Venison Snack Sticks
These venison snack sticks are made with ground venison, pork fat, and warm spices, then stuffed into small casings and smoked until firm and sliceable. It is a straightforward smoked venison snack stick recipe with good texture, balanced seasoning, and enough fat to keep the finished sticks from drying out.
Ingredients
- 3 pounds boneless venison, large dice (silverskin removed)
- 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
Instructions
- 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.
NOTES
- Use well-trimmed venison with the silverskin removed. Top round, bottom round, eye of round, backstrap, or boneless shoulder are the best fits for snack sticks.
- Keep the meat, fat, and grinder parts very cold before grinding. That helps the mix grind cleaner and keeps the fat from smearing.
- Pork back fat gives the best texture. If you use bacon instead, reduce the salt a little since bacon is already salted.
- Stuff the casings slowly to avoid air pockets. You do not need to twist short links before smoking - longer ropes are easier, and you can cut them after they are finished.
- Cold smoke first if you can for more smoke flavor, then hot smoke at about 180 F until the sticks reach 150 F internal. For a drier stick with more snap, take them to 165 F.
- Cool the sticks completely, then store them in an airtight container or vacuum-sealed bag in the refrigerator for up to 10 days or freeze for up to 2 months.
Nutrition
Calories: 1981kcal | Carbohydrates: 2g | Protein: 63g | Fat: 189g | Saturated Fat: 74g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 22g | Monounsaturated Fat: 84g | Trans Fat: 0.002g | Cholesterol: 404mg | Sodium: 4869mg | Potassium: 914mg | Fiber: 1g | Sugar: 0.3g | Vitamin A: 8IU | Vitamin C: 0.3mg | Calcium: 34mg | Iron: 10mg
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation. Nutrition is per serving.
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