HARD TACK

[nakedpigbbq]

A friend and I have been buying "Hard Tack", a smoked sausage out here in the west. It has a LOT of garlic in it! It is basically smoked meat, spices, etc. about the size of a hotdog. Great stuff. They are $3 a stick, so we are looking to see if anyone has a recipe for this stuff???

thanks!

 

[wittdog]

I could tell you the process for making it..as for the spices...what is the flavor profile...

 

[Damar12]

I thought hardtack was a biscuit or such, used back in the day when making long treks in or to the west. It wasn't a sausage I don't think.

 

[bigwheel]

Dittos on the biscuit. That is whut the Southern Heros nibbled around on while protecting the homeland during the War of Northern Aggresion

bigwheel

 

[nakedpigbbq]

You are right on the confederate biscuit. However, since I am a south georgia stick burner who has been transplanted out in the middle of nebraska, they go by a whole new dictionary. It is called Hard Tack, but looks like a big smoked snack stick. I guess I will need to cut one apart and really try to figure out what is in it. As far as the process, what are people doing to make "snack sticks"? I didn't know if I could make them on my brinkman water smoker?

thanks!

chuck

 

[bigwheel]

Well always glad to hear from a GA Boy. I had rather hear a fat boy fart than a purty girl whistle any old day Fact is you can make any kinda sausage snack stick which is available in the world..and no you don't need no WSM or KGB or whutever it is you cook bbq with. Fact is them kinda food stuffs of which you seek aint cooked..but rather dehydrated. The object is the germs die of thirst. This kinda stuff been going on for thousands of years but yankees can't quite get the idear of whut is up with it. I will glady take you by the hand and teach you how to make it if you want..but you got to separate the wheat from chaff..don't listen to yankees etc. See whut I mean here?

bigwheel

 

[nakedpigbbq]

OK bigwheel!

sounds good... let's go to school! I do have a dehydrator as well so maybe I have all the tools I will need. Ready to be learned in the art of snack stickin'.....

 

[Nick Prochilo]

Well always glad to hear from a GA Boy. I had rather hear a fat boy fart than a purty girl whistle any old day Fact is you can make any kinda sausage snack stick which is available in the world..and no you don't need no WSM or KGB or whutever it is you cook bbq with. Fact is them kinda food stuffs of which you seek aint cooked..but rather dehydrated. The object is the germs die of thirst. This kinda stuff been going on for thousands of years but yankees can't quite get the idear of whut is up with it. I will glady take you by the hand and teach you how to make it if you want..but you got to separate the wheat from chaff..don't listen to yankees etc. See whut I mean here?

bigwheel

Damn, you mean all the Witt taught me is no good?

 

[john pen]

Well always glad to hear from a GA Boy. I had rather hear a fat boy fart than a purty girl whistle any old day Fact is you can make any kinda sausage snack stick which is available in the world..and no you don't need no WSM or KGB or whutever it is you cook bbq with. Fact is them kinda food stuffs of which you seek aint cooked..but rather dehydrated. The object is the germs die of thirst. This kinda stuff been going on for thousands of years but yankees can't quite get the idear of whut is up with it. I will glady take you by the hand and teach you how to make it if you want..but you got to separate the wheat from chaff..don't listen to yankees etc. See whut I mean here?

bigwheel

Damn, you mean all the Witt taught me is no good?

Oh god..here we go again.... :roll: :roll:

 

[bigwheel]

Got this recipe from a lady named Carol many moons ago. It has been tweaked up a little.

bigwheel

ps edit..You can also cold smoke this stuff on the front end if you want a smoke flavor. If you need any help with making a cold smoker holler back. It real easy to make one out of a cardboard box. That is how the old frugal prevert done it anyway.

Spanish-Style Sausage

10 lbs 80/20 ground beef chuck
5 T Morton't Tender Quick
2 T finely ground black pepper
3 T cayenne pepper
1 T coarsely crushed red pepper
2 T garlic finely minced
1 tsp cumin seed
1 tsp oregano
2 T sugar
1 tsp fennel seed
1/4 cup brandy
6 feet medium hog casings

Grind the meat through the coarse grinder plate or buy it already ground if you want. Sprinkle the meat with the spices and brandy and mix well. Stuff into medium hog guts and tie off into 4 inch links. Let the links rest at least 24 hours uncovered in the ice box giving them an occasional shuffle so they all get some air. Hang the suasage to dry for about 8 weeks. You can hang it in your attic if you want. Don't hurt to keep a fan blowing on it lightly.

 

[wittdog]

I wouldn't hang in the attic...you need to hang them somewhere where the humidity is higher...

 

[Rag1]

Well always glad to hear from a GA Boy. I had rather hear a fat boy fart than a purty girl whistle any old day Fact is you can make any kinda sausage snack stick which is available in the world..and no you don't need no WSM or KGB or whutever it is you cook bbq with. Fact is them kinda food stuffs of which you seek aint cooked..but rather dehydrated. The object is the germs die of thirst. This kinda stuff been going on for thousands of years but yankees can't quite get the idear of whut is up with it. I will glady take you by the hand and teach you how to make it if you want..but you got to separate the wheat from chaff..don't listen to yankees etc. See whut I mean here?

bigwheel

You ever heard of salami and soppresta????????????????????

 

[bigwheel]

Yeah thats eyetalian food I think. Sorta like pizzer and skettie.

bigwheel

 

[007bond-jb]

I wouldn't hang in the attic...you need to hang them somewhere where the humidity is higher...

WF down here attic temps average 140deg in the summer,

The outdoor humidity is always above 80% too.

WF Thats a inside joke for you other folks

 

[bigwheel]

Well can't argue about them humidity levels and 140 is a perfect dehydrating temp. Smart thinking Boy. Maybe you should go into bidness.

bigwheel

 

[nakedpigbbq]

Alright, since I don't have an attic that would suffice for this, can I use my dehydrator to do this? What temp? Also... I guess I have to get a sausage machine or something to stuff the casings with or do they make a hand pump? I am about 45 minutes from cabelas, maybe they have something?

 

[bigwheel]

Well the perfect dehydrating temp is 140 with plenty of airflow or least that is the way I was taught. This will just about correspond fairly precisely with your kitchen oven turned down as low as it will go with the door opened to the first notch. I dont think a dehydrating gizmo would be a good plan on this stuff due to it's diameter. Just hang it in the shade under some type of cover (storage shed be ideal) and make some type of cheese cloth containment system for it to keep the flies away. One of them big game Bags from Wally World should work ok. They is used as a burial shroud type utensil for Bambi's Mama. Yeppers about Cabelas..they got everything and they mighty proud of it too..sorta similar to the Sausage Maker in Buffler Noo Yawk. Po folks shops at Northern Tool and Supply for sausage making stuff. All you need is a cheap electric grinder and a hand operated stuffer..and some hawg guts. Got to get them somewhere else. Academy Sports and Central Market both sell em down here.

http://www.northerntool.com/webapp/wcs/ ... 970_763591

bigwheel