First attempt at smoked sausage.

[Fatzak123]

Made a 60# batch of fresh sausage yesterday. I saved 10 pounds aside for smoked sausage. I got my Amazen 5x8 tray. I used pecan pellets. I smoked it at 150 degrees for 3 hrs. IT was 145 when I took it off. Tastes great. Only thing is that the casing is tough. Any ideas? I cooked some of the fresh sausage on the grill last night and it was great. Looking forward to any suggestions or comments.

 

[bregent]

So it sounds like the fresh were fine but the smoked were tough, correct? A few questions might help answer:

Did you refrigerate them overnight before smoking?
Did they go into the smoker directly from the fridge, or otherwise very cold?
Did you give them a cold shower after smoking?

 

[Fatzak123]

I did refrigerate them overnight and hung them to dry in front of a fan for an hr or so. Casing was nice and dry. It got to temp fairly slow I guess. I did forget to do a shower after.

 

[chopsaw]

I smoked it at 150 degrees for 3 hrs. IT was 145 when I took it off.

I start at 130 and bump temps 10 degrees per hour until I reach 160 ish and take the internal temp to 152 .
The cut pic looks great to me . Outside looked over cooked ? I do my casings like this , always ready to go , and no more tuff casings .
https://www.smokingmeatforums.com/threads/how-to-handle-natural-casings.159729/

Something about 150 for 3 hours don't add up for me . Not saying it's wrong ,,, I would take it to a higher temp at a slower rate of cook .

 

[indaswamp]

What chopsaw said...
You want the meat paste to set first @ a low temp. before you crank up the heat. Also, you get more smoke penetration @ temps. below 140*. Seems I get the most color @130*....

Think of a hamburger when you put it into a hot pan, it shrinks up and squeezes juice out. Raw sausages do the same thing in a hot smokehouse.

 

[Fatzak123]

Thanks guys. Next batch will go slower.

 

[Fatzak123]

I start at 130 and bump temps 10 degrees per hour until I reach 160 ish and take the internal temp to 152 .
The cut pic looks great to me . Outside looked over cooked ? I do my casings like this , always ready to go , and no more tuff casings .
https://www.smokingmeatforums.com/threads/how-to-handle-natural-casings.159729/

Something about 150 for 3 hours don't add up for me . Not saying it's wrong ,,, I would take it to a higher temp at a slower rate of cook .

Just read the link. Wow that was a great post! Much learned.

 

[chopsaw]

Wow that was a great post!

Yes it is . Changed my sausage making .
Thanks to boykjo .