Fat out - temps under 170

[mike1ranger]

Made a batch of summer sausage this weekend. I've done summer sausage before without issues but this time around I had a fair amount of fat render and I'm not sure why. This was my first batch on a Dyna-Glo vertical smoker with an off-set firebox. It's a cheap smoker but works pretty good for my purposes. I rigged up a propane burner in the fire box to better control the temps vs. charcoal and I also rigged up an exhaust out of my garage window to allow for running the smoker in the garage (-20 temps outside).

-after curing/stuffing, hung in smoker at approx 120 deg for about 2 hours.
-bumped to approx 130 (ranged b/w 128 and 135) for about 2 hours
-bumped temps to approx 150 for about 2 hours
-maintained temps b/w 160 and 170 for the duration. Took about 18 hrs to get to 152, with a couple at 154.

I used 3 digital thermometers that I've checked/calibrated in boiling water. One is spot on, the other 2 have about a 4 deg. variance that I've accounted for when determining actual temp.

Never did the temp go above 170 but I had fat render. I used cheddar (not high temp) in half the batch and non of the cheese melted.

I feel like I controlled everything correctly but somehow had fat-out. Any thoughts? Could my probes have been too close the meat giving a false reading and the temp was actually hotter than I was reading? I assume pork fat renders lower than regular cheddar cheese? My only conclusion to fat-out is too high temp but like I've mentioned I felt like I had a handle on the temps but at 18 hrs to finish it doesn't seem like the temps were too high.

 

[tallbm]

It is a mystery for sure. 1st step is to recheck your probes. After, just make sure the probes are close enough to meat level so you know the temp reading is accurate or not. After that, what % of meat to fat ratio were you using (out of curiosity).

BEST guess is uneven heat temps in various areas or probes were reading the smoker temp from too far away from the heat source so missing the hot spots like closer to the heat source.

Maybe some others will have some good info to go off of.

 

[indaswamp]

fat out can also occur when grinding warm fat. Was you meat chilled super cold when grinding?

I know I have to check myself sometimes when doing large batches as it takes a while to chill the meat.

 

[mike1ranger]

It is a mystery for sure. 1st step is to recheck your probes. After, just make sure the probes are close enough to meat level so you know the temp reading is accurate or not. After that, what % of meat to fat ratio were you using (out of curiosity).

BEST guess is uneven heat temps in various areas or probes were reading the smoker temp from too far away from the heat source so missing the hot spots like closer to the heat source.

Maybe some others will have some good info to go off of.

I'd say ball park of 80/20. I used 10 lb venison, 8 lb ground pork, and 2 lb pork fat added.

 

[mike1ranger]

fat out can also occur when grinding warm fat. Was you meat chilled super cold when grinding?

I know I have to check myself sometimes when doing large batches as it takes a while to chill the meat.

Are you saying grinding the warm meat could cause fat out at the time of grinding or that when that goes into the smoker that way would cause the fat out?

In any case, I had thawed the venison in the fridge...middle of a 5 lb batch was still partially frozen, outer edge thawed by chilled. Pork was about the same, though after first grind of venison I mixed the pork and added fat in and then re-ground everything without having it put into the freezer for a bit.

Also, for some dumb reason (in the interest of trying to save time which actually caused more work) I decided to use my grinder's stuffing attachments (don't have a stuffer and previously stuffed by hand which is tedious) to fill my casings. Found out really quick why that's a bad idea and also noticed the texture came out more of mush vs ground meat. Possibly, could the texture as it was not been able to hold the fat, thus rendering at otherwise normal temps?

 

[BGKYSmoker]

Yes

Over grinding or over mixing with your hand can smear the fat. Yes your hands get warm.

Your temp range was a jump to fast from 130 to 150.
The meat needs to have time to set. 130, 140, 150, 160 and if needed 170 (dont exceed 170 unless you have to)
Your results may vary from mine

 

[indaswamp]

Yes, over working the meat-especially when the meat is too warm smears the fat and changes the structure of the fat. It will melt out when heat is applied.
Over mixing, then using a grinder to stuff (auger working the meat paste) can smear fat.

 

[mike1ranger]

Dammit! I hate those hard lessons learned, especially with all the work that goes into this. On the bright side: at least it's not horrible...it'll get eaten. And, I think I know the problem and know what not to do in the future.

At least the uncased snack sticks, venison jerky, and brisket (left over from Christmas) chili turned out great.

 

[indaswamp]

Three "C's" when making smoke sausage:
Clean
Cold
Cure
<thumbs up>

 

[indaswamp]

Don't feel bad, most of us made the same mistakes when we started out making sausage. I don't know a single sausage maker that has not had severe fat out at one point or another.

One thing you can do is use the sausage in meals, make breakfast burritos, use it in a stuffing with rice, bread crumbs or cornbread and stuff it in a chicken then smoke it. you can add butter to the stuffing to moisten it. It'll still be good sausage this way and no one will be able to tell the fat out.

 

[tallbm]

I've been gifted crumbly dry summer sausage. I saved it by warming up, breaking it down to almost a browned ground meat consistency, and then mixing it with bbq sauce to make a manwich style meat. Makes great sandwiches with a slice of cheddar!!! :)

 

[mike1ranger]

Is it best to coarse grind the added fat and then re-grind smaller or leave coarse? Does it make a difference?

 

[indaswamp]

Is it best to coarse grind the added fat and then re-grind smaller or leave coarse? Does it make a difference?

Depends on what you consider "coarse".

I make a lot of big batches of sausage anywhere from 25# to 200#. I try to make it as efficiently as possible. I chunk the meat into long strips to fit in the grinder neck and my first pass is through a plate with 3/4" holes. Sure beats cubing the meat by hand.

If you have any lean meats, like wild game, it is best to grind the solid fat with the lean meat to help with mixing. Unless you are using beef fat.

After the 3/4" grind, I mix my seasoning with a little water (usually 25% of what the recipe calls for) and mix the seasoning with water to form a slurry. I mix this into the coarse grind.

Next pass can be either 10mm, 6mm or 4.5mm depending on what kind of texture I'm going for. I like 10mm for hot links and most all fresh sausages I make. I use mainly the 6mm plate for smoke sausages. I prefer more texture than what the 4.5mm plate gives me.
If you like a fine texture sausage like what you buy in the store, use the 4.5mm plate.

For the fat-I grind all fat the same plate as the meat - except for when I use beef fat. That I will grind through a 3mm plate. Beef fat can leave hard chunks in the sausage unless hot grilled fast @ 275 to melt the fat. The small 3mm pieces will cook more thoroughly when smoking the links.

Main thing is to keep the meat and most importantly the fat close to 34* until after it has been ground. After you grind it, try to keep it under 40*

IMO, You will get better results with a sausage stuffer than using the grinder to stuff.

 

[indaswamp]

* I don't do summer sausage-not a fan of it, but I do make emulsified meats like mortadella and home made hot dogs.

Those I will run through 3 plates with the last grind being the 3mm.

 

[indaswamp]

Mike1ranger, IF you haven't already, google len poli, go to his site and read his introduction to sausage making. Very informative.