Andouille Sausage!!!!

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bratrules

Smoking Fanatic
Original poster
Jun 7, 2010
339
17
Southern Cali.
Here's my first try at making some andouille. I think i let the castings dry out a little to much but the taste is right on!! Here are some pics.
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started it at 150 for three hours and finished it at 175. till it reached 150. but i think i let the casting dry out to much before putting it in the smoker. do u know how not to get such a dry casting? BTW my step daughter helped me out i told her i was go to give her credit. shes only 5 lol. now all i have to is make some gumbo and a shrimp boil!!!!
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LOL its great to get her started young. pass on the traditions. 

While the inside looks jam up for browning in the skillet and gumbo, I think you may have cooked it a little bit too hot. the outside looks great but the inside doesn't show smoke penetration. I smoked some sausage in my smokehouse a few months back and I did it for 6 hours and it had a great smoke flavor but was still raw in the middle. so to get fully cooked in the amount of time you did, you more than likely cooked it more than smoked it. sausage is a low and slow type thing. My sausage came out awesome to the look but really needed a good 3-4 more hours in the smoker to get it done right. trying to do it fast gives you the tougher more cooked type skin.

It really looks like you did good. the only thing Im noticing is the lack of pink on the inside which means lack of smoke penetration indicating higher temps that cause cooking and not smoking. 

Maybe someone else has different opinions so just keep checking. 

What was the flavor like, I may want your recipe. I am wanting to try to make an andouille sausage
 
When I smoke Andouille I let it sit with no smoke in the smoker at 130º for a drying for an hour. Then I go to 170º to 190º applying smoke till the internal meat temp is 155º, then straight to a cold water bath to prevent wrinkles in the casing.
 
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FFTWarren

It sure does. In the climate I live in and smoking in the winter, burying the sausage in a snow bank (non-yellow) also works great also. Do some searches on "sausage cold water bath" and you will change the appearance of the sausages you smoke. Doesn't change the taste, but appearance is half the battle !!!
 
 i should have dry it in the smoker i did it just by hanging it. and i think i left it hanging out to long about five hours and that's what dry it out. Next time i wont make the same mistake!! but the flavor is amazing i love spicy food so i really added some heat to these!! and i didn't have any mace around so i add a bit of all spice and nutmeg which with the file it really stands out.
 
Wow i just had a taste again i put a few pieces in the microwave cause my sister in law wanted to try it and not to say thing but its really tasty lol. and the casting is a lot better now that it has been in the refrigerator is not dried out at all. also it is pink i just cant get a good pic of with my phone i'll take another pic tomorrow!!
 
also it is pink i just cant get a good pic of with my phone i'll take another pic tomorrow!!
I was wondering about the color too.  Did your recipe use cure (pink salt or Tender Quick), or was it a pre-mix?  

When sausage is cold and goes straight into a smoker, it sweats just like a cold glass/can/bottle of your favorite beverage does on a hot day.  Letting the sausage hang for a few hours lets the sausage come up to room temp so it stops sweating, but also allows some of the internal moisture to drip out and/or evaporate. You just need to hang it long enough for the casing to get a tacky/sticky feeling.  Letting the casing dry & get tacky is called developing a pellicle.  A pellicle is key to getting good smoke penetration.  A lot of people start sausage in their smokers at 100F for about hour prior to adding wood/smoke to aid the drying process, but I like to hang it first too.  

Andouille is a fairly dry sausage.  I've seen recipes that have you hang it in front of a fan to dry both before and after smoking.   I'd say there's nothing wrong with the way you dried the sausage, especially now that you are happy with the texture of the outside after sitting in the fridge.
 
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Now when I have smoked sausage and I just made some andouille also. But I started my smoker at about 80° or just left the sausage hang in the smoker since it's 95° outside. Then after an hour I heat it up to maybe 100 and start putting smoke in. I leave it there for and hour and then raise it 10° each hour till I'm at about 170° inside the smoker and the sausage is 152° on the inside then I stick them into a ice bath and leave them in there for a little while maybe a hour or so. Then it's into the refrig for overnight and then taste it. YUM MO
 
Whoooo,

 Look at the pepper in that andoullie. I bet that stuff will be great to cook with.

 Except when cooking a gumbo i usually dice up my andoullie so i take the casing off anyway.
 
bratrules

I used a cold water bath on summer sausage and cotto salami for my own stuff. Can use it on any slow smoked sausage though to reduce wrinkles. We just bring the others outside to cool in the winter cool weather.
 
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hey i want to thank everyone on here for all your help!! am curing some pork loin that am going to smoke for Canadian bacon. am going to smoke it on Sunday ill post some pics when am done.
 
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