Snack sticks / pepperoni sticks recipe and dehydrator critique

[BrewerDave]

Hello all,

This is my second post and I look forward to learning from everyone. I attempted to make pepperoni sticks last month and they didn't turn out too well. In a nutshell, I tried to dry them in the oven and it would only go down to 200 degrees. The result was sawdust dry sticks. I loved the flavor but the texture was a nogo. I have modified my recipe and will be using my nesco dehydrator for the next attempt.

Here is the recipe:

Snack sticks test 2
Ingredients:

1 pound of ground beef (80/20)
1/8 teaspoon of garlic powder
1 teaspoon of paprika
1.5 teaspoons of Morton’s Tender quick salt
1 tablespoon of fennel seed
1 tablespoon of crushed red pepper
1/4 cup water

collagen casings 21mm

Directions:

Mix all ingredients thoroughly.Using a jerky gun, stuff casings. Let rest in fridge for 24 hours

Drying process:

let sit out for apx 1 hour. Pre-heat dehydrator for an hour. Place in dehydrator at 145 degrees. 8 hours or until internal temp 150


I'd appreciate any thoughts concerns or suggestions

Thanks in advance,
DS

[teesquare]

Sounds like the "fatted out" .... The 200F will cause fats to melt/liquify and not stay where we want them....I don't believe that the internal temps. will reach 150F, if your dehydrator is set for 145F. Given that the thermostat is fairly close to the set point - the max IT will be 145F.

There will be some other folks that will probably be able to add more to this thread, on the subjects of the amount of tender-quick, ratio of lean to fat,  or other things that may help you perfect your snack sticks.

[TentHunteR]

A few suggestions:

> Like Tee said, unless the dehydrator is running hot,  I don't think you'll get to an internal temp of 150° if the dehydrator is set at 145°.

You'd end up going by the 8 hour mark, or you could bump the temp to 155° after 6 hours or so  to be sure the I.T. reaches 150° - 152°. This might help set the color and texture.


> I've noticed that all-beef pepperoni has a tendency to dry out when I make it (my all-beef summer sausage doesn't - go figure).  It may have something to do with the high amount of spices in the pepperoni mix.   Whatever the reason, a 50/50 beef/pork mixture seems to work better for me when I make pepperoni.


> I like to add about 1 TBS powdered buttermilk per lb to boost the tang for pepperoni.  The powdered buttermilk also helps as a binder.


Again, just some suggestions based on what I've experienced with pepperoni.

Hope they make sense!

Cliff

[Scallywag]

Watching this one, snack sticks are on my to do list with my dehydrator.

[nepas]

Hello all,

This is my second post and I look forward to learning from everyone. I attempted to make pepperoni sticks last month and they didn't turn out too well. In a nutshell, I tried to dry them in the oven and it would only go down to 200 degrees. The result was sawdust dry sticks. I loved the flavor but the texture was a nogo. I have modified my recipe and will be using my nesco dehydrator for the next attempt.

Here is the recipe:

Snack sticks test 2
Ingredients:

1 pound of ground beef (80/20)
1/8 teaspoon of garlic powder
1 teaspoon of paprika
1.5 teaspoons of Morton’s Tender quick salt
1 tablespoon of fennel seed
1 tablespoon of crushed red pepper
1/4 cup water

collagen casings 21mm

Directions:

Mix all ingredients thoroughly.Using a jerky gun, stuff casings. Let rest in fridge for 24 hours

Drying process:

let sit out for apx 1 hour. Pre-heat dehydrator for an hour. Place in dehydrator at 145 degrees. 8 hours or until internal temp 150


I'd appreciate any thoughts concerns or suggestions

Thanks in advance,
DS

Recipe looks good but a 200* starting temp was to high to fast and resulted in a fat-out right away. You may have gotten by with a pan of water in the oven and the door open a bit.

[TMB]

Bookmarked this,  thanks.

[BrewerDave]

Thanks all for the fast replies. Unfortunatley 145 degrees is the max setting on my nesco. It's an old one. I have a couple a tricks to get it a few degrees hotter that I will incorporate, though I wonder if I could go 8 hours at 145, then transfer to the oven to get IT to 150? The sticks shouldnt fat out at that time, should they?

I like the idea of adding some powdered buttermilk for extra tang. That sounds like a round 3 recipe.

I'll start on saturday and finish on sunday and I will be making pics along the way

[muebe]

Instead of using tender quick why not use pink salt. That way they will be safe to eat when dehydrated at 145F.

When dehydrated correctly the moisture content should make them safe to eat. They may not be "shelf safe" but if kept cool until consumption they should be fine.

I am by no means a snack stick expert and don't mind being corrected by Rick or Cliff if they feel differently.

Or you can get them up to 165F IT initially in the oven then move them to the dehydrator to finish. If you get them to 165F initially and use pink salt they should be shelf safe. This takes some practice on the timing so the sticks don't fat out and become brittle/dry.

[TentHunteR]

Instead of using tender quick why not use pink salt. That way they will be safe to eat when dehydrated at 145F.

Mike, that's not a bad idea, and it can be done. The one thing I would like to clarify is by "pink salt" we mean Cure #1 (Cure #2 is also most often tinted pink, which is why I'm not a fan of calling it pink salt).


So, how do we replace Morton Tenderquick with a mix that contains Cure #1 AND the same ratio of salt/sugar?

First, without getting into the why's on this thread,  it should ONLY be done in 2 1/2 or 5 lb batches.



For a 2 1/2 lb batch of pepperoni (based on the posted recipe above) the ingredients would be:

- 2.5 lbs of ground beef (80/20)
- 3/8 teaspoons of garlic powder
- 2.5 teaspoons of paprika
- 2.5 tablespoons (7.5 tsp) of fennel seed
- 2.5 tablespoons (7.5 tsp) of crushed red pepper
- 5 liq oz. water  (5/8 cup)

- 2.5 teaspoons of Salt
- 3/4 teaspoon of Sugar
- 1/2 teaspoon Cure #1 (6.2% sodium nitrite)


Note: The last three ingredients replaces the 3.75 tsp of Morton Tenderquick that would be used. This mix keeps the salt/sugar ratio the same AND most importantly keeps the sodium nitrite within the safe limits established by the USDA.


Cliff

[BrewerDave]

Utilizing cure #1, would you recommend I still allow 24 hours in the fridge to allow the flavors and cure to "meld"? I would be keeping these in the fridge or vacuum seal and freeze until consumption. Though I don't think they'd make it to the freezer...

[muebe]

Utilizing cure #1, would you recommend I still allow 24 hours in the fridge to allow the flavors and cure to "meld"? I would be keeping these in the fridge or vacuum seal and freeze until consumption. Though I don't think they'd make it to the freezer...

You don't need 24 hours for the cure. It works almost instantly. It does not really add flavor. But if you like the results better of a overnight rest for the seasonings and favors to meld you can.

[BrewerDave]

OK, pepperoni went into the dehydrater this morning. 8 Hours at 145 degrees. Internal temp was (of course) 140 degrees. I preheated the oven to 200 degress and put them in. After 10 minutes, internal temp was 151 degrees. I turned the oven off and left the sticks in for another 15- 20 minutes.

Final internal temp was 154 degrees. I let the sticks cool to room temp. So far so good. I had a stick earlier and it was very good. More to come I'm sure

DS