Avoid the temptation to over-stuff. If you have a nice, shiny, tight rope - it’s probably not going to twist good and you risk blow-outs.

I stuff about 3 feet or so and tie off. When I am all done stuffing, I link to size. And yes, my link size is all over the place. Then I refrigerate over night. Using scissors I cut the at the twist and package.

Here’s some I did yesterday.

… and post pictures when you’re done!

Looks great. Make sure you get the nooks and crannies in that stuffer clean before you re-wrap it!

Jehar said in How To Make Homemade Snack Sticks:

What is the best ratio vension to pork butt?

I think the answer is going to be up to 50-50 before you really don’t have a venison snack stick, but a pork snack stick.

Not sure there is a best.

But, I’ve made really good snack sticks with a ratio of 80% deer and 20% pork. I make 5 pound batches and my ground deer is packaged in 1 pound packages. So, I routinely use 4 pounds of deer and 1 pound of pork.

Jehar said in How To Make Homemade Snack Sticks:

Can I use a dehydrator or oven to cure snack sticks? What are your top 3 tips for making snack sticks?

After you mix everything and believe you have the meat sufficiently tacky, mix some more.

For those fired up about making this; here is the ingredient list from Waltons (except the meat … and water, lol)

Bologna unit SKU: 4550330002
10lb Capacity Bologna Casing SKU: G230214
Sure Cure SKU: G4560490009
Sure Gel SKU: G4570500852
Sodium Erythorbate SKU: G4570700139
Carrot Fiber SKU: carrot-fiber-binder

tell me more about the recipe software …

I know I’m late to this thread; but a lot of great information in this one. Thanks.

Appreciate the time you took to type this out for us! Great idea on using the chicken to supply the “fat” for the lean venison.

And share your bologna process, too? Especially what kind of oven/smoker/grill you might of used. Thanks.

I’ve even done 80% venison 20% pork with good results.

So, I try to do snack sticks on a schedule of

125F for 1 hour
140F for 1 hour
155F for 2 hours
175F until internal meat temp of 160F

But … my home oven … like most ovens … doesn’t let you set the thermostat at these low temps. So, I’ve developed some work arounds, but its not ideal.

Is there any type of small “oven” by a company like Weston or the like that makes an oven that will set low temps like that? Is there any other way to make snack sticks in the oven other than rigging your particular oven?

Jonathon Thanks for the advice!

Not using ECA. Appreciate your response. Yeah, I’m just holding them for a convenient time to start. But, I wondered if that might cause an an issue, etc.

I’ve been letting my snack sticks “age” for 24 hours in the fridge before smoking. Good idea, bad idea? Neutral? Can they go from the stuffer right to the smoker? Using all Walton products and ingredients.

Austin you guys talk a lot mixing and the inability to get good protein extraction from hand mixing. A few of us make sticks in 5 pound batches - I am guessing its a function of the size of the stuffer. Anyway, all the mixers look to be 20 pound mixers. Are those any good with only 5 pounds of meat? Or does the meat get lost in the mixer because there is not enough? What mixer do you recommend for a 5 pound batch? Finally, what does a properly mixed batch look like? Thanks.

I’ve really made great strides in stack stick making because of hanging out here.

I was having a little difficulty with wrinkly casings or casings that seemed to separate off the stick as you bit into them and I discovered the problem and thought I would add 2 cents to the discussion.

Old Collagen Casings.

I bought some new casings and that made all the difference. I had stored the old casings - who knew how old? - more than a year? 2 years? - in the crisper drawer in my fridge. They went on okay with no blowouts but the final product was lacking …

Ordered new casing and wow - night and day.

Going to store these on a shelf in the proverbially cool dry place and mark the date on them.

2 cents poorer

Hope this helps someone else who might of had this issue …

mcmillenbr 1/4 cup of water or roughly 2 ounces isn’t out of the question for one pound. With a one pound batch you might consider adding 1/3 ounce or roughly 10 grams of dried milk to hold the water better.

mcmillenbr Need some more details. 5 pound batch? How much water are you using? I have never had water run out.

SierraPete What I do is resist the temptation to make the longest snack stick possible. I know its difficult to gauge the amount of casing you slide on the stuffing tube, but I try to go about half way. That way I have 2 -3 feet of snack stick not 4 or 5 feet.

I let those long snack sticks “rest” for about a day and right before I use them, I use a sharp knife and cut them to size then put them in the smoker or oven - providing you have trays to place them on …