Jonathon Thank You, My review was on the Willies Seasoning (at least that’s what I think I reviewed… Lol)
My question for the Salami Seasoning is how much garlic punch does it have, and if I wanted to add more should I use fresh minced garlic, garlic powder or granular, and if you think it’s necessary how much for 25 pounds? Thanks Again!

mcmillenbr following… I have a few friends that want me to ship them some.

Over the last few weeks I’ve left a product review, and “asked a question” on a product page. Does it take awhile to have these reviews and questions to be approved, or am I doing something wrong because they do not show on the site. Maybe it’s my browser? I’m using Chrome. I got an email thanking me for my review a few weeks ago, but it’s never been posted on the product page, and the question I asked under Salami Seasoning doesn’t exist… Not a big deal, I just wanted to make someone aware in case there is an issue.

After more thought on yesterdays cook, I think I had the cooker over packed with sticks restricting the air flow around the product causing some case hardening. Time to build that cedar smokehouse I’ve been drawing plans for

craigrice For sure. I do that with about everything anymore. Memory isn’t what it used to be. lol

Parksider Thank you, moisture wasn’t the issue. At least I don’t think so. I had 4 full size steam pans in the bottom of the cooker with a half inch of water in them. That’s a lot of surface area. I think I’m going to give the Sous Vide a shot next round. I already own one and have a big enough basin to hold them all. I’ll probably vac seal mine before putting the in the water.

That’s a steal! I would have bought that in a heartbeat.

I made my 2nd batch of all Beef/Jalapeno/Cheddar Willies Snack Sticks yesterday. Overall I was happy, but not as impressed (but still really impressed) as I was with the 1st batch. The sticks had a darker appearance, more wrinkles in the casing once finished, and the casing was a little tough. Almost like they case hardened. I ran 125 for an hour, 140 for an hour, 155 for 2, and then 170 to finish. It took almost 9 hour to finish VS. the 6 on the 1st attempt. I made a few changes in the process that had both positive and negative results. I cook in an offset stick burner so everything goes on one rack and is fired by 100% wood. The first attempt I stuffed everything into coils, but ran out of space on the cooker without having to overlap and shuffle things around throughout the cooking process to keep everything even. This time I made long runs to use all the rack space and not have to overlap. Plus it made the final appearance better as to not be shaped in arches once cut. I also lined the entire belly of the cooker with 4 full size pans with a half inch of water in them. Last time I ran the cooker dry. Again, overall I’m still really impressed. It is possible that I may have had the cooker packed just a little to tight cutting back on the flow. I’ve got a batch of TexMex coming up in a few days so I’ll make a few adjustments. I might even try to finish them in the Sous Vide after they’ve taken on some smoke.

I’m definitely putting this on my “to do” list, and I’m also curious about the outcome of the red chili powder for both taste and color. Thanks for sharing!

I’m setting up to do (2) 25# batches of all beef snack sticks over the next week. I’m also planning on doing a 3rd batch with Chicken, Gigawatt Seasoning, Mozzarella Cheese, ECA, & Sure Gel. My question is… I plan to use 17#'s Boneless Skinless Chicken Thighs (Breasts if I can’t find that many thighs) mixed With 8 #'s fat. I don’t have 8#'s of Pork Fat on hand. Do you all think an uncured pork belly would be a good substitute for the pork fat, and if so should I adjust the meat to fat ratio since the belly isn’t all fat?

Jonathon Thank you! I’m curious to hear the results of the Pheasant sticks

I’m sure any cheese would be fine. I just haven’t tried the Tex-Mex seasoning to know what kind of punch it packs. Not sure if I should try and balance it out with a mellow cheese or give it some extra kick. I’m thinking since I’m using all beef I may go with the hot pepper cheese for the 1st go around

PapaSop It was a coarse and then a fine grind. I then ran it through a meat mixer to get good protein extraction. added the cheese and mixed in by hand. I trim dozens of Wagyu briskets a year and usually end up with a couple hundred pounds of trimmings that need to be used for something.

PapaSop Lol. That’s actually a lamp, but I agree

Joe Hell Thank you!

I love my PK with Grill Grates. It’s a steak cooking machine!

Hello, I’m thinking of using the Tex-Mex Snack Stick Seasoning for my next 25# batch. Does anybody have experience with adding cheese to this seasoning? If so what type of cheese would you recommend, or is it better with out? Mine will be all beef sticks.

Made my 1st batch of Snack Sticks Following this excellent tutorial. I used 100% Wagyu Brisket Trimmings, Dehydrated Jalapeno, & Cheddar Cheese, & Willies Seasoning. Can’t wait to make some more, and try some other flavor combinations.
Overall for a 1st attempt I was very happy with the final results, but I’ll make a few tweaks to the process next time.