Elk Summer Sausage smoking time

[DWC]

New to the forum, I sure appreciate all of the information here. I have smoked fish and Jerky for years, but wanted to branch out into Summer Sausage and snack sticks. My first small batch of summer sausage turned out great. My second batch got too hot in the smoker and fatted out. I learned the hard way that temp is critical and that fatted out summer sausage tastes terrible, LOL. I switched from a propane smoker to an inexpensive Masterbuilt 40" electric smoker and tried a 3rd batch this week. 20 lbs of Elk with 25% ground bacon ends (40% fat) with Hi Mountain Jalepeno seasoning and cure. 2-1/2" 3 lb. loaves hanging vertical with apple wood smoke. Being leary of getting it too hot, I took it slow and easy. 2 hours at 110, then 10 degrees per hour until I got to 180. I began to panic at the 13 hour mark when my internal temperature was still only 139. I jumped on the forum and with a quick search learned that long smoker times were not the death of my summer sausage and fairly common, especially with a larger quantity such as 20 pounds. Not wanting to be up all night, I set the alarm on the remote thermometer for 160 IT and went to bed, thinking it would wake me up and I would have to get up and pull the sausage. It never went off. I got up at about the 20 hour mark and it was at 158 IT. Thinking that I had to get to 165 IT, I jumped on the forum again. It seemed to me that there was a general consensus that 165 was not necessary, especially when I had been over 155 for at least 90 minutes. The IT reached 159 for about 20 minutes and I pulled it at 21 hours. I put the sausages in ice water for an hour, then dried, cut in half and packaged them. Best summer sausage I have ever eaten! Served it at a party last night and many guests said the same. In hind sight, I may have been able to speed the process up by opening the vent on top, which I kept mostly closed. The MB smoker has a glass door, and being cold outside, the condensation on the inside of the glass actually formed a puddle under the smoker. On the other hand, it turned out perfect, so maybe change nothing....
Just put a trial batch (8 pounds) of venison snack sticks in the smoker this morning. Wish me luck!

 

[JckDanls 07]

Trial and error... that's abnout the best way to learn anyways... Keeping notes as you go is a must as well..

In the future... You only need to go to 152/153 IT...

They sure do look good ... Great job

 

[SmokinEdge]

Nice work and good looking sausage.

First I’ll say that 20# of sausage is overloaded in that smoker, and causes the batch to stall. Second I’d say use a good independent thermometer to double check the actual cooker grate temps, the factory ones notoriously lie.

The temp could be a factor in “fat out” however most usually it’s a result of the meat being to warm when ground and that caused the fat to smear while being ground and that caused the “fat out” issue. Keep the meat cold as in par frozen when grinding.

 

[Timber II]

I’m having deja’vu……these guys have helped me through the same probs. Welcome to the forum DWC

 

[DWC]

Nice work and good looking sausage.

First I’ll say that 20# of sausage is overloaded in that smoker, and causes the batch to stall. Second I’d say use a good independent thermometer to double check the actual cooker grate temps, the factory ones notoriously lie.

The temp could be a factor in “fat out” however most usually it’s a result of the meat being to warm when ground and that caused the fat to smear while being ground and that caused the “fat out” issue. Keep the meat cold as in par frozen when grinding.

I ran a second remote t-state on the smoker temp, and one with a probe in the center sausage. The MB smoker was actually pretty accurate in terms of set point, but did coast down about 10 degrees and up about 15 for a 25 degree swing on cycles. I agree the quantity contributed to the stall out due to the amount of moisture that condensated on the glass and ran out of the smoker.
I'm pretty confident that my fat out experience was just too much heat. It was a cold windy day, and my propane smoker is not insulated. I had the IT probe in the top of a front loaf, and the smoker being what it is, experienced very un-even heat. I didnt pay close enough attention, and when the front loaf hit 165 IT, the bottoms and back loaves were quite cooked. So far, Im quite happy with the MB electric smoker. The temp seemed much more even, and with the 40" model, I can hang my loaves vertically and they smoke in the top half of the smoker, providing good clearance to the element. I did modify it by screwing two aluminum angles to the sides near the top so that I can place a grate at the very top. This allows me to hang sausages from a grate with small S hooks and have them be near the top of the smoker box.

 

[DWC]

Just finished chilling the snack sticks. They turned out great too, I think I'm hooked! We hunt a lot, and always seem to have ground deer and elk left over. Not anymore!

 

[Makkara]

Both your sausage and sticks look great!!

Coincidence in your smoke. I too did 20# of elk summer sausage in my 40" MS this weekend. My mix was 14% pork fat. I used TSM jalepeno summer sausage mix. I ground, mixed, and stuffed on day 1. On day 2, PID was set for 100 degrees for 1.5 hours (no smoke), 120 for 1hour with apple pellets, 140 for 1 hour with smoke, and then at 160 with smoke until internal reached 125. This took a total of about 6.5 hours. It then went into sous vide at 154 until internal reached 152. That step was about 1.5-2 hours. These came out great in less than 9 hours.

I can't recommend this forum enough in helping "up" my smoking game. I highly suggest a PID, mailbox mod, and a sous vide.

 

[DWC]

Both your sausage and sticks look great!!

Coincidence in your smoke. I too did 20# of elk summer sausage in my 40" MS this weekend. My mix was 14% pork fat. I used TSM jalepeno summer sausage mix. I ground, mixed, and stuffed on day 1. On day 2, PID was set for 100 degrees for 1.5 hours (no smoke), 120 for 1hour with apple pellets, 140 for 1 hour with smoke, and then at 160 with smoke until internal reached 125. This took a total of about 6.5 hours. It then went into sous vide at 154 until internal reached 152. That step was about 1.5-2 hours. These came out great in less than 9 hours.

I can't recommend this forum enough in helping "up" my smoking game. I highly suggest a PID, mailbox mod, and a sous vide.

Yours look great too, ironic that we had almost the same specs. I like the little bit of crust I got from the long smoke time, do you still get that with the shorter smoke? Also, I hung mine vertically. I worry about the grill contact rendering a little fat at the contact points and heat being uneven from shelf to shelf. Probably no issue if not trying to IT to temp in the smoker. Nothing to do with taste, but I also didn't want grill marks, lol. I agree about this forum, tons of good info here. I have been reading the numerous posts here about PID controllers. Would definitely help with the big temp swings. What range are you able to hold hold with your PID?

 

[Makkara]

Yours look great too, ironic that we had almost the same specs. I like the little bit of crust I got from the long smoke time, do you still get that with the shorter smoke? Also, I hung mine vertically. I worry about the grill contact rendering a little fat at the contact points and heat being uneven from shelf to shelf. Probably no issue if not trying to IT to temp in the smoker. Nothing to do with taste, but I also didn't want grill marks, lol. I agree about this forum, tons of good info here. I have been reading the numerous posts here about PID controllers. Would definitely help with the big temp swings. What range are you able to hold hold with your PID?

I do not get a "crust". This time length in smoker gives me the mouth feel and level of smoke I prefer. Mine were hung vertically too. I start with a 14" length of casing before crimping an end. They end up being around 12" long when closed. I've added a very top bracket in smoker to get extra hanging room too. The 12" casings fit 3 wide in a 1 gallon vac bag for sous vide. The PID controller holds any temp from ambient to the safety cut out of 300 degrees in the Masterbuilt.

 

[Brokenhandle]

Yours look great too, ironic that we had almost the same specs. I like the little bit of crust I got from the long smoke time, do you still get that with the shorter smoke? Also, I hung mine vertically. I worry about the grill contact rendering a little fat at the contact points and heat being uneven from shelf to shelf. Probably no issue if not trying to IT to temp in the smoker. Nothing to do with taste, but I also didn't want grill marks, lol. I agree about this forum, tons of good info here. I have been reading the numerous posts here about PID controllers. Would definitely help with the big temp swings. What range are you able to hold hold with your PID?

I have an auber pid in my mes 30... took temp swings of 25 degrees down to within 5 degrees of set point.

Ryan

 

[DWC]

I do not get a "crust". This time length in smoker gives me the mouth feel and level of smoke I prefer. Mine were hung vertically too. I start with a 14" length of casing before crimping an end. They end up being around 12" long when closed. I've added a very top bracket in smoker to get extra hanging room too. The 12" casings fit 3 wide in a 1 gallon vac bag for sous vide. The PID controller holds any temp from ambient to the safety cut out of 300 degrees in the Masterbuilt.

I added brackets at the top of mine as well. I just put one of the wire shelves at the top and hang off of it with s hooks. So the PID keeps the temperature absolutely constant? as I mentoined, stock i seem to have about 25 Degree cycle variance as the temp coasts up and down.

 

[Makkara]

I added brackets at the top of mine as well. I just put one of the wire shelves at the top and hang off of it with s hooks. So the PID keeps the temperature absolutely constant? as I mentoined, stock i seem to have about 25 Degree cycle variance as the temp coasts up and down.

Within 3 degrees of set point for me. I also have my smoker indoors in my shop (under an exhaust hood). Wind and ambient temperature changes are out of the equation.

 

[crazymoon]

DWC, Your SS and sticks look great. Over the years I have made 100's of pounds of SS in my smoker and always had to go with the fluctuating times for finish. The last couple years I started finishing in a sous vide bath. I love it because I know the exact time the product is done and never have to worry about undercooked/overcooked SS. Something to look into as you venture into the SS process.

 

[DWC]

DWC, Your SS and sticks look great. Over the years I have made 100's of pounds of SS in my smoker and always had to go with the fluctuating times for finish. The last couple years I started finishing in a sous vide bath. I love it because I know the exact time the product is done and never have to worry about undercooked/overcooked SS. Something to look into as you venture into the SS process.

Certainly something to look into. I am paranoid about food safety and tend to not want to push it. Many say 152 or 153 IT is fine. Not wanting to poke a hole in each loaf, I have a tendency to want to go closer to 160 to know all are good. Sounds like a more dependable rout to go without risking fat out.

 

[crazymoon]

Certainly something to look into. I am paranoid about food safety and tend to not want to push it. Many say 152 or 153 IT is fine. Not wanting to poke a hole in each loaf, I have a tendency to want to go closer to 160 to know all are good. Sounds like a more dependable rout to go without risking fat out.

DWC, I am assuming you are using cure #1, I used to do a 152- 155 * IT from the smoker . The beauty of SV is that your product is safe to eat when you follow the times and temps for the size of your product. It is done when you want it to be done with prior planning on your start time. The old days of IT SS temp and outside temps screwing with my smoker temps for a finish time are long gone . :) Smoke to your preference and then SV.

 

[paulgeorge]

New to the forum, I sure appreciate all of the information here. I have smoked fish and Jerky for years, but wanted to branch out into Summer Sausage and snack sticks. My first small batch of summer sausage turned out great. My second batch got too hot in the smoker and fatted out. I learned the hard way that temp is critical and that fatted out summer sausage tastes terrible, LOL. I switched from a propane smoker to an inexpensive Masterbuilt 40" electric smoker and tried a 3rd batch this week. 20 lbs of Elk with 25% ground bacon ends (40% fat) with Hi Mountain Jalepeno seasoning and cure. 2-1/2" 3 lb. loaves hanging vertical with apple wood smoke. Being leary of getting it too hot, I took it slow and easy. 2 hours at 110, then 10 degrees per hour until I got to 180. I began to panic at the 13 hour mark when my internal temperature was still only 139. I jumped on the forum and with a quick search learned that long smoker times were not the death of my summer sausage and fairly common, especially with a larger quantity such as 20 pounds. Not wanting to be up all night, I set the alarm on the remote thermometer for 160 IT and went to bed, thinking it would wake me up and I would have to get up and pull the sausage. It never went off. I got up at about the 20 hour mark and it was at 158 IT. Thinking that I had to get to 165 IT, I jumped on the forum again. It seemed to me that there was a general consensus that 165 was not necessary, especially when I had been over 155 for at least 90 minutes. The IT reached 159 for about 20 minutes and I pulled it at 21 hours. I put the sausages in ice water for an hour, then dried, cut in half and packaged them. Best summer sausage I have ever eaten! Served it at a party last night and many guests said the same. In hind sight, I may have been able to speed the process up by opening the vent on top, which I kept mostly closed. The MB smoker has a glass door, and being cold outside, the condensation on the inside of the glass actually formed a puddle under the smoker. On the other hand, it turned out perfect, so maybe change nothing.... jinxmangaonline.com
Just put a trial batch (8 pounds) of venison snack sticks in the smoker this morning. Wish me luck!

I am going to try and do summer sausage for the first time this weekend, For my first batch I just went and bought a kit of High Mountain summer sausage, My question is after I grind and stuff and all that how long do I smoke for, Temps and Times, and is the cold water bath at the end something you have to do as well Thanks

 

[DWC]

I am going to try and do summer sausage for the first time this weekend, For my first batch I just went and bought a kit of High Mountain summer sausage, My question is after I grind and stuff and all that how long do I smoke for, Temps and Times, and is the cold water bath at the end something you have to do as well Thanks

There are tons of great temperature maps on here. I am no expert, but slow and steady is the key. What will you be smoking them in? I have done them in both an electric smoker and and a propane smoker. The electric was much better because the temperature was easier to control and more even. Start out at 110 degress for 2 hours, then raise the temp 10 degrees each hour until you get to 180. leave the smoker at 180 until you reach an internal temp of at least 153. I usually go to 157-160 just to be safe. Use a good remote meat thermometer and just leave it stuck in the center of one of your sausages in the smoker. I only use 2 or three pans of chips, I don't think you would want to smoke the entire time or the smoke flavor would be too strong. There is no good way to predict smoker time. It varies depending on relative humidity, size of batch you are smoking (smoker load) and casing size. It can take 10 hours, it can take 20. As many on here have said, "It will be done when it's done. I think the ice bath is pretty important as you want to stop the cooking process quickly once you reach safe temp. Cooked summer sausage is not very good...
DC

 

[BGKYSmoker]

You can do it.


Man what I would trade for some elk or venison meat right now.....

 

[paulgeorge]

There are tons of great temperature maps on here. I am no expert, but slow and steady is the key. What will you be smoking them in? I have done them in both an electric smoker and and a propane smoker. The electric was much better because the temperature was easier to control and more even. Start out at 110 degress for 2 hours, then raise the temp 10 degrees each hour until you get to 180. leave the smoker at 180 until you reach an internal temp of at least 153. I usually go to 157-160 just to be safe. Use a good remote meat thermometer and just leave it stuck in the center of one of your sausages in the smoker. I only use 2 or three pans of chips, I don't think you would want to smoke the entire time or the smoke flavor would be too strong. There is no good way to predict smoker time. It varies depending on relative humidity, size of batch you are smoking (smoker load) and casing size. It can take 10 hours, it can take 20. As many on here have said, "It will be done when it's done. I think the ice bath is pretty important as you want to stop the cooking process quickly once you reach safe temp. Cooked summer sausage is not very good Felina Maldonado...
DC

thank you so much for your suggestion