Those dogs look fantastic Chris! I love hog cased sausages, they have the perfect snap!

Hard back fat is a different kind of fat than belly fat, shoulder fat, etc. It is hard, Snow White, and doesn't smear easily if group very cold. Most butchers don't sell it as they keep it for their own sausage making! You might try a bit of binder/moisture absorber in a batch this year and see if i...

I know, hard to wait!! I am in the same boat with my orange lonzino...another few % and then I can finally try it!

Yes, remove it from the bung if you want to vacpak and equalize. I always shoot for at least 35% weight loss, that gives me a nice firm Coppa that's easy to slice. Depends on the thickness. Mine would still be a bit soft in the middle at 30%. I never bother equalizing as a whole muscle. After losing...

I don't think it's your grind. I can grind through a quarter inch plate once and still make a great emulsion just using my hands in about four or five minutes. I have found that the key is to squeeze the meat in your fists and mash while mixing. If you do that for 5 minutes, squeezing, smashing, mix...

Agreed, 12 hours is crazy...but thats how long they took to get to 152 IT. Recipe said take them to IT of 160..hell, that would have taken another 8 hours at the rate they were going! I figured 4- 6 hours till done...man was I wrong! Good news is that at 12 hours they are so dry and smoky that the A...

Thanks Devo. The process I used was very similar. Took 12 hours to finally get to 152. End product is very dry, which I like in a snack stick. I ran out of the small collagen casings at the very end of stuffing, so I stuffed some larger collgen casings which made four nice sliceable 6 oz pepperoni c...

They probably used a moisture and binding ingredient, like non fat milk powder (NFMP), soy protein, carrot fiber, sure gel, etc. Many commercially available binders that also absorb and hold moisture, resulting in a plumper, juicier, more glued together product. I have used NFMP, soy protein, and ca...

Sticks have been smoking for over 10 hours now! IT is only up to 140.... Most sites say only take IT to 152, not to 160. Given how dry and how long these have taken (probably take another few hours just to hit 152!) will I be safe to stop when IT gets to 152? Never seem something so thin and small t...

I also use netting to shape casing to meat on whole muscle cuts. I wouldn't worry about the air pocket, you may just get a spot there of dry rim, and you may get some mold there. Not a big deal as long as it is dry mold, not slimy when you take the case off after drying. Most everyone has the casing...

Long does it normally take for snack sticks to get to IT of 160?

I have been smoking them since 1pm and they are at IT of 138.

At this rate I am guessing another 3-4 hours?

1 hr at 110
1 hr at 130
1 hr at 150
Finish at 170 until IT is 170

Thanks for the advice Chris! And sorry to hear about your Salami Crespone...I am sure you will save the day! So do you suggest that I let these snack sticks rest at room temp overnight? Or for a day or two at room temp after they are done smoking and hit an IT of 160? I assume they are safe to stay ...

You want to stay around 1.5% (no more than 2%) by weight for pepper powders. and 3.5% (no more than 4%) by weight for fresh or preserved/concentrated pepper pastes. Not so much due to flavor, but due to texture issues if you go over (read crumbly, binding issues, etc) I usually do 1% hot pimenton po...

Hey guys! I made 10lbs of beef/pork pepperoni snack sticks using Butcher Packer kit. They are 70/30 beef/pork. They have 11.34g cure #1 in them (came in the kit for 10lbs of meat) Instructions say grind, mix stuff in collagen casings and smoke per schedule below. Doesn't say to let them bloom, rest ...

I wouldn't worry about it, your recipe and amount of cure looks fine!
I am sure it will firm up nicely in the beef bung, mine always do!