Section 1: Introduction
We all love beef sticks despite being pretty expensive. Beef sticks are a fast, tasty, and nutritious snack you cannot afford not to crave for. The only discouraging thing about meat sticks is that they seem to get more and more expensive every year, and only a few people know how to make them at home.
It possible to spend $10 per day on this quick snack, but we highly recommend you learn how to make it at home to save a few dollars. The process of preparing beef sticks at home is not complicated as long as you have a meat grinder, a stuffer and an oven or barbeque smoker. In this guide, we will demystify how to make beef sticks at home with your friends and family members fast.
Section 2: Basics
We will start by showing simple recipes on how to do it step by step. To start, you will have to make snack sticks.
Section 2.1: How to make snack sticks
Snack sticks refer to the outer cover that holds beef sticks and can be made of beef, pork, chicken or meat combinations depending on your preference. The meat to fat ratio should be based on the fat content you prefer. We recommend an 80 to 20 ratio for best results
Section 3: Technique/ Tips to improve
To prepare the tasty beef sticks at home, one should make sure they use the right ingredients and follow the correct steps when preparing.
The ingredients:
- 4lb beef roast
- 7 tablespoons A.C Legg Snack Stick Seasoning
- 20-21 mm collagen casing
- 1lb pork roast
- 1 tps Prague Powder curing salt
Section 3.1: Meat Grinding
Meat grinding is the first step when preparing beef sticks. Before you start the process, make sure you cool down the meet to prevent clogging the grinder. Meat grinders work best with smaller pieces. Once you have cooled down the meat, go ahead to follow the procedure:
- Grind blocks of meat with bigger grinding plate- plate size 3/8”. Once done, place the meat in a freezer for an hour to let it cool down. This is to prevent risks of the grinder clogging.
- The second step should be regrinding the cooled meat fast using a 1/8 inch grinder plate.
Section 3.2: Seasoning
Once you are done grinding your meat, put all your desired meat seasoning and blend it. Allow it to settle for 5 minutes before adding a glass of water and blend again. From here, cool the finished blend which can be done in two ways.
First, one can opt to put the meat in a freezer for half an hour or opt for the traditional method. The traditional method requires you to put the meat in a fridge for 12-24 hours to enhance the taste of the meat blend and enhance the smell. The second method improves the taste of your beef sticks but if you do not have time, opt for the first method.
Section 3.3: Re-grinding
After you are done with seasoning, you will have to re-grind the meat. Use a 1/8” grinder plate to get the right consistency for easy stiffing.
Section 3.4: Stuffing
The stiffing process can be a bit complicated if you did not grind the meat well. Stuffing can be done using a jerky gun or a stand mixer.
The jerky gun is the best tool for quick stuffing. The gun can fit enough meat for several medium beef sticks. A jerky gun requires you to fill the nozzle with meat and put it the gun. The next thing one should do is cover the nozzle and tie one end. By firing the jerky gun, the meat gets into the cover. Continue firing until you get the desired length. Tie the other end of the cover. Repeat the procedure until you run out of meat.
One can also use a sausage stiffer attachment as a stand mixer. This method is less convenient, and we highly advise people to avoid it at all costs.
Section 3.5: Cooking the Beef Sticks
One can cook beef sticks using an oven, a smoker or with a dedicated dryer with temperature control of at least 160 degrees.
If you opt to use a smoker, start with a temperature of 145 to 150 degrees for about an hour. Later on, increase the temperature up to 170 degrees. Keep the temperature at bay until the beef stick attains a temperature of 150 degrees. This process is similar when using an oven.
Section 3.6: Cooling
The moment your beef sticks are ready, one should go-ahead to put them in cold water close to 10 minutes. This helps prevent wrinkling and keep the fat in, as recommended by Fire Spicer.
Section 4: Correcting Common Problems
People end up making a mistake for not cooking the correct type of beef sticks. To correct the problem, one should make sure they understand the different types of beef sticks available and what flavor best suits them.
- Naked Homemade Beef Sticks
- Casting Beef Sticks Recipe
Section 5: Analysis of the best practices in the industry
Another thing one should consider to attain the best flavor is considering whether to cook using a smoker or oven. We prefer using a smoker as it offers flavored beef sticks depending on the type of wood you used.
However, if you do not have a smoker at your disposal, one can go ahead to use an oven for cooking.
Section 6: Tool you can use
To obtain the best results, one should ensure they have the right tools at their disposal. Here are a few things you must-have for the exercise;
- Meat Grinder
- Barbeque Smoker
- Fridge or Freezer
- Jerky Gun
- Seasoning tools
Section 6.1 Final Thoughts
Preparing beef sticks is not an easy process, but with the right guide, you can easily do it yourself. There are various recipes one can follow, but the steps offered in this guide will help you get the job done in no time. For the best results, make sure you use the meat that you best prefer.