First ever goof up making sticks
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I’m beside myself right now, this was the first time getting done with a batch then throwing in a second batch right away. Usually I do just 1 batch a day, I got behind so I mixed and stuffed two batches yesterday then smoked two today. Needless to say after my first batch going into my second I forgot to turn my temp back down to 110* drying phase. So it was at 170* for 1 full hour. Went to go to turn it up for my second stage to 125* and noticed it. I opened it up and let the fan cool it all down back to 100*. I did a visual check and yes I got some fat out. Worst part is half of that batch is for a customer.
twilliams boy that’s really frustrating. Guess it’s one of those mistakes you will never forget.
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twilliams Sorry man, that is not a good feeling and I can imagine it is worse since it was for someone. Hopefully, the fat out is minimal and won’t be noticed? Thank you for sharing though, I know people here appreciate hearing that it happens to everyone sometimes!
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Well after about 30min dry time after ice bath i went ahead and cut into one and sampled. There was no visible fat rendered between the casing and sausage. There was a noticeable dryness texture difference that i noticed but dont think perhaps anyone else would that isnt into processing. They only other thing was more wrinkle compared to what they usually are. All in all i think i dodged a major bullet.
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twilliams Yup, we had someone looking to get more wrinkles recently and that was what I told them to do, under mix and cook higher temps. Some people want that wrinkled look I guess! Glad to hear it wasn’t a total loss.
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Well after about 30min dry time after ice bath i went ahead and cut into one and sampled. There was no visible fat rendered between the casing and sausage. There was a noticeable dryness texture difference that i noticed but dont think perhaps anyone else would that isnt into processing. They only other thing was more wrinkle compared to what they usually are. All in all i think i dodged a major bullet.
twilliams that was the way it was during my marathon session. Pushing the temps in the smoker to fight the cold outside temperature and cook just a little faster inside, SV, ice, a quick dry and bagged up. Not quite the way I would have done it if there wasn’t a time crunch. Everyone was happy with them, but I could tell it wasn’t quite up to par. Lesson learned, but sometimes you gotta push the limits to learn where the limits are.
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I had a 12# batch that fatted out on me, due to a stupid mistake and my wife thought I was being too hard on myself. They were dry and kind of crumbly and not up to my expectations, although they were still edible. I know that my labs are happy with the failure, since I declared them dog treats.
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I’m beside myself right now, this was the first time getting done with a batch then throwing in a second batch right away. Usually I do just 1 batch a day, I got behind so I mixed and stuffed two batches yesterday then smoked two today. Needless to say after my first batch going into my second I forgot to turn my temp back down to 110* drying phase. So it was at 170* for 1 full hour. Went to go to turn it up for my second stage to 125* and noticed it. I opened it up and let the fan cool it all down back to 100*. I did a visual check and yes I got some fat out. Worst part is half of that batch is for a customer.
twilliams said in First ever goof up making sticks:
I’m beside myself right now, this was the first time getting done with a batch then throwing in a second batch right away. Usually I do just 1 batch a day, I got behind so I mixed and stuffed two batches yesterday then smoked two today. Needless to say after my first batch going into my second I forgot to turn my temp back down to 110* drying phase. So it was at 170* for 1 full hour. Went to go to turn it up for my second stage to 125* and noticed it. I opened it up and let the fan cool it all down back to 100*. I did a visual check and yes I got some fat out. Worst part is half of that batch is for a customer.
Man, don’t beat yourself up, it happens to the best of them. I am pretty sure they will be good an edible. Post the end product. I am sure that we will all say “I need some of that!”
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Well after about 30min dry time after ice bath i went ahead and cut into one and sampled. There was no visible fat rendered between the casing and sausage. There was a noticeable dryness texture difference that i noticed but dont think perhaps anyone else would that isnt into processing. They only other thing was more wrinkle compared to what they usually are. All in all i think i dodged a major bullet.
twilliams Yeah! Try making two different brats at the same time and adding salt twice to one batch and none to the other. Didn’t realize it until they were processed LOL, lucky they were only 5lb. batches!
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twilliams said in First ever goof up making sticks:
I’m beside myself right now, this was the first time getting done with a batch then throwing in a second batch right away. Usually I do just 1 batch a day, I got behind so I mixed and stuffed two batches yesterday then smoked two today. Needless to say after my first batch going into my second I forgot to turn my temp back down to 110* drying phase. So it was at 170* for 1 full hour. Went to go to turn it up for my second stage to 125* and noticed it. I opened it up and let the fan cool it all down back to 100*. I did a visual check and yes I got some fat out. Worst part is half of that batch is for a customer.
Man, don’t beat yourself up, it happens to the best of them. I am pretty sure they will be good an edible. Post the end product. I am sure that we will all say “I need some of that!”
Dr_Pain since you inquired about end result photos here ya go.

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twilliams look great. Package them up. Taste is what matters
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twilliams They look real good, everything to be proud of & how do they tastes? That is what matters most, tongue & stomach don’t know ugly, but that aint ugly!
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samspade they are packaged and won’t look back. Just a mistake and lesson learned I hope I don’t make again. No one will know the difference.
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samspade they are packaged and won’t look back. Just a mistake and lesson learned I hope I don’t make again. No one will know the difference.
twilliams Shhhhhhhhhhhh…Don’t tell anyone, I won’t tell anyone either! You can market those Snack Stix Bites too.
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twilliams They look real good, everything to be proud of & how do they tastes? That is what matters most, tongue & stomach don’t know ugly, but that aint ugly!
calldoctoday like I said up in earlier post they are a bit drier than normal but most people won’t know the difference. I will say, this particular batch that I goofed up on was 1/2 a customer’s and 1/2 mine. They were two separate batches as he supplied his own venison. His batch was 12.5 lb meat block. Mine was 11 lb meat block but used the 12.5 lb seasoning configuration. I have been doing this ratio on mine with all my venison this year. They all have turned out wonderful however with this batch which is bourbon peppercorn they came out a smidgen on the salty side. Not sure if that was due to the goof up or that seasoning has a bit more salt content in it already.
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twilliams Shhhhhhhhhhhh…Don’t tell anyone, I won’t tell anyone either! You can market those Snack Stix Bites too.
calldoctoday yep I package the bites as well, I try to stay around a pound in each package of bites.
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calldoctoday like I said up in earlier post they are a bit drier than normal but most people won’t know the difference. I will say, this particular batch that I goofed up on was 1/2 a customer’s and 1/2 mine. They were two separate batches as he supplied his own venison. His batch was 12.5 lb meat block. Mine was 11 lb meat block but used the 12.5 lb seasoning configuration. I have been doing this ratio on mine with all my venison this year. They all have turned out wonderful however with this batch which is bourbon peppercorn they came out a smidgen on the salty side. Not sure if that was due to the goof up or that seasoning has a bit more salt content in it already.
twilliams Hmmmm, that is interesting. Less moisture, perhaps more salty taste for sure, but I would not think it would make that much of a difference for this. Maybe it is a combination of both more salt & the dryness, which by the way looks great & I would probably like it more like that. Have you ever run this exact batch before, with the bourbon, etc. Trying to look for a common denominator somewhere. Maybe that venison was just a salty old dog! Of course too, your smidgen might be another man’s perfect…
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twilliams I would definitely eat them. I know some folks that prefer them like that.
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twilliams I sure would not turn them down, they look great to me. Just like the batch of Landjaeger I just made Sunday. The wrinkles add character!
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GWG8541 I like em that way, I think they looked great & probably tasted just as well.
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