Liquid Fat Settling on Outside of Sausage

[izzie1701]

I attempted my first smoked sausage yesterday.  I used the edible collagen casings made for smoking.  I smoked the sausage at 200F for aprox. 3 hours (internal temp reached 165F).  When I took it out there was a lot of liquid fat build up on the inside of the casing.  It has now cooled and I have a band of solid fat around the outside of the sausage just under the casing.  How do I avoid this from happening in the future?  It happened with both my pork and beef sausage.

Thank you in advance.

 

[s2k9k]

Smoke at a much lower temp. At 200* you were cooking it and all the fat was rendering out.
When I smoke sticks or sausage I will start at about 100* and slowly ramp up 10* every hour to a max of 170* and hold it there until they reach 152* IT. Then a cold water bath to cool them off and stop the cooking process.

 

[smokinhusker]

Smoke at a much lower temp. At 200* you were cooking it and all the fat was rendering out.
When I smoke sticks or sausage I will start at about 100* and slowly ramp up 10* every hour to a max of 170* and hold it there until they reach 152* IT. Then a cold water bath to cool them off and stop the cooking process.

X2

 

[big guy]

Smoking sausage takes time. I don't let my smoker get above 175F getting to an internal of 150 in a snack stick sized case takes 6-8 hrs, the larger the case the longer it will take. just sit back, have a beer and wait it out. We all had to learn that lesson.

 

[chef jimmyj]

Yep, the 200°F temp melted out the fat on at least the outer most meat of the sausage. If you take the smoker no higher than 170°F you will be fine....JJ

 

[rtbbq2]

Ditto on the other answers from the group....I smoke mine at 165°-170° max to an internal temperature of 152° then immediately submerse in ice water to cool. Your next batch will be perfect. Don't give up. We all live and learn....

 

[daveomak]

When I make beef sticks with edible collagen casings, I smoke them at 140 ish for 24 hours....  don't dip in and ice bath because I like the wrinkled finish..  I learned that from nepas....   and I used his recipe....    Dave

String Knots on casings.jpg

• daveomak
• Oct 25, 2013

 

[big guy]

I like the wrinkled look on snack stix too, beef fat melts at a lower temp than pork so your are correct to keep the temp a bit lower. What internal temp do you go to?

 

[daveomak]

I think the IT is around 138 or so....  The chart below is for non-intact meats...    130 degrees for 121 minutes, 2 hours, and it is safe...  140 ish for 19 minutes...  it's safe...   as long as you don't do something dumb during processing, and all safe handling procedures etc. are followed...  I grind my own meat..... I don't use store bought tubes very often......    So, I figure, 24 hours at 140 ish is very safe....

Time V Temp non intact meats log 7.jpg

• daveomak
• Oct 25, 2013

 

[rtbbq2]

 
When I make beef sticks with edible collagen casings, I smoke them at 140 ish for 24 hours....  don't dip in and ice bath because I like the wrinkled finish..  I learned that from nepas....   and I used his recipe....    Dave

String Knots on casings.jpg

• daveomak
• Oct 25, 2013

I agree when doing beef sticks without submersing in cold water but when doing Bratwurst, Polish, German, I usually cool them quickly in ice water...RTB