Smoked & Dry Aged Snack Sticks

The ultimate flavor bomb — these jalapeno cheddar snack sticks are fermented, smoked, then dry aged in the Reserve 100 Dry Ager. A short dry aging cycle concentrates the flavors and tightens up the casings, making these sticks more flavorful and snappier. It doesn't get better than this!

Ingredients

• 10 LB -- Pork Trim
• 5 LB -- Beef Trim
• 392 Grams -- #484 Jalapeno Snack Stick Seasoning
• 1 1/2 Cup -- Distilled water, cold
• 17 Gram -- Speed Cure
• 1.5 LB -- High Temp Cheddar Cheese
• Culture -- Amount needed for 15 lb batch
• 1.8 oz -- Dextrose
• 21mm Mahogany Casings

Directions

1. Cut the meat down into smaller pieces and then grind once through a 3/8" plate and then again through a 3/16" plate.
2. Mix in the jalapeno snack stick seasoning, water, dextrose and cure into the meatblock.
3. Follow directions based on the culture. We use a quick culture. Add this into the meatblock.
4. Mix well until the seasoning is well distributed and the meat becomes tacky. This will mean that protein extraction has started.
5. Add in the high temp cheese and mix until just combined.
6. Load the meatblock into your stuffer and stuff into your mahogany casings.
7. Hang the snack sticks on smoke sticks and place in the smoker allowing space between for airflow.
8. Set the smokehouse temperature to 100 degrees and place a water pan on the drip tray for moisture.
9. Allow fermentation for up to 12 hours.
10. Remove the water pan from the smokehouse and set the temperature to 110 degrees. Set dampers wide open for a drying cycle.
11. Dry at 110 degrees for 2 hours.
12. Increase temperature of the smokehouse to 130 degrees.
13. Fill a sawdust pan 3/4 full with sawdust and dampen thoroughly with water.
14. Place the sawdust pan directly on the heating element. Set dampers to 2/3 closed.
15. Smoke for 2 hours.
16. Increase the temperature of the smokehouse to 150 degrees.
17. Smoke 2 hours.
18. Increase the temperature of the smokehouse to 180 degrees and smoke until the internal temperature of the snack sticks reaches 152 degrees.
19. Remove the snack sticks from the smoker and hang at room temperature for 2 hours to bloom.
20. Place the snack sticks in the fridge to cool completely.
21. Using only the top rack of the Reserve 100 Dry Ager, hang the snack sticks in between the rungs and place the rack in the dry ager.
22. Set the temperature to 38 degrees and the relative humidity to 75%.
23. Age for 4 days.
24. Remove the snack sticks from the ager, cut to size and enjoy!