Teriyaki Beef and Venison Snack Sticks

Today we are smoking homemade venison and beef snack sticks! We are going teriyaki style, and instead of needing a dehydrator or cold smoker, we are using a hot smoker running at 180 degrees! I'm doing these on a pellet smoker/grill, but the method can be done on any smoker! These are one of my favorite snacks in the woods and they blow commercial sticks out of the water!

YouTube Instructional: https://youtu.be/vHQy2InCzPc

Ingredients:
10lb Meat - Beef and/or Venison work best (ratio between 70/30 and 90/10)
1.5 Cups of Soy Sauce
8 Tbsp Mirin
1 Cup Brown Sugar
45g Ginger Root (fresh, minced)
45g Garlic Cloves (fresh, minced)
15g Pink Salt #1

Step 1: Cut your meat into strips

Cut your meat and fat into strips or chunks large enough to fit into your grinder

On a single layer on a tray, put the meat into a freezer and take it just to the point of becoming frozen solid

Also put the metal components of your grinder into the freezer

Step 2: Grind the meat, garlic, and ginger

Run the meat, fat, garlic, and ginger through the grinder twice (on your smallest plate)

Step 3: Mix the meat

Add the brown sugar, mirin, and pink salt to the meat

Pour in about half of the soy sauce and begin to mix

if the meat is too dry add in more soy sauce

We are looking for the meat to be sticky and attach to your hand, but fall off in one clump

Step 4: Let the meat rest

Put the mixed meat into the fridge to allow the meat to recombine, and let the curing process start

Step 5: Stuff the Sticks

Fill your sausage stuffer with our meat mix, and put the cellulose cases onto the horn.

Slowly fill the cases - you can either link them as you go, or fill an entire string and smoke it up. Then cut to your desired size

Step 6: Smoke the sticks

Preheat smoker to 180 degrees, and then move the sticks into the smoker. Ideally, none of the sticks will be touching

Smoke to somewhere around 165 degrees internal (many hours)

Step 7: Ice Bath

Once the sticks get to that 150-165 internal and have firmed up, place them individually into an ice bath. This will stop the cooking process

If it turns out they are too wet inside, you can throw them back onto the smoker to continue drying out

Enjoy!