Need Kielbasa help!!

[dward51]

You cooked them to 180* internal?  Am I reading this right?

If you did, there is your problem. You rendered the fat out and that will make them mealy/grainy.  Should have pulled them around 155 to 160* and then into an ice water bath to stop the cooking.

 

[shannon127]

I suspect the source of the dryness is probably fat smear from the grinder.  If you ground through the course plate, then ground through a fine plate, then used the grinder to stuff, the sausage was exposed to a lot of friction.  You will want to get a dedicated stuffer rather than using the grinder to stuff.  Also at 180 degrees it will start to fat-out especially given the workout it was given prior to stuffing

 

[dwaytkus]

No I started them in the smoker at 150 degrees and bumped the temperature of the smoker up slowly till 180 degrees. The Kielbasa was pulled at 155 degrees.

 

[boykjo]

I suspect the source of the dryness is probably fat smear from the grinder.  If you ground through the course plate, then ground through a fine plate, then used the grinder to stuff, the sausage was exposed to a lot of friction.  You will want to get a dedicated stuffer rather than using the grinder to stuff.  Also at 180 degrees it will start to fat-out especially given the workout it was given prior to stuffing

What shannon said.... along with too much water added to the meat will cause it to be grainy

 

[dwaytkus]

Well a dedicated stuffer is on my wish list becausr it is a pain to stuff with the grinder!!

 

[reinhard]

What did the links look like after a night in the fridge. Links usualy wrinkle up a bit without a cold bath after pulled from the smoker. Did you leave your vent closed and not wide open when smoking also?   Sorry for all the questions, but i'm sure we would all like to help and learn something too in the process. Is the last pic you posted after your pulled the sausage from the smoker?  The key here may have been that you didn't give the links an ice bath immediatly after being done. Also that you put the links in the smoker wet and perhapst kept you vent closed or partialy closed allowing for more moisture to remain in the smoker.  Your mix sure looked good to me and you ground the meat mix correctly as i see it.  I would suggest a 5 pound vertical stuffer also when you have the funds. Somewhere around a hundred bucks or a little more. It will make stuffing easy and quickly. Reinhard

 

[dward51]

Well a dedicated stuffer is on my wish list becausr it is a pain to stuff with the grinder!!

You can catch the 5lb Northern Tool Kitchener model for about $50 if you use one of their coupons and it's on sale.  They run it on sale every few months.   For the price, it's hard to bet and a lot of members here use one.  If you are leary of the plastic gears, you can replace then with metal ones.  However if you just don't bottom out the plunger and apply too much pressure to the crank handle, the stock ones will last.

I would normally link you to the stuffer on Northern's website, but under the new rules I guess we can't do that any more.  It's their model number 508314 (guess you have to google it).

 

[chef jimmyj]

Just a thought...Back in the day I made sausage by grinding as you did, 2X, and sometimes had grainy sausage. I learned from Shannon that Mixing until very sticky is Critical to emulsify the fat and lean to get a good bind. I have had no issues since...JJ

 

[uncle_lar]

first off I think you ground it way too fine.  I have made allot of kielbasa and I grind it once through a 3/8 plate 

150* for about 8 hrs with hickory. never let the smoker get any hotter than 155*  remove and let it hang and bloom before I package it

I then poach it for about 20 minutes before I eat it

I use pork butts and stuff into hog  casing  here is what mine looks like 

polish.jpg

• uncle_lar
• Feb 13, 2012

polish 005.jpg

• uncle_lar
• Feb 13, 2012

polish 006.jpg

• uncle_lar
• Feb 16, 2012

 

[dwaytkus]

The picture after the ground picture is what they looked like before going into the smoker. I think next time i will have a couple gadgets before trying this. First a verticle stuffer! Second I will have an AMNS smoker for getting some smoke time before heat. I was very disapointed with color. As far as a vent i am smoking with a masterbuilt analog electric smoker which just has a small hole in the back. I also think that nezt time I will use spices measured by me and not pre packaged. Flavor was good but a bit salty. The only part that was bad really is the dry grainy texture. I didn't antisipate that with the amount of fat I used and the amount of fat i could see in the casings.

I really am appreciating all your help as I want it to be great next time!!

Dan

 

[palladini]

Here is the recipe I use

Smoked Kielbasa

3 Lbs Pork, with fat, cubed 

2 Lbs Beef Chuck, trimmed, cubed

½ cup Ice Water

¼ cup nonfat dry milk

5 Tbsp Salt

1 Tbsp sugar

1 Tbsp paprika

2 Tsp finely ground white pepper

1 Tbsp Garlic, finely minced

½ Tsp ground marjoram

½ Tsp ground thyme

½ Tsp ground celery seed

½ Tsp finely ground coriander

½ Tsp finely ground nutmeg

¼ Tsp Ascorbic Acid

½ Tsp Saltpeter

4 feet medium (2 inch diameter) hog casings

1 – Grind the pork through the coarse disk

2 – Grind the beef through the fine disk

3 - Mix the meats together and mix with the remaining ingredients

4 – Prepare the Casings

5 – Stuff the mixture into the casings and tie off into 8 to 10 inch links

6 – cure in the refrigerator for 24 hours

7 – Smoke at 180-190 for 2 hours

8 – Bring a large kettle of water to a temperature of 170-180 and simmer the sausage for ½ hour

9 – Place the links in a kettle of cool water for ½ hour, dry and store in the refrigerator for up to 2 weeks

Now I see this recipe has Saltpeter in it, anybody know the conversion using Prague powder 1 or 2?

 

[diggingdogfarm]

Cure #1, use one level teaspoon per 5 lbs. of meat, or use the cure calculator.



~Martin

 

[franko]

Here is a little tip I learned a while back that makes the stuffing process much easier. Grind your meat and add all seasonings with the exception of cure #1. Refrigerate overnight or however long you want. Add the cure to the meat and mix well immediately before stuffing. This will not give the cure time to set up in the meat and the stuffing will be much smoother and easier. -- Frank

 

[palladini]

Also, for a really good Kielbasa,  I at times also make a Ham, smoke it, then cut it up to the size I need it to be to fit through my stuffer tube, then mix  it in with the ground meat.  Stuff the links, then Smoke them, makes a delicious Ham Kielbasa