Jalapeño Cheddar Venison Snack Sticks

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Jalapeño Cheddar Venison Snack Sticks

Jalapeño Cheddar Venison Snack Sticks are smoky, savory, and loaded with little pockets of cheddar in every bite. This recipe blends lean venison with beef, pork, and pork back fat so the sticks stay juicy, then adds chipotle, pepper flakes, dehydrated jalapeños, and two kinds of cheddar for bold snack-stick flavor.

Smoke them low and slow in 17mm collagen casings until they are fully cooked, then cool, bloom, and chill before slicing and packaging. They are perfect for hunting trips, game day, road snacks, freezer packs, or anytime you want a homemade snack stick with a little heat and a lot of flavor.

Prep Time1 30

Course: Appetizer

Cuisine: American

Keyword: smoked snack sticks, venison snack sticks

Servings: servings

Author: Joshua Boquist

Equipment

Ingredients

2½ lb venison well chilled
2½ lb beef well chilled
5 lb pork well chilled
4¼ lb pork back fat well chilled or partially frozen
2½ oz Eco Cure #1
7 oz Fermento for tang
3 oz nonfat dry milk powder binder; about one 3.2 oz pack
2 cups ice cold water
4 oz kosher salt about 7 1/2 tbsp Morton kosher salt or about 13 tbsp Diamond Crystal
2 tbsp black pepper
2¼ tbsp garlic powder
1 tbsp onion powder
2 tbsp chipotle powder
4 tbsp spicy pepper flakes
1 tbsp mustard powder
1 tbsp granulated sugar
2½ oz dehydrated jalapeños about 1 1/2 cups
12 oz extra sharp cheddar diced small
12 oz white cheddar diced small
2 full collagen casings 17mm (19mm or 21mm also works)

Instructions

If you are grinding your own meat, keep the venison, beef, pork, pork back fat, grinder parts, and mixing bowl very cold before starting. Freeze the meat for about an hour before you grind it.
Grind the chilled meat and pork back fat through the desired plate, keeping the mixture cold throughout the process. Use a coarse plate for the first grind and a fine plate for the second grind.
Combine the cure, Fermento, nonfat dry milk powder, and seasonings, and add it to the meat. Then mix the ice-cold water into the ground meat until the mixture becomes tacky and well-bound.
Fold in the diced extra sharp cheddar, white cheddar, and dehydrated jalapenos until evenly distributed.
Stuff the mixture into 17mm collagen snack stick casings, taking care not to overstuff or leave large air pockets.
Arrange the stuffed sticks on clean wire racks over trays, leaving space between them. Pat away surface moisture and refrigerate uncovered at 40°F or below until the casings feel dry to the touch. Keep them refrigerated while you preheat a Grilla Mammoth or another pellet smoker capable of holding 180°F, such as a compatible Traeger model, to 180°F. For an electric smoker capable of lower temperatures, see the Electric Smoker Method in the notes.

Smoke the Snack Sticks on a Pellet Smoker

Hang the sticks with space between them in a vertical smoker, or arrange them in a single layer on the racks of a pellet grill. Keep them away from direct heat and do not let them touch. Maintain 180°F throughout the cook and monitor the actual cabinet temperature with a separate thermometer near the sticks.
Cook until the center of the snack sticks reaches 160°F. Use a thin probe inserted lengthwise into the meat, avoiding cheese pockets, and monitor from the start of the cook. Check several sticks in different parts of the smoker with an instant-read thermometer and remove each as it reaches 160°F. Do not raise the heat to rush the finish. Cooking time varies with casing size, batch size, and smoker performance.
Transfer the cooked sticks promptly to a clean ice-water bath to stop the cooking. Keep the water cold by adding ice as needed, then drain and pat the sticks dry.
Arrange the sticks on clean racks over trays and refrigerate promptly at 40°F or below to dry the casings and chill completely. Let them rest in the refrigerator for 12 to 24 hours for the flavor and texture to settle, then slice and vacuum seal while cold. Skip a prolonged room-temperature bloom.

Notes

Pellet Smoker Method

Steady heat: The main instructions use 180°F for a Grilla Mammoth or another pellet smoker that can maintain that setting. Dry the casings in the refrigerator before smoking. Use indirect heat, leave space between sticks, and monitor the actual temperature near the meat. Avoid temperature spikes, which can encourage fat and cheese loss.

Electric Smoker Method

Use suitable equipment: This alternate method requires an electric smoker that can maintain 120°F and the higher settings below. Keep the sticks refrigerated while it preheats. Follow the directions for your specific curing product, including any required refrigerated rest before smoking. Different cures are not interchangeable by weight.

Dry at 120°F: Load the sticks with space between them and hold at 120°F for 1 hour without added smoke, with the vent open according to your smoker instructions.

Increase in stages: Add smoke and raise the cabinet temperature to 140°F for 1 hour, then 150°F for 1 hour, then 160°F for 1 hour. Finally, raise it to 170°F and continue until the sticks reach 160°F internally. Monitor internal temperature from the beginning and remove any sticks that reach 160°F sooner. The final stage has no fixed time.

Finish and chill: Follow the same ice bath and refrigerated chilling steps in the main instructions. If the curing-product manufacturer requires a higher final internal temperature, follow that requirement.

For the Meat: You can use already ground meat, or grind it yourself. If you are grinding your own meat, be sure to keep the meat cold before grinding. Throw it in the freezer for 1 to 2 hours before grinding.

For the Casings: For snack sticks, I prefer 17mm collagen casings. You will use about 2 whole casings, but get some extra just in case. They store well, and you will want to make another batch!

Don't Overstuff: If you overstuff the casings, they will split. If they are overstuffed, they are also more likely to split when loading them or hanging them in the smoker.

Mixing: The water helps to bind the meat mixture together. Mix the meat with water until the meat becomes tacky so the snack sticks bind properly.

Cool Rapidly: Use an ice water bath in a large container to dunk the snack sticks in to let them quickly cool down and stop the cooking process. This also keeps the meat from detaching from the casing.

Cooling and Chilling

Chill before packaging: Arrange the sticks on clean racks over trays and refrigerate promptly at 40°F or below to dry the casings and chill completely. Let them rest in the refrigerator for 12 to 24 hours for the flavor and texture to settle, then slice and vacuum seal while cold. Skip a prolonged room-temperature bloom.

Timing and Temperature

Use a thermometer: Monitor from the start rather than waiting several hours to check. Probe the meat, avoiding cheese pockets, and verify several sticks in different smoker positions. There is no fixed cook-time estimate for this pellet-smoker adaptation yet. Plan for a variable cook and use 160°F internally as the endpoint, or a higher temperature if required by your curing-product manufacturer.

Cheese on a Pellet Smoker

Cheese choice: For the pellet-smoker method, high-temperature cheddar is the best choice for distinct cheese pockets. Substitute the same weight for the regular cheddar. Regular extra sharp and white cheddar can soften and release oil during smoking.

Nutrition