Cooking Sausage

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What SE said. I smoke my sausages on a pellet grill @160* until I get the color I want, than finish in SV to 152*. The last batch of jalapeno cheddar sausages I did, I decided to let them ride on the pellet grill all the way to 152* while I mowed the yard, and it was a mistake to do it. Even though I was monitoring temps via my phone the whole time, I ended up with a lot of fat out, and basically ruined a 3kg batch of sausages. They will still get used, but the quality is pretty poor. The batch before this one, I smoked long enough to get the color I wanted and finished in SV, and they were some of the best sausages I have ever eaten.
SV?
 
I have been smoking my cured sausage as long as I like with a smoker temp no higher than 150F I don’t even care what the IT of the sausage is, just the color and time. Then I finish in SV naked at 152F until internal temp is same.

The skin is why I started finishing this way. It is bite through and excellent. No other process gives this kind of texture to the casing that I have tried.

What SE said. I smoke my sausages on a pellet grill @160* until I get the color I want, than finish in SV to 152*.
So, you guys are using the SV as a better controlled hot water bath (more accurate than my Nesco roaster for example) BUT you are only bringing the sausages to temp, not holding them for an hour at temp for pasteurization?

Instead of loose in the bath.... Would you see any problems in finishing the sausages SV but in a bag with water, or even a water/beer mix, or maybe with some onions?

One advantage to using a roaster is that it can double as a serving vessel.
 
So, you guys are using the SV as a better controlled hot water bath (more accurate than my Nesco roaster for example) BUT you are only bringing the sausages to temp, not holding them for an hour at temp for pasteurization?
I just take them to 152* and into cold water bath once they hit temp. I just consider it to be the same as poaching, but with more accurate temp control.

Instead of loose in the bath.... Would you see any problems in finishing the sausages SV but in a bag with water, or even a water/beer mix, or maybe with some onions?
I've done both loose and bagged, but honestly, when you have a decent length of linked sausages, it's just easier to get them into the SV without bagging. I think you get a little better snap by putting them straight into the water, too.

I've only used water, but I suppose you could go with some beer in the mix.
 
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For my cold smoked sausages... i cook them as follows:
- coiled in a frying pan, with water a bit higher then half of the height (of the sausage); bit of oil in the water
- cook until the water drops by half
- flip the sausage and cook until all water has evaporated
- continue cooking and until brown to your liking
- flip and brown the other side

This will give you fully cooked, moist sausage, skin bursts when you sink your teeth in it
-
 
So, you guys are using the SV as a better controlled hot water bath (more accurate than my Nesco roaster for example) BUT you are only bringing the sausages to temp, not holding them for an hour at temp for pasteurization?
I think the SV is much better control. I’ve tried the conventional method of poaching in 175F water and honestly the fat out is unacceptable. So I started using SV at 152F. Hog casings finish in about an hour coming out of a 140F smokehouse. My bigger sausage like bologna and Krakowska take about 2 hours. Now these are all cured sausage. Depending on which pasteurization chart you look at, USDA says 150F for just minutes, while Baldwin says about one and a half hours on 35mm product. I have not done this with fresh sausage. In that case I poach and or just grill to done. Casings are always acceptable there, but the smoked sausage gets leathery and benefits huge from the SV soak.

Instead of loose in the bath.... Would you see any problems in finishing the sausages SV but in a bag with water, or even a water/beer mix, or maybe with some onions?
No this is a great idea I think. Best for fresh sausage but I cannot see why it would not be a good idea to do this. I’m going to try it here at some point, sounds delicious.


What temp is the roaster? For fresh sausage this would work to cook and serve, I would think anyway I’ve not done this.
 
This is a great thread, with a lot of great information and ideas.
Being from Wisconsin, bratwurst is tremendously popular here. A common way to cook them at bars, restaurants, cook outs, etc is to first boil the brats in a mixture of beer/ water. And usually sliced onions. ( To be put on the brats when eating). They are then put on a grill to brown.
Interestingly, a person told me to try "both ways". That is to cook as above and it will give the casing a 'snap' when biting. Conversely he said to grill first until brown, then boil in the beer/water mixture and serve. The casing he stated would then be 'softer' to the bite. FWIW.....
 
This is a great thread, with a lot of great information and ideas.
Being from Wisconsin, bratwurst is tremendously popular here. A common way to cook them at bars, restaurants, cook outs, etc is to first boil the brats in a mixture of beer/ water. And usually sliced onions. ( To be put on the brats when eating). They are then put on a grill to brown.
Interestingly, a person told me to try "both ways". That is to cook as above and it will give the casing a 'snap' when biting. Conversely he said to grill first until brown, then boil in the beer/water mixture and serve. The casing he stated would then be 'softer' to the bite. FWIW.....
This is one of my favorite food controversies. No one is ever wrong, but everyone has little personal touches with either method. I cooked at a charity fundraiser one year and one of my meats was a Dutch oven with brats and onions I poached, then would grill to order. Two cooks down, the guy was doing the opposite. Everything was good.
 
I think the SV is much better control. I’ve tried the conventional method of poaching in 175F water and honestly the fat out is unacceptable.

Depending on which pasteurization chart you look at, USDA says 150F for just minutes, while Baldwin says about one and a half hours on 35mm product.

What temp is the roaster?
The dial marking on the Nesco models start at 200°, but there is a lot of room on the rheostat. I can get between 150° and 160° somewhat easily when I used this method for Summer sausage or bologna. It's just very hands on until you find the sweet spot.
No this is a great idea I think. Best for fresh sausage but I cannot see why it would not be a good idea to do this. I’m going to try it here at some point, sounds delicious.
If you beat me to it, let us know.
 
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