Did the sticks entirely different this year. Instead of straight venison I used 12 pounds of venison and 5 pounds of pork with the fat. Then I ground the meats with a mix of three different jerky seasoning I had vacuum sealed from last year meat work. Added the cure and stuffed in 26mm casings instead of the customary 19mm. They went from the stuffer straight to the oven to heat to the 152 degrees needed to be fully cooked, THEN to the smoker. Three hours of active smoke then they were left to hang in the smoker until the charcoal died and the smoker was cold before bringing in.
Plenty of smoke. Tastier than heck, and moist instead of really dense and tough to chew. I have another almost 6 pounds of venison that was going to go into a 10 pound batch of polish sausage but I may have to do more sticks....I can't see these being around long.
