1st SS Attempt

[Norwester55]

I made this last week. Sorry not a bunch of pics but my hands are always too goopy to run the camera and the dog doesn't seem to be interested in learning how.

I used Owens regular SS mix. 7 1/2 lbs of 80/20 hamburger and 5 lbs of pork sirloin. After mixing it I was worried that the sirloin might make it too dry but its just about perfect moisture wise. I added a lb of hi-temp pepper jack and used 4 tsp ECA per 5 lbs of meat. Evidently the ECA dissipates a bit because it was pretty tangy the 1st day but the 2 day it was much better, just about right now. I set the PID to run at 110* for the 1st hr to dry it and then ramp up 10* every hour ending at 170* until it hit 153 IT. Pecan wood and dust at the lower temps.

2.20 size fibrous chub casings make Ritz cracker sized sausage. :) I ended up with 11 chubs in all. Theres much more cheese than it looks like, I managed to slice it in an almost cheese free spot. The dog could probably take better pics!

I decided I'm going to upgrade to a bigger Smokin-It (#3) for smoking sausage. The #1 has been great for everything else I've smoked but I need more room for bigger batches and it'd be nice to smoke ribs without cutting them in half for a change. I'll also go with a Wifi Auber this time. Hoping for a Memorial Day sale.

 

[buzzy]

Looks real good to me. Hard to get the cheese to be consistent through out the stick. I'm interested in your thoughts on the Smokin-It. Thinking about getting one but want to be able to hang my sticks. Did you have to swap racks around? Don't want to buy bigger then needed or spend more. Thinking 3.5. My 2# muslin bags are 17" from end of string to bottom of bag. Worried bottoms get hotter than top. Can you actually get a 12-14 hour smoke out of a small chunk of wood? Waiting on sale also.
Thanks
Duane

 

[Titch]

Looks good from here, is that casing edible?Whats ECA

 

[Norwester55]

Looks real good to me. Hard to get the cheese to be consistent through out the stick. I'm interested in your thoughts on the Smokin-It. Thinking about getting one but want to be able to hang my sticks. Did you have to swap racks around? Don't want to buy bigger then needed or spend more. Thinking 3.5. My 2# muslin bags are 17" from end of string to bottom of bag. Worried bottoms get hotter than top. Can you actually get a 12-14 hour smoke out of a small chunk of wood? Waiting on sale also.
Thanks
Duane

I think the Smokin-Its are great, built like tanks, customer service is excellent. Just as good as their
competitors at much better prices. I've done 12 hrs+ on 3-3 1/2 oz of wood. I'm sure with the bigger higher wattage fire boxes it'd take more though.

I didn't switch racks, when the lower rack got done I dropped the top one down and it took another hour or two for it to finish. I had the jerky dryer going and that made a big difference in temps in the upper part of the smoker. There didn't seem to be a lot of moisture being pulled and I wonder if the dryers even necessary for summer sausage.

I think you'd want to at least go with the 3.5 to hang them but I wonder if the bottoms would still get hot? These came out OK on the rack but I'd want to hang linked sausage, kielbasa, snack sticks etc. Ol Sarge is on this forum and the Smokin_Its forum and some of those guys could tell you what they do. Notice one of the mods over there said he just racks his.

 

[Norwester55]

Looks good from here, is that casing edible?Whats ECA

No its a fibrous non-edible casing. ECA stands for encapsulated citric acid. Citric acid with a cotton seed oil coating that keeps it from releasing until it reaches 150*. It gives sausage a fermented tangy flavor. Theres other things you can use but this seemed easiest and I'm all about doing things the easy way. ;)

 

[chopsaw]

Looks great . The Owens regular SS is a good mix . Nice work .

 

[crazymoon]

NW55, Nice work on the SS!

 

[Norwester55]

Looks great . The Owens regular SS is a good mix . Nice work .

Thanks, it is good, I may try the North Country mix next batch.

NW55, Nice work on the SS!

Thanks, looking forward to trying some other smoked sausages now.

 

[Steve H]

That looks great. I also found that 4 tsp of ECA for 5 pounds of meat works the best for me as well.

 

[poacherjoe]

Good looking sausage !! I have a new package of the exact same SS seasoning waiting to be used. Owens also has a new trail bologna seasoning that I am going to buy next. I have a SmokinTex 1460 and it is very similar to the Smokin-It . I added an Auber PID controller for sausage making . I made some wooden dowels to hang the casings from and 24" casings fit with a few inches to spare. Did you make any without the ECA to compare ?

 

[Norwester55]

That looks great. I also found that 4 tsp of ECA for 5 pounds of meat works the best for me as well.

Thanks Steve. Actually I think I went with the 4 tsp from one of your SS posts. I'll stick with it, its just right!

Good looking sausage !! I have a new package of the exact same SS seasoning waiting to be used. Owens also has a new trail bologna seasoning that I am going to buy next. I have a SmokinTex 1460 and it is very similar to the Smokin-It . I added an Auber PID controller for sausage making . I made some wooden dowels to hang the casings from and 24" casings fit with a few inches to spare. Did you make any without the ECA to compare ?

Thsnks Joe. No I didn't make any with out the ECA, I like the tang! Yeah Owens stuff is good. Their Mushroom brat mix is my favorite brat mix so far. I've got some of their Green Onion mix and snack stix mix. Haven't decided which I'm gonna make next.