Hickory Smoked Cheddar Kielbasa with pictures

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worktogthr

Master of the Pit
Original poster
OTBS Member
SMF Premier Member
Nov 3, 2013
2,928
1,032
Massapequa, NY (Long Island)
Haven't posted a cook in a while so I figured I'd share this simple but awesome kielbasa recipe I have been messing around with for the last year or so.   I recently purchased a case of pork cushion meat which totaled about 60 pounds.  @Chef Willie  inspired me to start using cushion for sausage and I have always been happy with the results.  Its lower in fat and calories than butt but still makes a nice juicy sausage that I don't feel guilty about eating during the week when I'm trying to be healthy

It was a rainy, windy day, so I resorted to smoking on my MES 30 in my garage with a tarp covering the open gararge door to protect all the stuff in my garage while still allowing the smoke to escape.  Disregard those ribs haha they were cooked hot and fast with the vortex (didn't get any pics of that)


Here's the recipe for a 5 lb. batch (I did 7.5 lbs. today) and the technique I used:

5 lbs  course ground pork cushion
2 T kosher salt
1 T fine ground pepper
1 T dried marjoram 
8 cloves of fresh garlic
1 teaspoon of cure#1
1 cup non fat dry milk powder
1 cup of ice water

Mix all ingredients into ice water.

Mix spice slurry into meat with hands for at least two minutes or until meat is tacky and sticky. (A good test is to make a small patty and press it against your palm and hold your palm down. It should stick to your palm without falling off even when moving your hand).

The cooking process was at follows

1.  Dried sausage in the smoker without applying smoke for about an hour and half at 100-120 degrees.

2.  Loaded up the AMNPS with hickory pellets, lit and put it in the smoker and bumped the temp up to 150 degrees

3.  Applied smoke for 4 hours 

4.  Removed sausage from the smoker and finished it off in a warm water bath in a large pot on the stove (water temp was about 160 degrees)

5.  Took the sausage to an IT of 152 and plunged in ice water to stop cooking.

6.  Once the sausage got to about 80 degrees IT, I hung on a rod to bloom for a few hours

I usually don't do instructional typed posts like this but a friend of mind was asking me to write up my process so i figured I'd share it with you all, especially because these kind of posts are how I learned how to make sausage.  I am really happy with the way this batch came out and I can't wait to grill some up. Definitely enjoyed the extra meat from the stuffer.  Made it into patty and fried it up and toped with a sunny side up egg and some more cheese...cook's treat haha.  Thanks for looking!

-Chris 








 
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Looks great. Thanks for the recipe. I see cheese, not in the recipe.
 
Wow! I am full from dinner, and those still look dang good! Got my mouth all set to pop a bit of them in.

The melted cheese in the one shot has me licking my lips
drool.gif


points1.png
 
Looks good. I have not added chz to mine but have had some and they they were good...JJ
 
Removed sausage from the smoker and finished it off in a warm water bath in a large pot on the stove (water temp was about 160 degrees

Nice looking sausage sir and point to you. I have a quick question as I'm new to smoking sausage. Why finish the sausage in a water bath and not in your smoker? Does finishing the sausage in a water bath make the casings more tender? How long did you let the sausage hang to dry out and bloom at room temp.?:sausage:
 
Chris great job on the Kielbasa the links look perfect,I still can't link them LOL Points

Richie
 
Looks great!

Point!

Thanks so much for the point!

Looks great. Thanks for the recipe. I see cheese, not in the recipe.

Thanks! When adding cheese I have been using 8oz. Per 5 pound batch so this had 12 oz. of extra sharp cheddar cheese (store bought, not high temp)

Wow! I am full from dinner, and those still look dang good! Got my mouth all set to pop a bit of them in.
The melted cheese in the one shot has me licking my lips :drool

:points1:

Thanks so much for he points and the kind words. Hahah I was full from dinner myself but had to take a few samples when they were done
 
wow....awesome looking plump sausages, thanks for the mention. The texture looks almost emulsified but full of juice in that one pic.....well done....Willie

Thanks so much Chef! It was coarse ground with about 8 oz of water per 5 pounds of meat and mixed well so it does almost look smooth and emulsified. The cushion was on sale this month at restaurant depot so I couldn't resist buying a case... Been making a lot of sausage out of it and it makes some pretty good pulled pork as well.
 
Looks good. I have not added chz to mine but have had some and they they were good...JJ


That's some good looking sausage Chris!

Nice job!

Point!

Al




Looks great,love the cheese in there!


thats some great looking stuff there
dannylang:points:

Thanks guys for the points and kind words. The cheese in there was for my wife. Before I was into making sausage or even smoking for that matter my wife loves those hillshire farms cheddarwurst. She's a big fan of the kielbasa I make (which is exciting because she is a real picky eater) so I decided to try this out a few months back and she loved it.
 
Nice looking sausage sir and point to you. I have a quick question as I'm new to smoking sausage. Why finish the sausage in a water bath and not in your smoker? Does finishing the sausage in a water bath make the casings more tender? How long did you let the sausage hang to dry out and bloom at room temp.?:sausage:

Thanks so much for the point! The reason I chose to finish them in warm water is because I smoke until they are the color I desire. Once they reach that color I don't apply anymore smoke. I could finish them in the smoker but that could take 3,4,5,6 hours more depending on the temp of the smoker and the thickness of the links. I am not a science guy but for some reason 160 degree water cooks things faster than 160 degree air. So it usually only takes about 15-20 minutes to finish them in the warm water as opposed to 4-8 hours. It does make the casings look a little smoother as well.
 
Looks very good! Nice job!

Thanks so much!

Chris great job on the Kielbasa the links look perfect,I still can't link them LOL Points
Richie

Thanks so much Richie! Haha stuffing the links is like a coin flip for me. Sometimes I win, sometimes I lose haha. But I think I found a good method yesterday. When I finish stuffing I leave a long piece of casing at the end and leave it untied. Than I start twisting my links and squeeze the meat around to make nice packed links. Seems to help avoid blowouts because their is some extra room for the meat to move around in the casings. Not sure if I am explaining this well haha but it helps me get plump looking links.
 
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