How to Make Venison Snack Sticks
Updated: Sep 30
This venison snack stick recipe is a deliciously elevated way to make everyones favorite handheld meat treat.
Looking for more of my venison favorites? Try summer sausage, smoked backstrap, and smoked shoulder.
After hundreds of days in the field camping, hunting, and fishing, I've spent my fair share of money on various gas station meat treats. As a kid, it was primarily the notoriously famous Slim Jim. While these pre-made meat sticks are delicious in their own right, I wanted to create something cheaper while containing fewer preservatives. And I wanted to make them with wild game meat.
The good news is, this can be easily accomplished with venison right in your own kitchen. But because venison is so lean, you need to add a good amount of pork fat so that the final product is not too dry. If you've ever eaten a venison stick that was too dry, it was probably either overcooked or didn't contain the right fat content.
Smoked snack stick recipes can often be daunting, with a long list of steps and ingredients. But fear not—I'm here to share the simplest way to make the best snack sticks possible. This recipe is straightforward and easy to follow. So you can create delicious deer sticks without the headache. My venison summer sausage is also easy to follow and just as tasty.
WHAT YOU'LL NEED TO MAKE HOMEMADE VENISON SNACK STICKS
Cuts of Meat: When making snack sticks, it's essential to use a cut of meat that doesn't contain a lot of connective tissue. These tissues can clog up your meat grinder, adding unwanted time to your stick-making process. The ideal cuts of venison would be top round, bottom round, eye of round, backstrap "loin" or boneless shoulder.
All of the silver skin will need to be removed. Before grinding the meat, placing the meat and the fat in the freezer for an hour or two is a good idea. This will make for a better grind and help prevent the fat from melting, which could ruin your entire project.
Fat: When making snack sticks or any smoked sausage for that matter, pork back fat is king. You could also use fatty bacon if you can't get your hands on straight fat.
However, you may have to reduce the salt content since bacon contains a fair amount. You could also use a well-marbled pork butt, but you will end up with a cleaner final product.
Spices: The spice blend contains salt, pink salt, black pepper, ground mustard, nutmeg, cloves, and coriander. If you don't want to use the listed seasonings, you can also purchase a pre-made seasoning blend.
The packing should have a conversion chart that tells you how much seasoning to use for the number of pounds you are making.
Casings: You'll also need sausage casings. I like to use 16-17 mm collagen casings (pre-smoked). They are easy to work with and don't need to be soaked before stuffing. You can also use sheep casings of up to 22 mm with excellent results.
Grinder: An electric or hand-cranked meat grinder fitted with a medium plate will work. This will give you somewhat of a coarse grind.
STEP-BY-STEP INSTRUCTIONS
1. Freeze the Grinder Attachments.
Place the grinder attachment, grinder plate, and grinding blade in the freezer until thoroughly chilled, about one hour.
2. Slice the Meat and Fat.
Slice the meat and pork fat into 1 to 2-inch pieces. If you have a small grinder, you may need to cut them smaller. Place them in the freezer to firm up for an hour or two. Arranging them on a baking sheet in an even layer will help them chill faster.
3. Make the Spice Blend
Add the pink salt, kosher salt, coriander, black pepper, nutmeg, cloves, garlic powder, and ground mustard to a medium bowl. If you're using a store-bought seasoning package, skip this step.
4. Season the Venison and Fat
Place the meat and fat into a large bowl. Pour in the seasonings and toss everything together until well-coated.
5. Grind the Meat and Fat
Grind through a medium-sized grinder plate (1/4 inch).
6. Mix the Ground Meat Mixture
Place the ground meat into the bowl of a stand mixer or a large mixing bowl. Mix the ingredients with the mixer's paddle attachment or a sturdy spoon until they are well combined and tacky to the touch. You can also use a meat mixer.
7. Stuff the Casings
Place the ground meat mixture into a sausage stuffer fitted with a small tube.. Fit the sausage stuffer with the sausage casings. Stuff the casings slowly and carefully to minimize the chance of forming air pockets. Air pockets can cause the fat to melt and fill up inside of them.
There is no need to twist the casings to form short individual links. A great way it to make longer links and secure each end by tying the casings in a knot or by using butcher's twine. After they are smoked, you can cut them into the perfect size links that you like.
8. Smoke the Links
Place the deer sticks horizontally on your smoker or meat locker racks. Alternatively, you can hang them vertically if you have the space. Whichever method you use, give them space in between to ensure they are evenly exposed to the smoke.
If you have the capability, cold smoke the links first. Cold smoking is at or below 100 degrees F. This will allow them to be exposed to the smoke for a longer period without the risk of overcooking. Then, increase the temperature and hot smoke.
Hot smoking is considered between 150 and 200 degrees F. I like to hot smoke them at around 180 degrees F, as it's easier for me to maintain that temperature, and they don't cook too fast. Smoke the snack sticks to an internal temperature of 150 degrees.
If you like them drier with a little more snap, try cooking them to an internal temperature of 165 degrees F. Remember that the higher the internal temperature, the drier they will be.
Remove the sticks from the smoker and let them cool at room temperature until thoroughly chilled. Alternatively, you can shock them by briefly placing them in an ice bath. This will rapidly stop the cooking process, but you risk losing some of that prized smoke flavor in the finished product.
9. Storage
Place them in an airtight container or vacuum seal them. Store in the refrigerator for up to 10 days. You can also freeze them for up to 2 months. However, the quality won't be as good. Let them thaw in the refrigerator overnight before eating.
Looking for more venison recipes? These are a few of my favorites:
The Ultimate Venison Recipe Collection
Lastly, if you try these venison snack sticks, be sure to leave a comment or tag me on Instagram! I thoroughly enjoy hearing feedback and checking out the photos of recipes that you've made.
VENISON SNACK STICKS
Yield: 5 Pounds
Prep Time: 30 Minutes
Cook Time: 2 to 4 hours
Author: Larry White
Ingredients
3 pounds boneless venison, silver skin removed, large dice
2 pounds pork fat, large dice
55 grams (around 3 tablespoons plus 1 teaspoon) coarse kosher salt
1 teaspoon pink salt (instacure No. or Prague powder No. 1)
1 tablespoon ground black pepper
4 teaspoons ground mustard
1 1/2 teaspoons ground coriander
1 teaspoon garlic powder
1 teaspoon ground cloves
1 teaspoon ground nutmeg
16 to 22 mm casings
Directions
Place the venison and the fat in the freezer until firm.
Make the spice blend. In a medium bowl, combine the salt, pink salt, black pepper, ground mustard, coriander, garlic powder, cloves, and nutmeg. Stir to combine. If using a store-bought blend, you skip this step.
Toss the venison and fat in the spice blend.
Grind the meat mixture through a medium-sized grinder plate (1/4 inch).
Add the mixture to a stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment. Mix until well combined and tacky to the touch. You can also mix by hand using a hefty spoon or a meat mixer.
Place the ground venison mixture into your sausage stuffer fitted with the casings. Fill the casings to your desired length and secure each end. You can tie the ends with excess casing or butcher's twine.
Preheat your smoker and place the links inside. Ensure that they are spaced out for even smoking.
Cold smoke the links at or below 100 degrees F for two hours. If you cannot cold smoke, you can go ahead and skip to the next step.
Hot smoke the sausages between 150 and 200 degrees F until you reach an internal temperature of 150 degrees. Use an instant-read meat thermometer to check. If you like a drier snack stick, smoke them to an internal temperature of 165 degrees F.
Remove from the smoker and let cool at room temperature until they are cooled through. You can also place them in ice water for around 1 minute to rapidly chill them. Using the rapid chill method can result in less smoke taste.
Once chilled, place them in airtight containers, Ziplock bags, or vacuum-sealed bags. Store in the refrigerator for up to 10 days, or freeze for extended storage.
Don't Have Any Venison?
You can also make these with lean cuts of beef. I recommend the eye of round, top round or sirloin.
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