Breakfast, Summer and Snack Sticks... big day today!

[kevinwi]

Today was breakfast sausage, snack sticks and Summer Sausage day. Tomorrow is smoke day.
Went well today.

 

[uncle eddie]

That probably took at least an hour

Nice job - looks like youu are set for a spell!

 

[indaswamp]

Good job! I know that's a lot of work! Waiting for the smoked pictures....

 

[Winterrider]

Wow, you were quite busy. Lot of good eats in the coming days !
Will be watching. . .

 

[SmokinEdge]

Nice work, and a lot of it.

 

[JckDanls 07]

Nice work, and a lot of it.

I'll have to agree with this one...

 

[Gonna Smoke]

Man that's a lot of work, but the rewards will be worth it. Nice job...

 

[JLeonard]

Looking good!

Jim

 

[kevinwi]

Today was smoke day!

Having a debate with my buddy.
He's been smoking meats for 20 years. I've been doing it for two weeks.
I have read and watched videos that say to smoke your summer and snack sausages to 165 degrees.
My buddy said, no, 148 is your target because after that you are emulsifying the fat instead of having that nice fat chunks in summer and snack sticks. The nitrates from the cure make up for the need to "cook" your sausage to 165.
He has a point. Thoughts?

 

[02ebz06]

Nice looking batch of sticks!!!

 

[JckDanls 07]

Everything looks good...

As for your buddy's suggestions... He is pretty much spot on... 152 is usually the target temp...
As he said... The fat will start rendering out the higher you go... Creating what we call "Fat Out"

 

[bradger]

i'v been thinking of making snack sticks, i don't have a meat grinder.

 

[indaswamp]

My buddy said, no, 148 is your target because after that you are emulsifying the fat instead of having that nice fat chunks in summer and snack sticks

Your buddy is correct. And technically according to the USDA pasteurization charts, you can smoke to 136*F Internal temp. and hold for 30 minutes and you will achieve a LOG5 reduction in pathogens....i.e. - safe to eat. I hold for 1.5 hours just to be safe and make sure links hanging in all corners of the smokehouse have achieved this temp. It is a LOG7 or higher reduction in pathogens at this point. I get no fat out. and the sausages are safe to eat.

 

[JckDanls 07]

i'v been thinking of making snack sticks, i don't have a meat grinder.

Do you have a stuffer ? You can buy already ground meat... Do you have a smoker that temps will go down as low as 120 degrees ?

 

[indaswamp]

...also, when smoking sausages with cheese, you don't run the risk of melting the cheese out pasteurizing sausages @136*F in the smokehouse.

 

[indaswamp]

Here ya go...Dave Omak use to work in a commercial meat packing plant....
https://www.smokingmeatforums.com/threads/pasteurization-times-and-temperatures.302750/

 

[bradger]

Do you have a stuffer ? You can buy already ground meat... Do you have a smoker that temps will go down as low as 120 degrees ?

don't have a stuffer i believe my smoker can go to 120.

 

[kevinwi]

Here ya go...Dave Omak use to work in a commercial meat packing plant....
https://www.smokingmeatforums.com/threads/pasteurization-times-and-temperatures.302750/

I have no idea what log reduction means....never heard the term. What is "log"?

 

[indaswamp]

I have no idea what log reduction means....never heard the term. What is "log"?

LOG is short term for Logarithmic scale. LOG5 reduction means that 99.999% of pathogens have been killed. LOG7 reduction means that 99.99999% of pathogens have been killed....

https://www.omnicalculator.com/biology/log-reduction#what-is-log-reduction

 

[indaswamp]

Another way to think of a LOG7 reduction is that if there were 1,000,000 (1 million) bacteria in one sausage, at the end of pasteurizing there @136*F for one hour, there would theoretically only be 1 bacteria left........