Collagen Casings Question

[burlyos]

Hello all.

I'm brand new to Sausage making.  My first batch turned out great (2 1/2 pounds of Kielbasa  and 2 1/2ene pounds of Andouille).

in my smoker.
I am trying to do my second batch now (Kielbasa and Hot Links).  I unexpectedly ran out of the hog casings I was using and still had about 2 lbs of my Hot Link meat not stuffed.  So I opened a pack of LEM 22 mm Smoked Collagen Casing and stuffed the rest in them.

How will these slimmer hot links cook compared to the fatter ones? (I assume a lot quicker)?   Is there anything special I should do?

Thanks for any advice in advance.

PS: great site and helpful posts here.  I've got lot's of great tips on smoking other meats from the site!

 

[BGKYSmoker]

Hello all.

I'm brand new to Sausage making.  My first batch turned out great (2 1/2 pounds of Kielbasa  and 2 1/2ene pounds of Andouille).

in my smoker.
I am trying to do my second batch now (Kielbasa and Hot Links).  I unexpectedly ran out of the hog casings I was using and still had about 2 lbs of my Hot Link meat not stuffed.  So I opened a pack of LEM 22 mm Smoked Collagen Casing and stuffed the rest in them.

How will these slimmer hot links cook compared to the fatter ones? (I assume a lot quicker)?   Is there anything special I should do?

Thanks for any advice in advance.

PS: great site and helpful posts here.  I've got lot's of great tips on smoking other meats from the site!

Yes they will smoke faster. Nothing special to do except watch the heat and time so you dont fat-out

 

[burlyos]

Thanks for the info.    Now I have a new problem.

Just got home from work, plugged in the smoker and it went off.  Looks like it's life has come to an end.

Now I have all this sausage and don't know what to do.  Can I freeze it and smoke it later or will that affect the taste?

Can I cook it in the oven  (oven goes down to 170 degrees only) Will this give me a similar product to smoking? (minus the smoke of course)

I'm not a big fan of regular fresh sausage so this is a bit of a bummer for me as I put in 3 hours work making all the sausage last night.  

Thoughts and help would be appreciated.

Thanks,

Jeff

 

[bkleinsmid]

Burly.....

I am new to sausage and there are many with far more experience than I. But, I would think if push came to shove and something had to be done, freezing would be OK......at least save the meat that way. I have been told to thaw it out very slowly so the ice crystals won't effect the meat texture. Not sure what the casings might look like though.

Brad

 

[tomolu5]

Repair, or buy new smoker...stat!

Sent from my XT907 using Tapatalk 2

 

[tomolu5]

Could try lightly misting casings with liquid smoke, then cook in oven

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[burlyos]

Thanks.  

A new smoker is at the top of the agenda but it won't happen in the next few days and in winter not many stores are well stocked.  

I think I will freeze some of the sausage and try some in the oven.  Fingers crossed they come out reasonably well.

Jeff

 

[mike johnson]

you can water bath cook like this too.

1356034061063.jpg

• mike johnson
• Dec 20, 2012

 

[woodcutter]

Can you cold smoke it for a while then do the hot water bath as Mike Johnson suggested?

 

[burlyos]

I thought about trying to add smoke with my rudimentary cold smoking device I built a few weeks ago but it would not adapt my broken smoker as I had hoped and the winter weather is nasty outside so the sausages are in the oven right now.  I've got them at 180 degrees but they are not cooking very well.  

I expected after almost 3 hours the small 22 mm hot links would be done but the internal is only 140.  I guess the heat in the oven and the smoker is different.

Thanks again for all the ideas and hopefully I'll never have to use them again once I find a new smoker!!

 

[woodcutter]

I thought about trying to add smoke with my rudimentary cold smoking device I built a few weeks ago but it would not adapt my broken smoker as I had hoped and the winter weather is nasty outside so the sausages are in the oven right now.  I've got them at 180 degrees but they are not cooking very well.  

I expected after almost 3 hours the small 22 mm hot links would be done but the internal is only 140.  I guess the heat in the oven and the smoker is different.

Thanks again for all the ideas and hopefully I'll never have to use them again once I find a new smoker!!

It can take a while if you have a number of them. Don't raise your temp any higher just wait for that final 152-155 internal temp. I feel sorry for you, bad time for a breakdown.