I have run into the same situation and I can’t speak for you’re procedure but I think I failed to allow the sticks to warm up properly after being refrigerated overnight before I vacuumed packed them and popped them in the freezer…just that little bit of moisture is brought to the surface causing the collagen casing to come lose just a enough to be annoying …and it didn’t occur on all…? Perhaps another half hour at ambient room temp and I wouldn’t have experienced it at all…I’ll be making another batch as soon as I get a little more high temp cheese…

macsinsac interesting you don’t fat out starting at such a high temp and finishing with a sous vida process? I would almost think a person would start out with a water bath or sous vida process and finish w/smoke and drying out period…but that’s what seems logical? What ever you’re doing, they look pretty darn good…I’ll be smoking up some summer sausage I made yesterday…using a jalapeno snack mix as a base and threw in a little mustard seed and coarse blk pepper for good measure…we will see?

macsinsac looks great! What’'s you’re times and temps on you’re 680?

I normally use my RecTec 700 pellet smoker for anything above 180 I can control the temps within 1 or 2 degree’s but anything below that doesn’t lend itself to sausage making… I used a recently acquired MB30 and it worked but I wasn’t to familiar with time and temps…I did notice the sensors are on the back wall and the units ambient temp was a horse of a different color in comparison to what it said it was running at…I’d have been up the proverbial creek had I not had an external two probe sensor…so I just worked with what I knew and came out great…necessity is truly the mother of invention…? I think if I were to make a fair amount of sausage, I’d pick up a good surplus commercial all stainless refer and build my own pid controller for it and control it to the gnat…you can build one for $60… tough call but doin right is important all the way around…

Jonathon Taste is such a subjective thing but certain spice combinations do well together to build layers of flavor…what hits one’s pallet first doesn’t always hold true for the next and so on but one things fo show, Willies has a winner in my book…not sure exactly what the MSG would do but typically intensifies the flavors and that might change the flavor profile somewhat? Anyway thank you for the kind words but always room for improvement…isn’t that what drives us all anyway? Lol I think I’m going to use some Jalapeno snack stick w/HT cheddar and make a summer sausage with it, add a little mustard seed, cracked black pepper…and roasted garlic/olive oil…what are you’re thoughts on the use of snack stick mix for summer sausage…again 60/40 ? Oh, by the by…no apologies necessary, this is no doubt a very busy time for you folks…I would imagine one of the busiest times of the year, then you have to balance a personal life in there somewhere too! Lol Hope you had a great Christmas…now get back to work!

Jonathon I sent you a pic of the finished snack sticks…this was a 10lb batch, Willies w/pepper jack cheese…60/40 beef & pork…turned out absolutely awesome, especially once the spice mixture and smoke had an opportunity to shake hands…reminded me the pepperoni sticks I used to get at my local neighborhood grocery back in the 60’s…I thought I might have smoked them just a tad too much when they first came out but the smoke must have penetrated and dissipated as the bitterness was not as pronounced but I will reduce it the next go-around…all in all I couldn’t be happier…texture and bite was spot on!

I think the roasted garlic might be better dispersed if you roast the cloves in a given amount of olive oil and add the entire contents to the mix…? Just sayin…

Still in the smoker had to raise the temp due to cold weather so it’s taking a bit longer than I anticipated. .but will post something tomorrow. .the taste is just outstanding. .! I’m excited to savor the flavor of the finished product…

twilliams Well everything moved along according to plan, I ended up using the 100lb rate ratio to keep it true to form rather than using the incorrect amount on the breakdown conversion chart…I extruded everything through the small plate, seasoned and mixed by hand to a really gooey protein extraction point…more like concrete mixed with glue…didn’t want to exceed the one ounce per lb rate if I didn’t have to…worked out perfect, dang near left out the pepper jack cheese though lol…anyway loaded up my Hakka sausage press and pumped out about near 65’ of 19 mm smoked collagen casing … I’ll rack them up sometime this morning and smoke them…if they taste as good as they smell and look … I’m thinking we got a touch down here

twilliams I also noticed the batch percentage for Willies is off better than an ounce and a half for a 10lb batch…I brought it to someones attention at the order desk and he did the math and also figured out it was wrong so he was going to bring it to somebodies attention…should be 10.8 oz. Willies …11.2 grams sure cure … 45 grams of carrot pwd. … at least that’s what I figured out…so if anyone can shoot me down if I’m all wet that would be appreciated otherwise that’s what I’m going for…best laid plans of mice or men huh? Lol should be a hoot, I’m a gonna give a go in a while…

I have a tub to grind and mix in so if push comes to shove I’ll mix it by hand but my mixer is pretty stout and will probably hold close to 5lbs…if it doesn’t work nothing ventured nothing gained? I may want to look for a mixer if vices turn into habits here…lol I thank you for you’re insight…I certainly enjoy the creative aspects and forum’s like this hold a wealth of knowledge from those that have been down the road and around the block and I look forward to tapping into that once in a while…so until I get my feet wet here, I may pose a question or two…thanks again

AdamCA Thank’s Adam, I’m certainly looking forward to the experience…I’ll post a pic at the finish line Should be a hoot!

I’m planning on making up a small batch of sticks this weekend and try out some new equipment I’ve recently acquired and I’m a newby here I’m planning on using a little frozen 80/20 beef burger with a mix of pork butt…I’m guessing the butt is near 25%+ so I thought a 60% beef & 40% pork would be some what close but I don’t know…? I’ll be using Willy’s, carrot binder and about a pound of pepperjack for a 10-12lb batch…stuffed in either 19 or 21mm s/c…anyone have any thoughts about using a burger that’s already been run through the small plate and when to season and mix with the pork? As the pork will have to be run through a coarse as well as fine…I just wanted to avoid over extruding the burger if that’s possible and I still have to season and mix at some point and using my kitchen aid to mix in small batches (what ever it will handle and still stay together) lol Any thoughts are certainly most appreciated…I’m probably over thinking this but it never hurts to ask those who may have been down that road before…just might help you avoid a few pitfalls…

pauliedmondsjr So, I’m an old guy too and the kitchen aid seems like a perfect tool for mixing and grinding and stuffing, you could still combine two 5lb batches if you needed to?..I have a couple paddles, one with and one without a silicone wiper blade…how long do you find you need to mix it for good protein extraction and at what speed? Assuming that you have run it through a two plate grind first…