and I can get away with to be safe for me and the family will be very helpful. I am not going to make anymore till I gather up a bit more knowledge. Especially if I have good Venison or other to use don’t want to waste the meat.
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D Halverson I agree. According to the Walton’s conversion chart, you should only be using 3/4 of a teaspoon for 3 pounds of meat.
wdaly I was doing some reading around and others had sent to High Mountain that they followed the instructions and the sticks were to salty. They recommended reducing the amount of cure. Well if that is the solution then put it in the instructions to reduce the amount. I also think that I may be at fault some. Not knowing any better I may have left my Ground Meat in the fridge to long with the cure before I got it on the pit. Is it possible that leaving it in the Refrigerator to long with the cure would increase the saltiness ?
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wdaly I was doing some reading around and others had sent to High Mountain that they followed the instructions and the sticks were to salty. They recommended reducing the amount of cure. Well if that is the solution then put it in the instructions to reduce the amount. I also think that I may be at fault some. Not knowing any better I may have left my Ground Meat in the fridge to long with the cure before I got it on the pit. Is it possible that leaving it in the Refrigerator to long with the cure would increase the saltiness ?
@mr-b make these according to the recipe and you will not regret it, skip steps 8-9 unless you have a drying chamber.
https://www.meatsandsausages.com/sausage-recipes/kabanosy -
wdaly I was doing some reading around and others had sent to High Mountain that they followed the instructions and the sticks were to salty. They recommended reducing the amount of cure. Well if that is the solution then put it in the instructions to reduce the amount. I also think that I may be at fault some. Not knowing any better I may have left my Ground Meat in the fridge to long with the cure before I got it on the pit. Is it possible that leaving it in the Refrigerator to long with the cure would increase the saltiness ?
@mr-b leaving it in the fridge didn’t cause the saltiness too much salt caused it, I’m sure you did fine.
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Salt is generally 1.5 -2% of the meat block. My formula has 3.2 oz for 10 lbs. of meat. Sure Cure is 1 oz per 25lbs. of protein so a big “pinch” would be rather scientific
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wdaly I was doing some reading around and others had sent to High Mountain that they followed the instructions and the sticks were to salty. They recommended reducing the amount of cure. Well if that is the solution then put it in the instructions to reduce the amount. I also think that I may be at fault some. Not knowing any better I may have left my Ground Meat in the fridge to long with the cure before I got it on the pit. Is it possible that leaving it in the Refrigerator to long with the cure would increase the saltiness ?
@mr-b I’m certainly no expert, but I wouldn’t think the extra time to increase the saltiness.
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