I used 25 lbs of select chuckeye with no added fat. (I wanted to err on the side of lean)
Salt 2.3%
Cure 1 0.2%
Mustard Powder 0.05%
Nutmeg 0.047%
Fresh ground celery seed 0.06%
Ground coriander 0.04%
Onion powder 0.13%
Garlic Powder 0.22%
Fresh ground black pepper - medium/fine grind 0.54%
Corn Syrup Solids 1.3% (Note, at this rate there is only a gentle tang if more tang is desired cut this back by 0.2% or so)
Soy Protein concentrate 1%
6 cups of ice water
Bactoferm LHP prepared as directed.
Procedure - What I did anyway
chunk the meat up into a suitable size for the grinder. Add all the spices to the meat cubes and mix well and let sit in cooler for a few hours then place in freezer till its nearly frozen.
Grind using the 3/8's plate. Add the ice water and mix then and put back in freezer to get it really cold.
Mix the meat up a little and add the LHP per directions and mix some more. I used 1.5 cups of solution doctored with a pinch of dextrose.
Grind again using the 3/16's plate. Mince should come out looking like spaghetti. If it doesn't put it back in the freezer and save yourself some future trouble stuffing.
Stuff in 15 mm collagen casings and hang in smokehouse for a day. My ambient temp was in the 60's so my fermentation was slow. Next morning my pH was at 5.7 so I began a cold smoke and let the fermentation continue till noon when it hit 5.33. At this time I began adding some heat to the smoke. I kept the heat at 100F for a couple hours then gradually increased it to 150 F for two more hours then I bumped it to 155F and smoked till the internal temp reached 152F then I shut the heat off and let them rest for about 30 minutes while I checked a sample stick.
Sample had a pH of 4.95 and the available water was 0.89 thus meeting the final safety hurdles for vacuum packaging.
In packaging, I used a medium vacuum to seal the bags. Enough to give them a snug airless fit but not too much because I found too much vacuum seems to mess with the integrity of the bond between the casing and the mince.
Cooled and ready for portioning.
![Image](https://scontent-atl3-1.xx.fbcdn.net/hphotos-xpt1/v/t1.0-9/12088143_747921141980541_3998265587209463751_n.jpg?oh=8c094ec260b362dd5e4de90a20c5c0de&oe=5689F273)
Close up shows the dried withered look of the sticks.
![Image](https://scontent-atl3-1.xx.fbcdn.net/hphotos-xta1/v/t1.0-9/12115564_747921121980543_3605357251994264481_n.jpg?oh=b70e116e154d02e52c5c3998cb2b21e0&oe=569619C4)
Vac packed and ready.
![Image](https://scontent-atl3-1.xx.fbcdn.net/hphotos-xtp1/v/t1.0-9/12096610_747921155313873_7610424340406142892_n.jpg?oh=ed0e6f984d61ffca5f1c0772b38b3421&oe=569044F7)
In all, I think this is a pretty good beef stick. It hits the mark on accenting the beef flavor but with the luxury of hindsight I think I might add a touch more black pepper. The tang actually seems to have increased a hair from when I pulled them out of the smokehouse. I don't know if this is from the LHP still doing some work or not. Don't know if that's even possible but it does seem to have a bit more tang after resting at room temp in the bags a day.
Another thing worth noting is the soy protein concentrate makes a world of difference in the ability to stuff these small casings and the end texture and mouth feel of the stick. I've made the same without the SPC and they seemed drier and more crumbly. This one is dead on as far as mouth feel.