Snack Sticks

DeepWoodz Reserve

Tangy, Spicy Smoked Pepperoni Bar Stick

DeepWoodz Reserve is a snack stick built on a 50% lean meat / 50% pork blend, using lean wild game or lean beef. Smoke at 130-170°F (54-77°C) and finish at an internal 152°F (67°C); 165°F (74°C) for bear, wild boar or feral hog, stuff into 26-28 mm natural sheep casings, grind at 1/4" then 1/8". Exact amounts scale to any batch weight in the DeepWoodz Smokehouse app for iPhone and Android.

A Northwoods bar stick: tangy, firm, with a real kick and anise under the paprika. The tang comes from a warm ferment, or from encapsulated citric acid if you have nowhere warm to ferment, and the app lets you switch between the two. Either way the firm bite comes from drying, not the smoker. Weigh the sticks after stuffing and dry them in the fridge until they have lost about 30% of that weight.

DeepWoodz Reserve
Internal temp
152°F (67°C); 165°F (74°C) for bear, wild boar or feral hog
Smoker temp
130-170°F (54-77°C)
Casing size
26-28 mm
Casing
Natural Sheep Casings
Bloom
18-24 hour ferment

What goes in it

Amounts are calculated for your batch weight in the app — including the cure, which is held at a fixed, food-safe rate.

The meat

Lean Wild Game · Lean Beef · Pork Butt · Pork Shoulder

Bear or wild hog: take it to 165°F and hold 3 minutes. Freezing, smoking and curing do not reliably kill trichinella — only heat does.

How it's made

  1. Grind the lean meat and pork through a 1/4" plate, then again through a 1/8" plate. Keep everything below 34°F.
  2. Toast the anise seed in a dry pan until fragrant. Let it cool, then crack it coarsely.
  3. Dissolve the starter culture in 2-3 tablespoons of distilled water and let it sit for 15-20 minutes.
  4. Mix all the dry seasonings together, salt and dextrose included.
  5. Dissolve the cure in the ice cold water.
  6. Add the cure water, the dry seasonings and the culture to the meat. Mix until the meat is very tacky.
  7. Fry a small test patty and taste it. If it tastes flat it is under-salted, not under-spiced.
  8. Stuff into 26-28 mm sheep casings and twist into 12" links. Prick any air pockets, then weigh the links and write the weight down.
  9. Ferment: hang at 85-90°F and about 90% humidity for 18-24 hours. Stop at 24 hours no matter what. An oven that is off, with the light on and a pan of hot water, works; check it with a thermometer. If you have pH strips, aim for 4.8-4.9.
  10. Place in the smoker at 130°F for 1 hour with the damper open.
  11. Raise to 150°F and apply smoke for 3 hours.
  12. Raise to 170°F until the internal temperature reaches 152°F (165°F if you used bear, wild boar or feral hog). The thermometer is the boss; the times are only a guide.
  13. Cool them down promptly. (Optional - an ice bath is not required. It is personal preference; many just let them cool at room temp, or outside in cold weather. Just cool them down promptly.)
  14. Dry them uncovered on a rack in the fridge, turning them daily, until they are firm and have lost about 30% of their stuffed weight, usually 5-10 days. Pepperoni sticks are usually made with pork and beef. Our recipe uses half lean wild game or beef and half pork butt.

No-Ferment (ECA) version

No warm spot to ferment? Encapsulated citric acid gives the tang instead. It is a little sharper and brighter, and you smoke the same day.

  1. Grind the lean meat and pork through a 1/4" plate, then again through a 1/8" plate. Keep everything below 34°F.
  2. Toast the anise seed in a dry pan until fragrant. Let it cool, then crack it coarsely.
  3. Mix all the dry seasonings together, salt and dextrose included. Keep the ECA out - it goes in last.
  4. Dissolve the cure in the ice cold water.
  5. Add the cure water and the dry seasonings to the meat. Mix until the meat is very tacky.
  6. Fry a small test patty and taste it. If it tastes flat it is under-salted, not under-spiced.
  7. Fold in the ECA last, gently by hand, only until it is spread through. Do not overmix, and never grind it with the meat - the coating breaks and the sausage turns crumbly and sour.
  8. Stuff into 26-28 mm sheep casings and twist into 12" links. Prick any air pockets, then weigh the links and write the weight down. Once the ECA is in, stuff and smoke the same day - do not refrigerate overnight.
  9. Place in the smoker at 130°F for 1 hour with the damper open.
  10. Raise to 150°F and apply smoke for 3 hours.
  11. Raise to 170°F until the internal temperature reaches 152°F (165°F if you used bear, wild boar or feral hog). The thermometer is the boss; the times are only a guide.
  12. Cool them down promptly. (Optional - an ice bath is not required. It is personal preference; many just let them cool at room temp, or outside in cold weather. Just cool them down promptly.)
  13. Dry them uncovered on a rack in the fridge, turning them daily, until they are firm and have lost about 30% of their stuffed weight, usually 5-10 days. Pepperoni sticks are usually made with pork and beef. Our recipe uses half lean wild game or beef and half pork butt.

Wood

Hickory · Maple · Oak

Safety

  • Cure #1 at 0.25% is required and locked. These sit for a day at warm fermenting temperatures and then for hours at low smoker temperatures, so they must be cured. Do not reduce or omit it.
  • If you ferment: use the F-LC culture and the full dextrose; together they make the acid that protects the meat during the warm ferment. Stop the ferment at 24 hours no matter what, and never ferment above 90°F.
  • Cook to 152°F internal, verified with a probe. Do not judge by time or color alone.
  • Bear, wild boar and feral hog can carry trichinella, and the bear type survives freezing. Cooking is what kills it: take those meats to 165°F internal, and cook the test patty all the way through.
  • Keep the meat below 34°F through grinding, mixing and stuffing.
  • Do not let the smoker go above 170°F or the fat will render out and the texture turns dry and grainy.
  • Dry them in the fridge, not at room temperature. Store them refrigerated, or vacuum seal and freeze.
  • Cool them down promptly once they hit temperature.

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