Made a simple sausage this past weekend & was really pleased with the results. I came across a recipe for 'German Bier Wurst' and since I had most of the ingredients on-hand already, I thought, 'why not?' In hind-sight, I should have started earlier in the day, but live and learn....
The Ingredients: nothing fancy. The recipe called for 1/4 tsp cardamom (15lb recipe), but since I had no cardamom in the house, I figured for 5lbs, a missing 'pinch' of the spice would hardly be noticed.
I made a 5-pound batch coarse-grinding 2.5lbs of beef and 2.5lbs of pork shoulder. Spices mixed & re-ground through the fine plate (3mm). I only had 44mm collagen chubs so I used those. Filled four of them with enough left over to fill a collagen ring casing. Once stuffed, these sat overnight in the fridge.
Next day, I hung 'em in the smoker. no smoke for the first 90 minutes; 130° to dry them well before applying smoke.
After 90 minutes, I lit the a-maze-n smoker (cherry wood dust). I used an electric hot-plate for the first time in the smoker and found it to be an outstanding addition in keeping the temps constant at 150°—no easy chore with a large propane smoker. Smoked the chubs for 4 hours.
After nearly 2 hours of smoke @150°
I then cranked up the temp (propane) to 170° for the next two hours, then bumped it up to 180°. FINALLY, the IT made it to 155° but not until midnight(!), some 12 hours after I first put them in.
Hanging to bloom in the early morning hours.....
After 2 hours, I moved them to the fridge.
The results the next morning:
Very tasty & they smell great! Next time I'll use a larger diameter casing (3.5-4") for sandwich-sized slices.
Mild flavor; pleasing texture. A little 'tang' would be a nice addition next time too. I fried some up & sure enough, very similar to a good fried bologna!
—Kevin
The Ingredients: nothing fancy. The recipe called for 1/4 tsp cardamom (15lb recipe), but since I had no cardamom in the house, I figured for 5lbs, a missing 'pinch' of the spice would hardly be noticed.
I made a 5-pound batch coarse-grinding 2.5lbs of beef and 2.5lbs of pork shoulder. Spices mixed & re-ground through the fine plate (3mm). I only had 44mm collagen chubs so I used those. Filled four of them with enough left over to fill a collagen ring casing. Once stuffed, these sat overnight in the fridge.
Next day, I hung 'em in the smoker. no smoke for the first 90 minutes; 130° to dry them well before applying smoke.
After 90 minutes, I lit the a-maze-n smoker (cherry wood dust). I used an electric hot-plate for the first time in the smoker and found it to be an outstanding addition in keeping the temps constant at 150°—no easy chore with a large propane smoker. Smoked the chubs for 4 hours.
After nearly 2 hours of smoke @150°
I then cranked up the temp (propane) to 170° for the next two hours, then bumped it up to 180°. FINALLY, the IT made it to 155° but not until midnight(!), some 12 hours after I first put them in.
Hanging to bloom in the early morning hours.....
After 2 hours, I moved them to the fridge.
The results the next morning:
Very tasty & they smell great! Next time I'll use a larger diameter casing (3.5-4") for sandwich-sized slices.
Mild flavor; pleasing texture. A little 'tang' would be a nice addition next time too. I fried some up & sure enough, very similar to a good fried bologna!
—Kevin
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