country butcher fresh sausage

[BobP325]

I'm in eastern Pennsy. We have a number of excellent butchers/fresh sausage makers. Is it possible to make smoked sausage from their fresh sausage in my home electric smoker. Is there a need to cure it, and if so, what formula is used. Then the smoke. I can either hot smoke it or cold smoke it as I have cold smoking capability. I have some experience curing/hot smoking bacon with excellent results. I'm nuts for doing this based on the abundance locally. That being said, and after making cob-smoked bacon I feel was as good as I buy at Harrington's, I'd love to give it a try for home-smoked sausage.

 

[HowlingDog]

Is there a need to cure it, and if so, what formula is used.

If it was me, the first thing I would do is ask the butcher/sausage maker what he/she has already added to the sausage just to make sure you know what you are getting.


If you are wanting to take their ground and seasoned sausage and add cure to smoke it for an extended period of time where the sausage would be between 40 degrees and 140 degrees IT (the Danger Zone), I would use DiggingDog calculator: http://www.diggingdogfarm.com/page2.html This will give you the proper cure amounts (and salt/sugar) based on the weight of the sausage.

If you are hot smoking, say above 200 and/or for less than 4 hours, you do not really need cure since you will get out of the "danger zone" and above the 140 degrees IT fairly quickly. However, if you are cold smoking, or warm smoking for an extended period of time, you will want to add cure (cure #1).

Good luck and post some pics of your set up and your bacon...... Also, some folks will post their recipe before they add to the mix, just to double check.... I did and got great advice on my calculations. Good folks here.....

 

[BobP325]

If it was me, the first thing I would do is ask the butcher/sausage maker what he/she has already added to the sausage just to make sure you know what you are getting.


If you are wanting to take their ground and seasoned sausage and add cure to smoke it for an extended period of time where the sausage would be between 40 degrees and 140 degrees IT (the Danger Zone), I would use DiggingDog calculator: http://www.diggingdogfarm.com/page2.html This will give you the proper cure amounts (and salt/sugar) based on the weight of the sausage.

If you are hot smoking, say above 200 and/or for less than 4 hours, you do not really need cure since you will get out of the "danger zone" and above the 140 degrees IT fairly quickly. However, if you are cold smoking, or warm smoking for an extended period of time, you will want to add cure (cure #1).

Good luck and post some pics of your set up and your bacon...... Also, some folks will post their recipe before they add to the mix, just to double check.... I did and got great advice on my calculations. Good folks here.....

Thanks for your suggestions. It'll be a work in process over next few weeks.

 

[Dabutcher]

Like Howling Dog said , for sure you would need cure if you were planing on making links and smoking them . Sounds like a good test though , I dont see why it wouldnt work . Let us know if you give it a try .