Sausage newcomer

    I've used a smoke tube, hanging the sausage in one barrel to smoke for a couple hours, and then done a slow cook in another.  I guess I've been lucky; the sausage have turned out very moist, and seem to have the right fat content.  But, I have a good grasp on the timing of foods I cook in a barrel; I've been using them for a long time.  I did one batch in the barrel, with put cold smoking them, they turned out good.  

When you say water bath, is that to cool them down if they are to be wrapped and refrigerated or frozen?  

Also, do you hang your sausages to dry at all, before smoking them?  My thought, when I cold smoked, was that that accomplished both.

I think my best batch to date, came from an extended soak of the casings, then hanging for a couple hours.as then cold smoked.  A few cooked later that night, and a great snap to the casings.  Th balance were laid out on cookie sheets and were placed uncovered in a chest freezer, once frozen, vacuum bagged.  

The biggest challenge in all this, has been the chewiness of the casings, But, after reading the Sausage Sticky, and that coinciding with a long soak of the casings used that batch, has me hopeful.

This was the only place, where I read that an extended soak of the casings, to the point described in the sticky.  Excellent info!

     Thanks to all that have chimed in, I appreciate the help clearing up some of my questions.  I do use the instacure in any of the sausage that I smoke.  

   I really appreciate all of you that replied. Thanks for helping a new guy out!  

   I've got some casings that have been soaking since last week, they look exactly as depicted in the Sausage sticky.  Had to reschedule my sausage making to next week, I called in to work tomorrow, so I only have the one day off. Already promised the wife to I'd smoke her half the salmon I caught this week.