I have a electric smoker from menards so nothing special but it does everything I need for now. I was making a 5 lb batch and I put the probe on the rack of meat. Im trying another 5 lbs right now and I put it on the bottom rack this time. If I have a problem again I’ll do the water bath and then order a new thermometer.

I didn’t even think of doing a water bath. Thats a good idea. I’m still learning on this process. Does the water bath effect the taste of meat? I would think the hot water would change the stick texture. Thank you guys for all the responses and help. Like I said Im still learning Alot and all the advice is much appreciated.

I just checked the box with a different thermometer and it works perfect. It’s only about 2 degrees off. I don’t understand what happened. If it was the position of the probe but that shouldn’t effect anything. I’m gonna try putting it on the middle rack tomorrow and see if it reads better.

From start till I pulled them off they cooked for 9 hrs

It’s 50 degrees outside and I’m smoking in the garage so the wind isn’t much of anything. I’m going to check my thermometer wen im done. I just looked at the sticks and they are pretty hard and wrinkles. Do you think they are safe?

I am currently smoking snack sticks and for some reason I can’t get it past 140 degrees. It’s been at 175 for the last 4 hours and it still hasn’t past 140. Is this normal? My last batch I made didn’t take this long to hit the 160 mark. Should I raise the temp in the smoker?

Hey guys I’m going to do a 5 lb batch using sure gel and was wondering how much do I put in per pound? And also how much water do I add to the meat?

Yes I had a pan in the bottom and there was plenty of humidity wen I opened the door. Is there a difference between different brands? Maybe the Lem brand is a little thicker?

Making snack sticks

I used a casing by LEM. That’s what I had. My cart already has walton’s casings in it. But is it just the lem casings that are bad or was it something I did. I cooked them to the schedule on walton’s. I followed everything perfect. I was gonna make another batch but I want to wait if the LEM casings are bad.

Well I tried my first batch yesterday and the meat came out good but the casing is to tough to eat. What did I do wrong? I followed the temp schedule exactly in my smoker. I am wondering if I understuffed the casings. Any suggestions would be great.

I am trying to figure out the amount of water I need to add to my batch of 5 lbs. Above Johnathan explains it but I don’t have any binder in it. This batch I am doing eca and cure. He said 1/4 cup per pound using binder but with no binder how much should I use?

I am going to go with the carrot fiber binder but it doesn’t say how much to use in a 5 lb batch. Can you let me know how much to use?

I purchased this seasoning and was reading for small batches it wants 3 Tbls and 1 teaspoon per pound of meat. Does that sound accurate? It seems high to me but I have never done it.

What is the best binder to use to help keep it moist? I see there is Alot of options on the walton website.

I only make 5 lb batches. How much water do you recommend per pound? I never tried a binder. I only used the cure and ECA. If I use the sure gel do you add it right away in mixing or last minute? Does it still have to sit to cure or cook right away? Do I add water to my cooking process and if so when?

I was wondering what do you do or use to keep the meat moist. I made sticks and the meat came out dry. Does the cure help to retain water in the meat? How much water do you add per pound?

I am new to making snack sticks and I was wondering what temps do I cook them at in a oven? It only goes down to 170 degrees