My first sausage

  • Some of the links on this forum allow SMF, at no cost to you, to earn a small commission when you click through and make a purchase. Let me know if you have any questions about this.
SMF is reader-supported. When you buy through links on our site, we may earn an affiliate commission.
Everything did turn out well.  I wasn't too keen on the sausage spicing at first, but it is aging into it nicely.  Last night dinner consisted of a whole lot of sausages, pastrami and some home smoked salmon my sister's husband got from a relative in Alaska.  All served on crackers with some nice hot homemade mustard that I made with some homemade apple cider vinegar.  I was a happy camper.

I'm going to let the sausages age for another day in the fridge, if that's the right term, and then vacuum bag and freeze what's left at that point.

This pastrami is the best yet, by texture, tenderness and richness.  It was from a commercial corned beef.  The second one I made, the one I dry cured, was made from young animal and it cooked differently and was dryer and less rich.  I speculate that the best pastrami is made from canner and cutter.  All of the collagen in old bull that makes the temp hold around 150 as it converts to gelatin really does it.  Or I could be crazy.

There isn't much in that smoker that isn't old enough to drink.  Some of it might be ready for social security.  I looked for early build pictures, but I can't find them on the computer.  Will start a build thread shortly in any case.

Thanks again for the encouragement.
 
Looks-Great.gif
 
Man, I can't believe how much the spices have mellowed and come together in these sausages over the last day.  When I first tasted them, the first batch after it had been out of the smoker and in the fridge for 24 hours and the second fresh out of the smoker because I broke one unwinding them, I was very happy with the texture, moisture and smoke level, but the spices were strong and a bit jangly.  When I had them for a snack supper on Wednesday (made Monday and Tuesday) they were definitely improved.  When I had them for a snack at work tonight they were great.  I don't know if it's accepted practice to hold them in the fridge for a week before freezing them, or if they age as well in the freezer, but age is definitely their friend. 
 
SmokingMeatForums.com is reader supported and as an Amazon Associate, we may earn commissions from qualifying purchases.

Latest posts

Hot Threads

Clicky