Drying sausage

[Sheldon Hus]

I am new to sausage making and was told that I should hang the sausage after stuffing to dry before smoking it. Just wondering what people think out there

 

[pit of despair]

Sheldon,
Smoke doesn't adhere well to wet sausage. Let it dry, then smoke it.

Teddy

 

[Sheldon Hus]

How long would u let it dry for before it goes in

 

[Steve H]

Hanging the sausage in the fridge overnight dries the casing. Which is needed as @pit of despair pointed out.

 

[sawhorseray]

Hi Sheldon, welcome to the fun! The times that I've smoked my sausage I let it hang in my smoker for two hours at 100º with the vents wide open to dry, then raise the temp to 110º and add the initial pan of wood chips for about three hours. The second pan of chips goes on and the smoker temp gets slowly raised to 130º, 2-3 degrees every 10-15 minutes for another couple of hours. Finally I shut the vents and raise the smoker temp to 165º, slowly as before in order to not split the casings and have the fat liquify and run out into a gooey mess. Hope this helps, other will chime in. RAY

 

[zwiller]

They got you: 2 ways: overnight fridge or a few hours low temp no smoke in smoker. I prefer the fridge rest for convenience. Mix, stuff, and rest one day, smoke next day. FYI this process applies to ALL my smokes not just sausage. Same for butts, ribs, etc. Cold wet meat+ smoke forms condensation aka creosote.

 

[Sheldon Hus]

Awesome thanks for all the help

 

[chopsaw]

If you over night in the fridge , you still need to let it hang at room temp , or like said in the smoker , low temp no smoke for a couple of hours .
I keep my house around 65 degrees in the winter time . I stuff and hang mine over night in the house .

 

[zwiller]

@chopsaw Talk to me about hanging in the house. What are the rules? I feel the fridge dries them out a little too much maybe.

 

[chopsaw]

@chopsaw Talk to me about hanging in the house. What are the rules? I feel the fridge dries them out a little too much maybe.

I Started using a stater culture that works at the 65 degree temp . Hang over night , then into the smoker next day . Being already dry I start the smoke right away . Also since the temp is around 50 degrees or so it shortens the smoke / cook by a couple hours .
House came with a sausage hanger that doubles as a light fixture .

 

[zwiller]

LOL I remember that. What about snack sticks with culture/ferment? No dice? OK since it has cure#1?

 

[chopsaw]

I don't do it with the stix , just SS. I have no worries about over night at those temps with SS.