Need Advice on Smoking Sausage

Thanks for the recipe Gene, I am going to try it...

I am not sure if it would help but I would be willing to get some casings and ship them to you. I could put them in a box with some roasted coffee? Let me know if you need this help. Send me a PM

I am not sure if it would help but I would be willing to get some casings and ship them to you. I could put them in a box with some roasted coffee? Let me know if you need this help

justpassingthru

   If you do use nonfat dry milk use the old fashioned type , not the very light instant type.My only problem with the non fat dry milk is that it CAN live a slightly sour taste that you may not like.In mettwurst that would work well. Even in ring bologna , that very slightly tartness can be good.And you could probably mask it with a little brown sugar.

  As far as the soy protein concentrate goes there are many suppliers on line and in catalogs. Also one can purchase soy flour at most places that call themselves bulk food. I have bought it at a local Kroger superstore. Much less expensive than the SPC bought thru mail. If the only way you can buy it is thru the mail , I would bite the expense bullet and see if it makes enough of a difference for you.

  I will offer a couple of other possibilities. One can bind sausage with unflavored gelaton. Just be sure it is well mixed .It addes no salt , no calories , no carbs , some protein and supposedly is good for the joints .

  There are also food grade phosphates that cause moisture to be retained in product. You wouldnt use that for products that are intended to be dried.I have not used them but i noticed a lot of store bought products  contain them. I want to study the health effects more.If the only problem would be the amount of sodium , I would just cut down on the sodium in the original recipe.

  And finally , again , the temperature plays a vital role in moisture retention. Moisture being  , water , fat and even the lean part of the meat.Happy Sausage making. Weisswurst

I'm with Al on the natural casings. I bit pricey where I live in NJ but they last along time in the fridge. I have been using Hatfields

I am just seeing your post and I see there are alot of suggestions but one that I see right away is in your second picture you can see alot of air pockets in the casing. When stuffing the casing your mixture should flow nicely out of the stuffing tube to fill the casing evenly but there will be some air pockets from time to time. The air pockets should be puntcured, there is a special tool for this and the meat will seal up the hole. If you meat is difficult to stuff it is either too coarse or there was not enough water added to it.

I only use natural casings myself. Lot's of good information so far. here is my two cents.  The first picture you posted was andouilie i believe and i looked at the links and it seems you have a few air pockets there, unless i'm mistaken.  You like the flavor but have a problem with the looks.  One reason may be the air pockets. Another is that you may need to use a binder such as dry powdered milk.  one cup per 5 pounds of meat. Using this you have to adjust the water or beer or liquid you use in your mix.  I use powdered milk in fresh and smoked sausage. Why? I've used it since i started in the buisness and even now after being retired.  Also smoked sausage needs to be given a ice bath in cold water right after reaching your internal temp that you want or it will also have that wrinkled appearance.


Here are smoked venison polish resting after the ice bath.  Hope you can get your hands on some natural casings and then give them a try.  Sausage making is an adventure that never stops and we are always learning something. Especialy from some of the experience  that many on this site have. Reinhard