HIGH PROTEIN PEPPERONI STICKS
If looking for a healthy, economical, easy way to make your own pepperoni, look no further! Preserved, on-the-go meats like pepperoni and jerky tend to be costly and many are full of preservatives and fillers. Making your own pepperoni allows you to control such factors as fat and sugar content. We have done the work for you in this recipe with our tasty Pepperoni Sausage Mix that has only a few ingredients. There are no label mysteries with sea salt, spices, mustard seed, chili pepper, garlic and sunflower oil. These High Protein Pepperoni Sticks are made from ground elk with no added fat. Wild game of any type, including waterfowl and game birds, has a high protein content and is naturally very low in fat. To achieve a high protein, low fat pepperoni from pork to beef, be sure to use the leanest cut possible and grind the meat yourself.
INGREDIENTS:
2.5 pounds ground venison
10 teaspoons Smokehouse Pepperoni Sausage Mix
19mm Pepperoni Casings, optional
DIRECTIONS:
In a large bowl, mix venison and Smokehouse Pepperoni Sausage Mix until thoroughly combined.
Make sure the seasoning gets fully incorporated into the ground meat. Rubber gloved hands seem to work the best.
Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate 12 - 15 hours.
Set up the Smokehouse Jerky Gun with sausage attachment. Fill the Smokehouse Jerky Gun with pepperoni mixture.
If using casings, place them 1 - 2 inches up on to the sausage attachment. You may want to moisten the ends so it slides up easier. Pump the mixture into the casings slowly so they don't split.
Cut to desired sizes and place on smoker racks.
If not using casings, simply squeeze the pepperoni mixture directly on to smoker racks, cutting to desired length.
Preheat Little or Big Chief Smoker 10 - 15 minutes. Add Smokehouse Blend chips to the chip pan. Smoke 6 - 10 hours or until pepperoni reaches and internal temperature of 160 degrees. Replace smoke chips up to 3 times for a heavy smoker flavor, 2 times for a medium smoke flavor and once for a mild smoke flavor. Pepperoni can be smoked for as little as 1 hour and finished in a 150 degree oven or food dehydrator.
Keep pepperoni refrigerated or vacuum seal and freeze for longer term storage.
Recipe by: Tiffany Haugen
