Frankfurters

[creolesote]

So I tried my hand at hotdogs. Used Rytek’s recipe but used sheep casings so they came out a tiny bit thinner than plump hot dogs. I let the casings dry some before smoking and smoked for about 3 hrs until they got to 151 . Pulled them and gave them a cold bath. BUT they came out more smoked than I wanted. Could too much smoke cause that?

I smoked at 190 (to get the chips to smoke) then dropped to 150-170 when got a smudge smoke and then finished at 160-165 until they hit 151. Inside was cooked not pink but drier than I wanted. Skin was more smoked than I expected.

 

[SmokinEdge]

Small sausages at those temps for that long were over cooked. The whole process you used sounds rushed. You would be better off getting the cooker to settle in around 160 before they went on. Smoke control is another issue. But if you bag those dogs and let them rest a day or two the smoke will mellow.

It’s all about a consistent process not a hurry and get it done.

 

[creolesote]

Yea. That was what I was thinking but I am using an electric smoker and the recipe said heavy smoke for first 90min at 130-149 and I can’t seem to get wood chips to smoke or stay smoking at those temps. What are my options? Thanks for the advice so far. Anyone know at what temps wood chips start to give off smoke?

 

[SmokinEdge]

Yea. That was what I was thinking but I am using an electric smoker and the recipe said heavy smoke for first 90min at 130-149 and I can’t seem to get wood chips to smoke or stay smoking at those temps. What are my options? Thanks for the advice so far. Anyone know at what temps wood chips start to give off smoke?

Wood will smolder at around 140. But what I’m trying to say is first get your smoker to settle in and run clean before meat goes on. I’m not sure where you got your cook times and temps but for those small sausages those are all to high. Be patient and understand there is no real “one and done” process for everything. I hope you make these again, but at higher heat, around 1.5 hours should be enough.

Work with what you have, you can make it work, but this is why many of us use alternative ways to make smoke. Like the mailbox mod, or a stand alone smoke generator. This way you can control heat and the smoke independently. Path to success.

 

[Fueling Around]

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...
I’m not sure where you got your cook times and temps but for those small sausages those are all to high.
...

Rytek Kutas recipe.
All of his smoke / cook instructions are for very large batches in commercial equipment.

Yea. That was what I was thinking but I am using an electric smoker and the recipe said heavy smoke for first 90min at 130-149 and I can’t seem to get wood chips to smoke or stay smoking at those temps. What are my options? Thanks for the advice so far. Anyone know at what temps wood chips start to give off smoke?

SmokinEdge gave great suggestions to get around the chips problems. Another is to use a tube filled with pellets, lit outside the smoker, and placed in the bottom.
Heavy smoke is actually thin blue smoke coming out the exhaust vent. Anything whitish may give you the ash tray flavor.

 

[SmokinEdge]

Yea. That was what I was thinking but I am using an electric smoker and the recipe said heavy smoke for first 90min at 130-149 and I can’t seem to get wood chips to smoke or stay smoking at those temps. What are my options? Thanks for the advice so far. Anyone know at what temps wood chips start to give off smoke?

Lots of writings will suggest that heavy smoke, but smoke is tricky in the sense that the heavy smoke is fine with enough air flow and big enough chamber to smoke in. When you are smoking in a small cabinet smoker you need to be mindful of the smoke vs air flow and cabinet volume. The smoke even a bit white is fine if there is enough air flow to mix in. Air flow = air intake AND exhaust.

 

[in. pred]

white smoke seems to be a big deal to some. i have never had any ill effects in taste from it myself. doing small deer roasts and things i smoke very heavy. they dont allow for 6-8hr smokes because they are small. ill run smoker at 200-225 with mesquite chunks smoldering on charcoal.

now i have had smoked meat that tasted like an ashtray but i dont know what the cook did to it. i guessed he used hickory bark when i tasted it.
i know a guy that got punked by hickory bark. at the bar a guy told him he smokes all his cheese with shag bark. well the guy went and bought enough cheese to fit in his smoker and used shag bark to get smoke. that cheese was so bitter couldnt eat it.

 

[zwiller]

Yeah I got away with white smoke a long time too. Once I got a tray/tube and got legit TBS I noticed the wood type become more apparent. White smoke was just "smoke" whereas TBS smelled like "oak". Tube/tray + pellets, no other way for me!

Waiting will definitely help, you could also poach and that will strip a lot of it away. Just ran my first franks yesterday and skipped the smoke for now and just SV'd. If and when I hit them with smoke, gonna be light handed with it, like an hour tops. I am in minority her for sure but do not always think smoking something makes it better.