QUOTE (rhltechie @ Mar 30 2008, 08:42 AM)
Hi all,
A quick question. Have any of you used a smoker ( or something that makes your grill into a smoker) to smoke sausage? I am itching to use my smoker again today but I cannot find much on smoking sausage on a smoker. What temp shall I use? for how long? I had actually thought I would try some chicken or turkey sausage as my better half cannot eat pork
Any ideas or thoughts?
TIA,
R
My email address is kennedyborb@sbcglobal.net Send m an email and I forward you some information to get you some information about sausage making..to get you enough information to ask me more questions..One thing is important when curing any meat,,That is the cure.. Morton's seasoning salt available in most grocery stores. is a good one to use because when using a recipe and adding the salt it contains the right amount of cure for the meat.
The other way is to buy (pink Stuff) cure and weigh the meat and add the right amount of cure to the liquid and seasoning add mix in the meat before stuffing in the casing. I mostly make about 7-10 lb. batches so They will not get to old in the freezer (less than 6 months).
Instacure (Nitrite) is the pink stuff..cure! One ounce of Instacure cures 25 pounds of meat...If you use too much it it can be harmful...not enough the the meat could spoil before cooking or drying completly. Their is a little leway if it is close to right!
Otherwise here is the general idea of making sausage...Use Venison, and/or buy chuck roast and pork butt on sale at times for $0.99/lb. Cut into about 2" chunks and freeze or partially freeze (hour or so) if your using it that day. Mix up you sesoning in the ice water according to the reicpe you using. Keep your meat cold at all times.! Remove from freezer and grind it using a 3/8" plate. then Mix in the seasoning in a big pan.. break the meat into 4 pieces 4 times and knead the seasoning into the ground meat. Place in the Fridge or freezer. For a finer grind ...grind the cold meat with the 3/16" plate..Some use 1/8" but that is too fine for me...and it might smear some the fat...! I always use a mix of beef and pork..The roast and butt have the 15% fat required for good sausage flavor.
Buy hobby casings (enough for 25lb) and take each (gut) casing and run water thru it several times to remove the excess salt.
Set up your stuffer (5lb. hobby size about 1/2" nozzle) for 32-55mm size casings (about 1-3/8")"
Load up the stuffer ..no air pockets...and I lubricate the nozzle with a little glycerine (Or veg oil) and slide a length on the nozzle ..tying off the end! And use an ice pick to make a couple of holes on the casing end...to let the air out!
Crank and fill the casing about a foot or so! Now, stop and twist the sausage link and tie with a piece of twine. The keep on going to the next one. Two people is nice for this operation bu not necessary...Poke two small holes at the end of each ling before filling...If you see an air bubble on a link prick it too!
Keep adding more casing and filling util you used all the meat...If you break one ..just re tie and start a new one! Add the meat from any broken ones back in the stuffer at the end. When you tie a link and fill it and twist the end and tie another ..and continue until the end..the last one might be bigger or smaller when you get to the end. Check your links and make sure to prick holes in any voids...and squeeze the sausage a little from the end to eliminate air pockets...If you take your time you probably will not have a any bubbles or voids..
Now put the sausage in the fridge and let it dry some..hour..Sometimes over night if you want too let the seasoning work a little more...Dont think it matters much!
Fire up the smoke and place the sausage on the 3 trays not touching for an hour at 125-135 degrees to dry the sausage. Tie the string on links again at the points you need too cut between them to fit them in a group on each tray..
Next..I use a little cast iron skillet full of dampened Hickory sawdust and set the smoker temp on about 145 for an hour... I raise the temp again to 155 for another hour , 170 for another hour.
If you like more smoke flavor ..smoke longer before raising the temperature on each step.
When the sausage internal reaches 155-160 degrees remove and spray with cold water and let hang until dry and cool (Called Blooming for color)Then store in the fridge for a week or freeze to keep it longer. Remove string and cut into idividual links..
Clean up the grinder store all pieces and dry in the oven..cool and store in a gallon zip lok half full of rice to keep it from rusting.
Never get the internal temp of the sausage over 175 for any reason...it melts the fat and makes greasy sausage..
Bill Kennedy...I did not know how to attach this to put on the board for all to see..Add it if you know how in a new Sausage Topic
Equipment.
White butcher twine
Meat Grinder with 3/8, 3/16, 1/8 plates..Northern Tools about $100 ....or $49 manual grinder
Casings for 25 lbs of meat...$6-7, butchers buy in a larger batch and they are longer..After cleaning keep them wet at all times..In a container with water..
Seasonings..
Three large alumium throw away tubs..like turkey roasters..
5lb Stainless stuffer $89 at Northern Tools
Veg oil, 1/2" nozzle...A pvc set comes with the stuffer.
accurate kitchen scale to weigh meat...
Smoke with good temperature control or buy a temperature control from Grainger on line..about $65 ...wire in line with the power cord..going to the smoker heating element..Some high dollar smoker controls may be good enough..
Temperature probe with set point and read out and time to put in one of you links...Rotate trays also every hour..
Chips or sawdust for smoking..I use Hickory saw dust!..Fill it up as it burns up..
Old Bill,
Mortons Tender Quick is a combination of salt and cure...you just substitute it for the salt requirements in a recipe...Kind of a fail safe method for using cure..Buy it at your grocery stores in the salt section if the have it...I get mine at my Krogers.
