Add the beef mince, pork mince and beef fat to a large mixing bowl. Mix until evenly combined.

Add all of the seasonings, sugar and garlic and mix thoroughly, deliberately overmixing until the meat becomes sticky and tacky. This helps the meat bind together so your snack sticks won’t fall apart.

Lightly spray or rub your smoker grates with oil. Also lightly grease the inside of your meat gun.

Form the meat mixture into cylindrical logs and pack them tightly into the meat gun. You can use either your hands or the plunger, but make sure there are no air pockets or gaps, as these can cause the snack sticks to split.

Slowly pump the meat mixture onto the prepared smoker grates, forming long meat sticks. If your mixture has been mixed well enough, the sticks should hold together nicely.

Hour 1: Smoke at 75°C (167°F).

Hour 2: Increase the smoker to 80°C (176°F).

Hour 3: Increase the smoker to 85°C (185°F). The snack sticks should now be starting to firm up and take on a deep red colour.

Final Stage: Increase the smoker to 95°C (203°F) and continue cooking until the snack sticks are fully cooked through and firm, adjusting time depending on the thickness of your sticks - 4 hours at these temperatures should work perfectly if you used the same meat gun and attachment as me. Keep a close eye on them during this stage, as the beef fat can begin to render at this temperature.

Remove from the smoker and allow the snack sticks to cool completely before eating. They will continue to firm up as they cool, creating that classic chewy texture.