Kielbasa to round out the Smoking Marathon. QVIEW

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ragnar

Smoke Blower
Original poster
Jan 2, 2016
94
160
Wisconsin
Well, folks... the wurst is over. About 100 lbs of sausage and fish got smoked over the past week or so!  
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For those of you who were along for the ride, thanks for the feedback, support, and points!

To round out the "pork is on a stupid-cheap sale" smoking marathon, we decided to make some basic, no frills Kielbasa. We used Rytek's recipe, but cut back on the salt a little.


Two different casings were used - some of the home-use dry-packed in salt ones, and some of the nice, pre-tubed ones. Guess which is which... Guess what we'll be using from here on.

Anyway, it tastes fine. As mentioned above, basic, no frills, decent sausage. And it is just that. Smoked with whiskey barrel oak.

The better photos are the cut ones, so no more BS, just good stuff:


... and the MONEY...


Good stuff plain, or dressed up with relish, mustard, onions, and a little ketchup. Gonna be lunch tomorrow, and I'm not sharing.

Bet this would also be good in beer cheese soup! Hmm... might just have to go there.
 
Looks great.

When you say dry salt solution? Not a salt water solution?

I get mine in a salt water solution. I have thought about pre tubed ones.
 
Cutting back on the salt makes that recipe Good stuff nice job on the sausage

Richie
 
Points! Hard to beat a good kielbasa. They're on the list of one's to make but I'm getting to where I need more freezer space.
Thanks for the feedback and points!

Man, do I feel your pain regarding space. Need another fridge just for sausage making, plus another to make a curing chamber out of... 'cause there's pepperoni to be made! My father-in-law has some freezer space he said I could fill up. Betting he is buttering me up for fishing and hunting seasons this year.
Looks great!!!! Points for more great sausage!!!
Thanks a ton!
Looks great.

When you say dry salt solution? Not a salt water solution?

I get mine in a salt water solution. I have thought about pre tubed ones.
Yeah, I had some laying around that were packed in salt from a couple of years ago. Just pulled them out and gave them a shot, rather than just toss them. Won't do it again... definitely getting the good casings from here on out.


Like the pretubed ones a lot. Quality casing, easy to use, and they are pretty long. Use by the bundle, though... or save them in a brine solution for a little bit until the next batch. They also obviously don't get tangled up. Worth it on sale, not sure if I'd spend the asking price if I was going on a smoking binge again, though, as compared to a bucket of them in brine.
Nice work Ragnar, the cut view looks great!
Appreciate it!
 
RN, Nice looking sausage sir !
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Thanks for the kind words and the points!
 
Cutting back on the salt makes that recipe Good stuff nice job on the sausage

Richie
Definitely. Probably going to go back and refigure all of the salt content in the book and redline the thing.
That looks great. Did you try any before smoking it? Looking for a good fresh recipe.
Thanks! Yeah, I did fry up what was left in the stuffer. This was tasty then, especially with a good spicy brown mustard. Smoke changes the flavor a little, but this would be a good fresh recipe too.
 
Nice sausage! Definitely worth a point.

I have also suffered the pains of poor casings.

Disco
 
 
Nice sausage! Definitely worth a point.

I have also suffered the pains of poor casings.

Disco
Thanks, Disco! Appreciate it!

That was the last of the old, junk casings. From now on, it's only the good stuff! I should have known better...
 
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Haven't made any sausage yet though I can see its coming I do love sausage just about any kind. Question what is a preformed casing, is it dry and you soak it?
 
Nice looking Kielbasa, Ragnar!
I was trying to get a few lengths out of my last "home pack" when I got frustrated and pulled the whole wad out. It was literally tied in a knot. Why?!?
My next order will be pre-tubed. I don't do large batches, so the little added expence would be worth it!

:points:

Dan
 
 
confused.gif
Haven't made any sausage yet though I can see its coming I do love sausage just about any kind. Question what is a preformed casing, is it dry and you soak it?
If you like sausage, make sausage. Then make more. It's fun, and it's awesome. And you can brag to your friends and family. And then you make more.

I may be off base or misunderstanding your question, but here goes... A preformed casing I'm taking to be the synthetic or natural material re-formed by man type stuff like collagen, cellulose, fibrous, plastic... they're manufactured to be a shape (generally tubular). Some have an additional characteristic, like the collagen rounds I used to make ring bologna. They are a curved tube, so they naturally curl back around towards themselves to make the ring shape without kinking in the middle. They are usually dry when you get them, and tend to have a fairly long shelf life when kept clean and cool.

Soak them? Depends on the type. The edible collagen ones, no. Ready to use, for every one I've ever used. Fibrous like for summer sausage? Yes - I soak them in warm water for an hour before using, and wring them out before I stuff them so they aren't full of water. They all should come with some instruction, though.

Seriously, though... go make some sausage. You'll like it.
 
Nice looking Kielbasa, Ragnar!
I was trying to get a few lengths out of my last "home pack" when I got frustrated and pulled the whole wad out. It was literally tied in a knot. Why?!?
My next order will be pre-tubed. I don't do large batches, so the little added expence would be worth it!

points.gif


Dan
Thanks a ton, Dan! Really appreciate it!

I was really impressed with the pre-tubed ones. Easy enough to use. Glad I looked ahead - they say to soak for 24 hours before use! Talk about a decent, well-behaving casing, though. Stuffed easily and evenly, and fully. Linked up nicely too, with only one blowout (which was COMPLETELY my fault - stuffer slipped and I ran the tube through the casing).

I've used these home-pack dry, salted messes before. Never again. Like your experience, knots, plus short pieces, crappy quality, weird links... lots of blowouts...

I've used the bucket-o-fresh casings, and they're great, but take up a lot of space, and can be kind of a pain to sneak one or two out, get them rinsed, and loaded on to the stuffer. Plus the bucket is like 120 to 180 lbs of sausage, depending on size.

Now, I've used the pre-tubed ones. Awesome, but they come as a pack of like 5 "applicators" with 2 or 3 casings on them - good long ones, too. If you only need one casing, it's a pain in the butt. I had one left over from the last run, and just put it in some non-iodized salt brine to be used within the next couple of weeks... all good, but taking up space in the reefer.

However it goes, looking forward to your posts on your future endeavors!
 
Damn, I just ate dinner and after seeing those pics I'm starving! Nice work!


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Awesome looking sausage!

I tried to give you points, but couldn't I guess I'm out of points.

Al
 
Damn, I just ate dinner and after seeing those pics I'm starving! Nice work!


Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk
 
Awesome looking sausage!

I tried to give you points, but couldn't I guess I'm out of points.

Al
 
Some great looking sausage 
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Really appreciate it, guys! Thanks!

Father-in-law tried some, and is already getting geared up, asking when we can make more sausage, what we can make... He's going to hammer on the deer this year, I think, and feed a lot of people.
 
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