Different diameter sausage in the smoker

[poacherjoe]

In the past I have always made just one size sausage but this time I had some leftover so I stuffed a 3" fibrous casing to go along with the 43mm ring casings ! I placed a probe in each but my question is when the 43mm reaches 153 degrees the PID will shut the smoker off. Will the larger diameter be at the same IT ? If not I will have to unload the ring casings and reheat the smoker and wait until the larger casing reached 153.

 

[tbern]

can you just do a Non PID probe in the smaller casing to keep track of the internal temp and know when to pull that one and the probe from the PID, that will shut down the smoker, in the larger casing?

 

[indaswamp]

The larger diameter sausage will take longer to cook and will not be 153*F when the ring bologna is finished @153*.

 

[poacherjoe]

can you just do a Non PID probe in the smaller casing to keep track of the internal temp and know when to pull that one and the probe from the PID, that will shut down the smoker, in the larger casing?

Yes I could do that but either way I will have to stop to remove the ring bologna and lose the heat . I made a note to soak more casings of the same size next time .

 

[poacherjoe]

The larger diameter sausage will take longer to cook and will not be 153*F when the ring bologna is finished @153. If I placed the PID probe in the larger casing and let it go to 153 how much more heat can the 43mm casing handle without drying it out too much ? Let's say it would be at 158 when the large casing reaches 153 ?

 

[tallbm]

Yes I could do that but either way I will have to stop to remove the ring bologna and lose the heat . I made a note to soak more casings of the same size next time .

The PID will get the smoker temp back up no problem. I don't know that your sausage heat loss will be that much if you open the door, unload all the ring, and close it.

I'm thinking it adds extra time in the order of minutes or tens of minutes and not even an hour to the whole thing :)

 

[poacherjoe]

The PID will get the smoker temp back up no problem. I don't know that your sausage heat loss will be that much if you open the door, unload all the ring, and close it.

I'm thinking it adds extra time in the order of minutes or tens of minutes and not even an hour to the whole thing :)

You have me wondering if I placed the probe into the larger casing and let it go to 153 just how much higher will the IT be on the smaller sausage and will it hurt anything ? Just have to experiment to find out I guess ? I am already half way through the smoke so I will pull the rings out and finish the larger casing .

 

[tallbm]

You have me wondering if I placed the probe into the larger casing and let it go to 153 just how much higher will the IT be on the smaller sausage and will it hurt anything ? Just have to experiment to find out I guess ? I am already half way through the smoke so I will pull the rings out and finish the larger casing .

I do exactly this.
I put it in the bigger sausage or the sausage in the coldest spot of the smoker.
I run multiple probes so I also probe in the hottest spot of the smoker.

I pull my sausage when the lowest reaches like 152-153F.
Often the highest sausage is like 158F but it hurts nothing even if it is slightly more cooked.

The overall product is fantastic and there are only a few that might be a little crisper than the others. To me, this is so simple and easy, that a slightly more cooked sausage or 2 (which still taste amazing) is not worth all the hassle of loading/unloading in multiple goes, etc.

Simplicity is often the best approach and what you are thinking about is what I do and is simple and good :D

 

[chopsaw]

Not sure how much you have in the smoker , but when I do different sizes I put them on the smoke rods by size . Smallest in the front . When the smaller size is done I grab the whole rod and take it out . Might help for next time if you're not set up like that this time .

 

[poacherjoe]

Not sure how much you have in the smoker , but when I do different sizes I put them on the smoke rods by size . Smallest in the front . When the smaller size is done I grab the whole rod and take it out . Might help for next time if you're not set up like that this time .

The ring bologna is at 152 and the large casing is at 149 . Not much difference like Tallbm stated. Just run the probe into the large one and let the smaller one finish slightly above 153.

 

[chopsaw]

The ring bologna is at 152 and the large casing is at 149 . Not much difference like Tallbm stated. Just run the probe into the large one and let the smaller one finish slightly above 153.

Perfect .

 

[tallbm]

The ring bologna is at 152 and the large casing is at 149 . Not much difference like Tallbm stated. Just run the probe into the large one and let the smaller one finish slightly above 153.

Yep you got this! :D

 

[DougE]

Looks like it will work out fine temp wise. The only caution I would offer is to keep a close eye on the temps of the smaller diameter sausages so that they don't get too hot and you have an issue with fat out.

 

[poacherjoe]

Well I should have thought about this before starting the smoker but here's what I learned . Next time I have 1 odd ball larger casing mixed in with the ring bologna I will place the PID IT probe into the large casing and when it reaches 153 the 43mm casing will be slightly higher but it won't hurt anything ! I had the PID in the smaller casing and a separate temp probe in the 3" so when the 43 mm got to 153 I opened the smoker and removed the rings but lost the heat.When I opened the door the 3" casing was at 149 but it dropped considerably from the loss of heat, I shut the door and brought the temperature back to 170 so it took 11 more hours to finish at 153.

 

[tallbm]

Well I should have thought about this before starting the smoker but here's what I learned . Next time I have 1 odd ball larger casing mixed in with the ring bologna I will place the PID IT probe into the large casing and when it reaches 153 the 43mm casing will be slightly higher but it won't hurt anything ! I had the PID in the smaller casing and a separate temp probe in the 3" so when the 43 mm got to 153 I opened the smoker and removed the rings but lost the heat.When I opened the door the 3" casing was at 149 but it dropped considerably from the loss of heat, I shut the door and brought the temperature back to 170 so it took 11 more hours to finish at 153.

Oh damn! I never noticed such a prolonged drop before. Sorry to hear that.

Also once I stop running smoke I close my vent on sausage. No smoke no need for venting :)

 

[indaswamp]

Also once I stop running smoke I close my vent on sausage. No smoke no need for venting :)

Good plan here.....this will raise the humidity in the smokehouse which will slow/stop evaporative cooling effect and the sausages will reach finish temp faster. I do the same thing...I close the vents 75% but have to leave a crack for combustion gases to escape using a propane heat source.