How to Make Slim Jims at Home
Slim Jims are America’s most popular meat stick, produced by ConAgra Foods, Inc. in 20 different varieties. Making Slim Jims at home is not an easy task because you will need sheep casings and a smokehouse. However, if you are a beef jerky fan, and have a smokehouse at your disposal, making Slim Jims can be fun.
Prep time: 30 min
Cook time: 8 hrs
Total time: 8 hrs 30 min
Yield: 20 to 30 Slim Jim Bars
Ingredients:
Prague Powder No 1: 2 tsp.
Ground Mustard: 6 tsp.
Ground White Pepper: 1 tsp.
Mace: 1 tsp.
Salt: 3½ oz.
Fermento: 6 oz.
Paprika: 4 tbsp.
Ground Black Pepper: 1 tsp.
Ground Celery: 1 tsp.
Granulate Garlic: 1 tsp.
Powdered Dextrose: 1½ oz.
Beef chuck: 10 lbs.
Instructions
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1
Place 10 lbs. of beef chuck in a deep freezer and allow it to chill to 32 degrees Fahrenheit. Make sure that the meat is properly chilled because you will need to grind it through a 1/8 inch grinder plate. If the meat is not chilled, it will smear and stick to the grinder plate.
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2
Properly grind the chilled beef chuck and ensure that no lumps remain.
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3
Mix 2 tsp. Prague Powder No 1, 6 tbsp. ground mustard, 1 tsp. ground white pepper, 1 tbsp. mace, 3½ oz. salt, 6 oz. Fermento, 4 tbsp. paprika, 1 tsp. ground black pepper, 1 tsp. ground celery, 1 tsp. granulated garlic and 1½ oz. powdered dextrose in with the meat. Spend at least a couple of minutes mixing the meat and the spices. This is important, to ensure uniform distribution of the flavours of the aforesaid spices.
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4
Start stuffing the spiced meat into 22 mm sheep casings and continue until all of the meat has been used up. Make sure that the sheep casings you use are between 6 and 9 inches in length.
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5
Adjust the temperature of the smokehouse so that it is between 98 to 110 degrees Fahrenheit. Place the meat filled sheep casings in the smokehouse and apply cold smoke for at least 8 hours. Gradually increase the temperature of the smokehouse, until the temperature reaches 145 degrees Fahrenheit. Take out the sheep casings from the smokehouse and place them in a dry room. The temperature of the room in which you place the sheep casings should not be more than 55 degrees Fahrenheit. Dry them out until all the moisture is gone - your homemade Slim Jims are now ready.
