Okay, so I’ve been wanting to make my own beef sticks for a while now. I love snacking on them, but the store-bought ones can be a little pricey, and you never quite know what’s in them. Figured I’d give it a shot myself!
First thing I did was hit up the grocery store. I grabbed a big ol’ chunk of lean ground beef – about 3 pounds. I also picked up some spices: garlic powder, onion powder, paprika, black pepper, a bit of cayenne for a kick, and some curing salt (pink salt, not regular salt!). This is important for safety, folks, so don’t skip it!
Mixing it Up
Back home, I dumped the ground beef into a big bowl. I measured out the spices. No exact measurements here, I kinda just eyeballed it based on how much flavor I wanted. I probably went heavier on the garlic powder and paprika, ’cause I love those.
Then came the curing salt. The package had instructions, so I followed those carefully. Mixing everything was a workout! I kneaded that meat and spice mixture like I was making bread. Gotta make sure it’s all evenly distributed, you know?
Time to Stuff
Next up was the fun part – stuffing the meat into casings. I’d ordered some collagen casings online. They looked kinda weird and plasticky, but they’re totally edible. I soaked them in warm water for a bit to soften them up, like the package said.
I don’t have a fancy sausage stuffer, so I used a jerky gun. It’s basically a big caulking gun that you load with meat. It worked… okay. It was a little messy, and it took some practice to get the hang of it. I squeezed the meat mixture into the casings, trying to make them nice and even. I twisted the ends to seal them off, making individual sticks.
- Tip 1: Don’t overstuff! The casing will split easily.
- Tip 2: Get all the stuff ready before you touch any raw meat.
Into the Smoker (or Oven)
Now for the cooking part. I have a small electric smoker, so I used that. I set it to a low temperature, around 170°F (77°C). If you don’t have a smoker, you can use your oven, just keep the temperature low and slow.
I laid the beef sticks out on the smoker racks, making sure they weren’t touching. Then it was just a waiting game. I smoked them for about 4-5 hours, checking on them every now and then. I was aiming for that nice, dark, slightly shriveled look.
The Finished Product
After they were done, I let them cool down completely. And there you have it – homemade beef sticks! They were a little uneven in shape, some were a bit thicker than others, but man, they tasted good! Way better than the store-bought stuff, and I knew exactly what went into them.
It was a bit of work, especially with my makeshift stuffing method, but totally worth it. I’ll definitely be making these again, maybe experimenting with different spice blends next time. Maybe a jalapeno version? We’ll see!
