Pepperoni Sticks ( first take )

Posted: Sun Mar 08, 2009 12:53 am

Nice day on the Prairies so I did up 25 lbs of Pepperoni Sticks .. I used a premix from Canada Compound .. Turned out great , but next time if I use there mix I'll add some fennel seeds . I have a bunch of recipes to make them from scratch but there premixes are priced good and a good starting point if one wants to add flavor etc ..

Posted: Sun Mar 08, 2009 1:51 am

Good looking stuff Darrel they turned out nice by the looks of them. Wink

Posted: Sun Mar 08, 2009 7:51 am

Looking real good Darrel. What temp did you cook at and for how long? Wood, pellets, what other info can you give us? Homemade stuffer as well? What did you use for the casings?

Posted: Sun Mar 08, 2009 9:28 am

In addition to Jims Question. How did you keep the temp steady and I am assuming low? I'm sure you have showed us somewhere else on here...but..I can't find.

Posted: Sun Mar 08, 2009 10:05 am

BTW Darrel, I don't see a vac pack machine so you can safely package and send me my sample. Sad

Posted: Sun Mar 08, 2009 10:21 am

Well that just looks fantastic.

Posted: Sun Mar 08, 2009 11:35 am

Very nice sticks. sheep casings?
I really like your hanging rack too.

Posted: Sun Mar 08, 2009 12:26 pm

I held them at 110 - 120 ish for a few hours ( to dry the casings ) with a electric hot plate .. Dont laugh , it works great for holding low temps . Then slowing increased to 150 . at that temp I pulled out the hot plate and started using lump in the charcoal chute .. after a couple more hours worked my way up to 180 and held it there until the meat hit 155 internal temp .took about 7 - 8 hours total .Being pepperoni I never hit them with much smoke ..
And yes , the stuffer is a custom built unit .. Cool

, The casings were 23mm collagen .. They are really easy to work with . I've read where some guys have used sheep casings for the snack sticks and say they can be a pain in the A%# ..

Posted: Sun Mar 08, 2009 1:03 pm

Recipe? Samples??

Posted: Sun Mar 08, 2009 4:33 pm

Ok, I'd like to see pics of the stuffer when it is torn down for cleaning. I'd like to have something simple like that, that I know would work. Good job, those pep sticks look mmmmmmmm.

Posted: Sun Mar 08, 2009 7:13 pm

That is just too cool. How long does this supply last, one week?

Posted: Sun Mar 08, 2009 7:24 pm

These pics of the stuffer were taken shortly after construction so ignore the greasy smudges ..

Posted: Mon Mar 09, 2009 12:43 pm

Is the tube UHMW or PVC or ? What do you call those type of clamps? Thanks for sharing.

Posted: Mon Mar 09, 2009 9:55 pm

The tube is UHMW , as for the what the clamps are called ?? all I can say is ss pipe clamps .. There may be a proper trade name though ?? .. For what its worth Gene , this stuffer works good , but for one person its kinda a pain in the butt .. When you start with the ( acme ) threaded rod fully extended its a little tough to reach both ends .. Mind you a guy could make the tube a little shorter .. This one is 18" ..

It was a project , like many a strange idea I get in my head .. Laughing

.. But now that I am into this stuffing thing I'll be buying something along the line of a LEM stuffer ..
http://www.lemproducts.com/

Posted: Mon Mar 09, 2009 10:51 pm

Well, lets agree on a price and we can both step up.