Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Food, Cooking, and Game Preparation Jerky/Snack Stick Guns?

The shop I used to have make my venison snack sticks went up in price, a little too much for my taste. Considering that I do ALL of my own game preparation in every other aspect, I may as well start doing this myself, too. Anybody got any recommendations on what squeeze gun is best for making jerky and snack sticks, in terms of dependability and ease of use?

Also getting conflicting advice from a couple friends: one says make the sticks while the meat is fresh, the other says freeze it first since the smoker or oven won't be getting hot enough to kill all the potential nasties. I tend to lean toward friend number two, but will accept opinions for consideration.

Thanks for any advice or recommendations!

Best -
Andy

Andy,
Depending on your smoker's temp ( internal temp of the jerky-sausage being smoked should be up around 150-155F to be cooked in the smoker) and the spices( or preservatives/nitrates-nitrites<yuck> one adds, either method will work.

Freezing first will absolutely kill any bacteria/parasites and then you thaw and mix the other ingredients and fill the 'caulking gun'..:)

There's a bunch of methods and tools out there..Do a bit of homework and you fiind them..Jim
here's just one..
http://www.leeners.com/jerkyequipment.html

I've failed with mine to produce a decent product.

The sticks fall apart with no fat in them. They also taste funny. can't get the spice right.

Looking forward to more info on this thread.

When I do a ground product (jerky mostly) I never use a gun. I have two and found that they don't really save time, are a pain to reload (one has three tubes but still a pain), and I get a better product doing it by hand. This is the way I do it. I make up my ground meat and spread it in a plastic wrap lined half sheet pan even with the top of the pan or I use a lined 9 inch loaf pan. Put in freezer to become firm (time depends on the container used and temp of the freezer). Remove from freezer and cut to desired thickness with an electric knife. It goes right on the dehydrator trays. One sheet pan will do about 11 pounds of product. My ground jerky isn't a cooked product so I use a commerical cure in the meat. IIRC it takes 1/8tsp for 15 lbs of meat but I'd have to check to be sure.