How do you cool the sticks? Doesn’t the ice bath remove the smoke flavor from the smoker?

About me

My family has been doing our own meat processing and making our own sausage for 5 generations (that I know of).

We have our own Country-Style ring sausage recipe, but have been using several Excalibur Seasoning mixes for close to ten years. I had been purchasing the seasoning from my local butcher shop, but found Walton’s Inc about 4 years ago while searching for better prices.

Walton’s has a lot greater variety of spices and better prices. Plus the shipping is super fast which is also a bonus.

I am a frequent poster on my smoker brand’s website (www.smokinitforums.com) and have recommended my favorite seasonings from here several times.

Location

Fargo, ND

Favorite Meat Snacks

Smoked Pulled Pork.

Current Grill/Smoker

Smokin-It #3 - http://www.smokin-it.com/Smoker_p/smkmdl3.htm

Experience Level

I would say Mid to High for a residential meat processor.

My family and I process 400-500 pound of venison/pork during deer hunting season. We butcher our own deer and hogs.

We make Country-Style Sausage, Snack Sticks, Summer Sausage, and Jerky during deer season.

For myself, I am smoking something in my Smokin-It smoker every week. I have smoked Pork Butts, Brisket, Chicken, Turkey, Home-Cured Bacon, Cheese, etc.

My Favorite Walton’s Stuff

Snack sticks:
BBQ - https://www.waltonsinc.com/bbq-smoked-stick
Teriyaki - https://www.waltonsinc.com/mandarin-teriyaki-snack-stick-seasoning
Pepper Stick - https://www.waltonsinc.com/pepper-stick-seasoning

Flavors I want to try:
Bloody Mary Snack Stick Seasoning
Buffalo Bleu Cheese

Summer Sausage - https://www.waltonsinc.com/summer-sausage-seasoning

My All-Time favorite go to seasoning for everything pork or poultry is Smokehouse BBQ - https://www.waltonsinc.com/smokehouse-bbq-1-63-lb

Another all- purpose favorite is the Cherry Hickory Romano Seasoning - https://www.waltonsinc.com/cherry-hickory-romano-rub

I don’t mind them being wrinkly at all. I just want to prevent the collagen casings from coming loose from the meat. I smoke 25 pounds at a time and cannot spray in my smoker. So, I think I will try spraying the sticks down in the lug in the sink idea. We usually do the sticks in the winter time when the weather is cold and we try to spread the sticks across 3 lugs and place in the back of my covered truck bed. But, evidently this did not cool them down fast enough, because they seem fine when we package/vacuum seal them. But after freezing and thawing the casings always come loose.

Let me know if you have any other suggestions.

Thanks,

Gregg

We use a 50lb meat mixer and mix it pretty well. It is definitely sticky and is a bit of a chore to stuff with our 15lb stuffer. I am guessing we mix (crank by hand) for 10-15 minutes or so.

I am using an electric smoker and have tried ramping up the temp and that took forever to finish a batch of sticks. So, I have been just running at 150 for an hour and then 200 degrees until the sticks hit 160 degrees and it takes about 8 hours per batch.