Sausage class

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redt

Fire Starter
Original poster
Dec 28, 2014
30
11
Glendale, AZ
I need training in cooking sausage! Have read and re-read "Home Production of Quality Meats and Sausages" and "Great Sausage Recipes and Meat Curing" by Rytek Kutas. I feel good about grinding and stuffing sausage, but cooking in a WSM has me stumped. I air-dry the sausage,  start at 135 degrees with smoke, increase 10 degrees every hour, and try not to exceed 160, however, the sausage temperature seems to stall at 127 degrees.

After 5 or 6 hours in the WSM, I remove the sausage and put in the electric oven at 170 degrees (the minimum setting possible) and the sausage still takes 3 -4 more hours to climb to 152 degrees! Eight hours cooking seems to be far too long to cook sausage! HELP!

Is there a class in the Phoenix, AZ area that I can take to learn this art of making sausage?  
 
your right on target... it takes me 6-8 hrs for snack sticks... and just did some summer sausage that took 13 hrs ... you can run the WSM up to 180.. that helps get em along a little faster without rendering the fat (fat out) ....
 
Thanks, JckDnls 07 - everything I've read warned me NOT to ever exceed 170 degrees. I'm sitting here now after 7 hours in the WSM, and 2 hours in the oven and the sausage temperature is now 144. Gonna wait until 152 if I can stay awake!  
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As wonderful a smoker as the WSM is, it does have problems holding a controlled lower temp.  That's why I made the e-WSM mod where I use a electric element installed in a spare WSM door and control the element with a Auber Instruments PID controller.  I can put a un-modified door in for regular WSM smokes, and use the e-WSM modded door for perfect control of sausage smoking at lower temps.  With the e-mod I use a pellet tray for smoke source.

Here is the original mod with the analog dial temp controller

http://www.smokingmeatforums.com/t/183999/the-e-wsm-mod-a-convertable-electric-charcoal-wsm-smoker

Here is where I added the Auber PID

http://www.smokingmeatforums.com/t/233628/e-wsm-gets-an-upgrade-to-digital
 
What Dave said ^^^^

Temperature control and measurement are key.

If you have your grinds, spices, mixes and stuffin down, it all boils down to proper temp control and temp measurement.

You'll get it, keep trying, and have fun!

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After smoking, you can poach the sausage... put them in a food grade plastic and in a water bath at 160.... they will cook fast and get to 157 ish deg. F..

If you don't mind the wait, I hang my sticks in the smoker at 160 and in 24 hours they are done.. I don't like to hurry smoked goods.... After the smoke part, I close the exhaust 95% and use it as a low temp oven....
 
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After smoking, you can poach the sausage... put them in a food grade plastic and in a water bath at 160.... they will cook fast and get to 157 ish deg. F..

If you don't mind the wait, I hang my sticks in the smoker at 160 and in 24 hours they are done.. I don't like to hurry smoked goods.... After the smoke part, I close the exhaust 95% and use it as a low temp oven....
If you understand pasteurization tables, following the time and temperatures listed, makes the meat pasteurized and safe to consume... I always exceed the time portion of the table for insurance... while still using the temperature portion...

...Class dismissed, lol!
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Not so fast on the class dismissed, Redhealerdog!  
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My self-taught sausage smoking class using a WSM.

(I am satisfied that I have learned the basic steps of selecting meat, grinding and stuffing sausages, but am not satisfied with the cooking process.)

Your comments, constructive criticism encouraged. Here is what I have learned:

1. Dry sausage for 1 hour @ temperature not to exceed 135 degrees F.

2. Smoke for 1.5 - 2.0 hours at 135 degrees F.

      Note: The surface of sausages must NOT be wet during the smoking process.

3. Cook for 1.0 hour @ 150 degrees F.

4. Increase temperature in 10-degree stages until the interior sausage temperature of 154 degrees F is reached.

    My experience has been that when smoking at temperatures of 160 - 170 degrees, the sausage interior temperature stalls at around 126 - 127 degrees.  

   My understanding is that the interior meat temperature trails the smoker temperature by about 25 degrees - if    true, then a smoker temperature of 180 degrees must be obtained to assure sausage is fully cooked. However, I've also read that when smoking, the inside temperature of the smoker cannot exceed 170 degrees F for any extended period of time, because the fat begins to melt.

5. Water pan with water or empty? I understand one of the functions of the water pan is as a heat sink, and if water is used, provides humidity and improved temperature control. However, reading the various forums, I find that play sand or clay pot saucers are used as heat sinks.  What are the "experts' opinions" on the water pan when using the WSM smoker for sausage? How much humidity is recommended for cooking the sausage once smoke has been applied?

Your comments, constructive criticism encouraged.
 
Hi Red,

The WSM might be difficult to control temperature like you need when you make sausage. Allot of us here are using electric smokers, and it is much easier to control the smoker temperature and thus the internal temperature of the sausage. I don’t use a water pan, suppose you can though, your adding humidity with a water pan.

Also, 8, 10 or 12hrs + is not too long to smoke or reduce moisture in your meat product depending on what you are trying to achieve. Most of us here have also learned by trial and ERROR (myself included).

Do you have good temperature monitoring gadgets? Like a Maverick 732 or similar? As mentioned before you can also finish off the sausage by poaching in a hot water bath, and then to an ice water bath.

There are literally hundreds of examples and recipes on the site and on the web.

I did find a group on here from AZ: http://www.smokingmeatforums.com/groups/show/19/arizona-members

No criticism intended my friend – Keep trying and you will get it right! 
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Appreciate that, Redheelerdog!  Yes, I do have and use the Maverick ET-732 Temp set. Will continue to smoke 'till I get it right!

Just might modify my smoker to accept an electric heater! 

Enjoy the information gleaned from the members here. Thanks! 
 
 
Appreciate that, Redheelerdog!  Yes, I do have and use the Maverick ET-732 Temp set. Will continue to smoke 'till I get it right!

Just might modify my smoker to accept an electric heater! 

Enjoy the information gleaned from the members here. Thanks! 
Here is some that were dried and smoked for 12hrs @120F - 150F smoker temp and then finished to an IT of 152F in a roaster oven water bath.

120F - 150F would be hard to maintain without an electric.

http://www.smokingmeatforums.com/t/153367/some-like-it-hot-jalape-o-habanero#post_1099442
 
WOW!!  Great looking product! You should be holding classes!  (Wish I were near Billings, but I will be in Cody, WY in June)  
 
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