Making Summer Sausage

[Mr_shrimp]

By the time I arrived at a friends house, all that was left to do is stuff the sausage. That went pretty quick and he did say that a "cure" was included in the mix.

He put the links on a rod and outside was a turkey fryer pot with water on top of a propane burner and he lowered the sausage in the hot water and a few minutes later he probed a sausage with the thermometer and said theyre ready.

I dont know what that temperature was, he told me but I forgot.

The last step was smoking the sausage and he used one of those tube metal things with Hickory chips/pellets and it was all smoked for about 3 hrs. No heat and done.

This was the best Summer Sausage Ive ever had from the texture/smoke/moisture etc... and Im just getting started on this little hobby but Ive never seen it done this way and this fast.


I'm curious of anyones thoughts on this process .... Thanks

 

[Brokenhandle]

Can't say I've heard of it but curious also to what responses you get.

Ryan

 

[slavikborisov]

Yep he poached in water and finished with the cold smoke. Lot of guys i work with do there venison bologna this way. Mainly because guys have smokehouse and can only cold smoke. Half of them do cold smoke for about 8 hours then finish in 170F water till the bologna get to an internal temp of 160. The other half do the water bath (poaching) first to get it fully cooked and cold smoke after to get a smoke flavor. Most guy do it in a large butcher's kettle 30-50 gallon over a propane heat source. Also some that have tried finishing everything in the smokehouse with a heat source say the texture is too dry so they prefer the water finish. You also have to remember the dryness can come from not adding enough fat to the venison. I personally didn't have any trouble doing everything in my smoker so i didn't feel the need to finish in water granted my casing also are not 70mm - 80mm in diameter mine are 43mm.

 

[pushok2018]

This is kind of a reversed or "upside down" process and I never heard of this before.... I would definitely start cooking/smoking process first (at appropriate temperatures) and then poach the sausage till it's done.... Curious myself....

 

[Mr_shrimp]

Yep he poached in water and finished with the cold smoke. Lot of guys i work with do there venison bologna this way. Mainly because guys have smokehouse and can only cold smoke. Half of them do cold smoke for about 8 hours then finish in 170F water till the bologna get to an internal temp of 160. The other half do the water bath (poaching) first to get it fully cooked and cold smoke after to get a smoke flavor. Most guy do it in a large butcher's kettle 30-50 gallon over a propane heat source. Also some that have tried finishing everything in the smokehouse with a heat source say the texture is too dry so they prefer the water finish. You also have to remember the dryness can come from not adding enough fat to the venison. I personally didn't have any trouble doing everything in my smoker so i didn't feel the need to finish in water granted my casing also are not 70mm - 80mm in diameter mine are 43mm.

 

[Mr_shrimp]

Yep he poached in water and finished with the cold smoke. Lot of guys i work with do there venison bologna this way. Mainly because guys have smokehouse and can only cold smoke. Half of them do cold smoke for about 8 hours then finish in 170F water till the bologna get to an internal temp of 160. The other half do the water bath (poaching) first to get it fully cooked and cold smoke after to get a smoke flavor. Most guy do it in a large butcher's kettle 30-50 gallon over a propane heat source. Also some that have tried finishing everything in the smokehouse with a heat source say the texture is too dry so they prefer the water finish. You also have to remember the dryness can come from not adding enough fat to the venison. I personally didn't have any trouble doing everything in my smoker so i didn't feel the need to finish in water granted my casing also are not 70mm - 80mm in diameter mine are 43mm.

Very interesting, he said he did it this way for 30 yrs or so and me not knowing anything at all was just surprised of how fast 30 lbs of summer sausage was done. This batch was chuck roast/pork tenderloin and some extra fat. Thanks for the reply.

 

[slavikborisov]

I have see a few sausage recipes that call for poaching first and smoking later on Marianski's website

 

[slavikborisov]

Very interesting, he said he did it this way for 30 yrs or so and me not knowing anything at all was just surprised of how fast 30 lbs of summer sausage was done. This batch was chuck roast/pork tenderloin and some extra fat. Thanks for the reply.

yeah like i said a few guys i work with have been doing it this way as well for bologna for write sometime and they love the taste.

 

[chopsaw]

Hey , if it works I'm all for it . I like the smoke then poach for sausage in hog casings . 3 hours and you're done .
Did he dry the outside before going to the smoker ?

 

[Mr_shrimp]

Hey , if it works I'm all for it . I like the smoke then poach for sausage in hog casings . 3 hours and you're done .
Did he dry the outside before going to the smoker ?

I did see him wipe off a few while he was hanging them. Thats what I was wondering about was traditional casings in this manner if they would hold up in the poaching process because not needing a heat source or digital thermometer stuff and cold smoking really got me excited :)

I would ask him all these things also but hes very busy at work so I appreciate everyones thoughts.

 

[Sven Svensson]

That is a very interesting process. If it’s the best you’ve ever had then it’s worth considering. Your friend looks to have a tried-and-true method.

 

[chopsaw]

I did see him wipe off a few while he was hanging them. Thats what I was wondering about was traditional casings in this manner if they would hold up in the poaching process

Sure they will . I asked because you usually want the outside to be dry before smoking . That goes for anything . Not just summer sausage .
I have water proof casings that I use to just poach for larger stuff . No smoke .
He seems to have it down for what he likes . Doesn't always have to be by the book .

 

[motocrash]

Doesn't always have to be by the book .

I agree....but some would argue otherwise

 

[indaswamp]

Do you know what kind of casing your friend used? I assume collagen summer sausage casing, but I'm asking...

 

[chopsaw]

I assumed non edible fibrous .

 

[Mr_shrimp]

Do you know what kind of casing your friend used? I assume collagen summer sausage casing, but I'm asking...

It was a 1 lb I believe collagen casing red in color with a bunch of tiny holes in it.

 

[BGKYSmoker]

Y'all are rookies.....
Full smoke

Just funning with ya

 

[DougE]

It was a 1 lb I believe collagen casing red in color with a bunch of tiny holes in it.

Sounds like maybe a pre-pricked fibrous casing.

 

[DougE]

It's not red, but here's a pre-pricked fibrous casing.

 

[Mr_shrimp]

Sounds like maybe a pre-pricked fibrous casing.

I think you may be right for sure , Im just getting started/learning in smoking and am currently re-doing an old ice box for a smoker.