Are you wondering about how you can make beef sticks at home?
Beef sticks are nutritious and you can keep them for longer periods if well prepared.
However, good as it may sound, the major challenges that arise are related to cost factors and a lack of knowledge among many people to make beef sticks.
If you really love beef sticks, then you can learn how to prepare them at home. As such, this post gives you insight into how you can make beef sticks at home using a quick and easy recipe.
You can certainly save money by making sticks of your choice at home.
Factors to Consider
If you want to make beef sticks at home, there are certain factors to consider such as the cooking methods and types of snacks to make.
You can choose from either a smoker or an oven to prepare your beef sticks at home.
Smoking leaves the meat with good flavor and it is crucial to maintain the cooking heat at a low level below 200 degrees F to make sure that the meat dries instead of cooking.
It might be difficult to maintain this temperature on your smoker so if the temperature gets too hot, you better remove the meat then return it when it has subsided.
On the other hand, an oven is ideal for preparing beef sticks at home since you can easily control their temperature. The other advantage of an oven is that it is readily available in almost every home and it is easy to use.
Types of Homemade Beef Sticks Recipes
There are mainly two types of homemade beef sticks namely: naked homemade beef sticks and casing beef sticks.
There have different recipes that you may need to know so that you can make sticks at home.
1. Naked Homemade Beef Sticks
The recipe for naked beef sticks includes different ingredients. In this recipe, you should not include jalapeños or cheese hence the ingredients are as follows:
- 5 Pounds Ground Beef with high-fat content to avoid drying when cooking
- 2.5 Teaspoons Of Mustard Seed
- 2.5 Teaspoons Of Garlic Salt
- 5 Teaspoons Of Meat Curing Product with sugar and salt
- 2.5 Teaspoons Of Coarse Black Pepper
- 1 Teaspoon Of Hickory Smoked Salt
You can also be adventurous and try something new. For instance, you can add cayenne and red pepper if you like the stick to be spicy.
Steps to Make Naked Beef Sticks at Home
There are different steps that you should take that include the following:
- Mix all ingredients including spices in a large bowl.
- Wrap the bowl and leave to rest in the fridge overnight to allow the meat to absorb the ingredients.
- Remix the whole mixture again the following day and you can add more flavors.
- Wrap the bowl again and put in the fridge for another night.
- You can shape your meat into the desired strips of about 8 inches long and 3 inches in diameter.
- Place the meat sticks in the oven and bake for about 8 hours at 150 degrees F. When they are ready, leave to cool and you can place them in the fridge for 2 weeks or six weeks in deep freezer.
2. Casing Beef Sticks Recipe
For this recipe, you need a meat gun like Jerky Cannon for filling up the casings.
When it comes to this recipe, you will require a meat gun such as the well-known Jerky Cannon which will help you to fill out the casings.
Ingredients For Casing Beef Sticks
- 5 Pounds Ground Beef with fat
- 5 Teaspoons Of Meat Curing Product with salt and sugar
- 3 Whole Jalapeños
- Collagen Casings
- 12 Ounces Of Shredded Cheddar Cheese
- 2.5 Teaspoons Of Mustard Seed
- 2.5 Teaspoons Of Garlic Salt
- 2.5 Teaspoons Coarse Black Pepper
- 1 Teaspoon Of Hickory Smoked Salt
Steps To Make Casing Beef Sticks At Home
When making casing beef sticks at home, you must take the following steps:
- Mix all the ingredients and meat in a large bowl
- Chop the jalapeños and mix with your meat
- Add your mixed meat into the shredded cheddar and mix gently and prepare stick shapes
- Fill the mixed meat into the gun and pump it into the casings. Make sure there are no air bubbles and tie at both ends.
- Set your oven at 150 degrees F and place the casings on the rack and cook for about eight hours.
- Remove the casings from the oven after eight hours of cooking and allow them to cool completely.
- Cut the sticks into reasonable lengths and you can store them in the fridge for two weeks and six weeks in the deep freezer.
When your beef sticks are ready, you can enjoy them with a beer.
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