Polish Sausage in 9 hrs.

[Oleg]

Hi guys, after wasting a ton of meat here's my plan. I am open to suggestions for further improvements

1 hr. Let stuffed sausage dry at room temperature. This could also be done in the smoker. Just do not fire it up.
1hr. Start the smoke generator but try to keep the temperature under 70-75f
2 hrs. Continue smocking but increase the temp. to 150f
2 hrs. Vacuum seal the sausage while still hot and Sous Vide for 2hrs. at 150f
10 min. Chill sausages in iced water, remove from vacuum bags, dry with paper towels if necessary.
2hrs. bloom sausages in the shaded area. Hopefully on a cold day.

 

[indaswamp]

Good looking sausages.
I would step the temp. up from 75*F to 150*F over 2 hours. Say 20*F every 20 minutes until you get to 150*F. If you used cure #1 you could lengthen the time to 3-4 hours. This will keep the sausages from tightening up (and squeezing out moisture) before the meat sets from cooking. Could go even slower because the sous vide will do the cooking for you.......

 

[chopsaw]

Looks good , and I think you have it going your way .
I've been doing these types of sausage almost the same . Dry , smoke , cook , then into the SV .
I hang at room temp then in the smoker at 120 to dry / start smoke .
Bump temp to 140 . Let the smoke roll .
Then into the SV at 150 for an hour and a half . 32 mm hog casings .
Cool down and fridge or freeze . Cooling down takes longer than 10 minutes in my opinion . When SV is involved I like to get them down below 40 asap . Just how I do it .
I grill or poach them for meals . Makes for great texture with no tough casings .
These were poached after being frozen . TSM Andouille seasoning . One grind .
Cure 1 at the proper amount .

 

[Oleg]

I hang at room temp then in the smoker at 120 to dry / start smoke .
Bump temp to 140 . Let the smoke roll .
Then into the SV at 150 for an hour and a half . 32 mm hog casings .
Cool down and fridge or freeze . Cooling down takes longer than 10 minutes in my opinion . When SV is involved I like to get them down below 40 asap . Just how I do it .
I grill or poach them for meals . Makes for great texture with no tough casings .
These were poached after being frozen . TSM Andouille seasoning . One grind .
Cure 1 at the proper amount .
View attachment 496743

Thank you for the post and the picture. I used 38mm casings so this could explain the SV time difference. Yet, I still wonder if the sausages would be too juicy/raw. How much time do you cool them? do you use ice bath?

 

[Oleg]

I would step the temp. up from 75*F to 150*F over 2 hours. Say 20*F every 20 minutes until you get to 150*F. If you used cure #1 you could lengthen the time to 3-4 hours. This will keep the sausages from tightening up (and squeezing out moisture) before the meat sets from cooking. Could go even slower because the sous vide will do the cooking for you.......

Thank you for your post! Stepping up the temperature adds a little more work but doable. The problem with my smoker is that the temperature is jumping +/- 10f.

 

[Oleg]

Another question to ALL! The temperature at the top of my smoker is usually 10-20f higher then the bottom. Where do you like measuring the temperature?

 

[torp3t3d0]

Is there any chance e of getting your recipe....Have been lookin but can't find one I really like....your picture is the texture I like....would love to have the recipe

 

[chopsaw]

Yet, I still wonder if the sausages would be too juicy/raw.

I go by the Baldwin chart for time / temp for the size of the casing , but further cook to serve .

How much time do you cool them? do you use ice bath?

I use just ice on SV sausage . Depends on the amount . Can take 30 minutes or so .

Where do you like measuring the temperature?

I don't with these . I'm avoiding long hang times by using the SV to bring the sausage to temp . My smoker is set to 140 for " smoked sausage " . I can tell about where the sausage is at by feel .
Same sausage , just out of the smoker . Ready for SV .

 

[Oleg]

Is there any chance e of getting your recipe....Have been lookin but can't find one I really like....your picture is the texture I like....would love to have the recipe

Sure, here it is:
1 lb of ground beef
3lb of pork butt (less after trimming large pieces of fat)
20grams of salt
10 grams of garlic
4 grams of ground black pepper
1 cup of iced water
Scale the ingredients as necessary.

Mix everything for 5-10 minutes
let it stay overnight in the refrigerator around 12-16 hrs.
I use 38mm smoked collagen casing
From here see my original post for timing.
Please replace necessary amount of salt with Cure#1. Sorry, I do not use it. I just keep my exposure in the danger zone under 4hrs.

 

[Oleg]

I use just ice on SV sausage . Depends on the amount . Can take 30 minutes or so .

Thank you! I think this is something I am going to start doing.

 

[indaswamp]

Another question to ALL! The temperature at the top of my smoker is usually 10-20f higher then the bottom. Where do you like measuring the temperature?

When I smoke sausages, I use the temp. even with the bottom of the links as they hang in the smokehouse.

 

[chopsaw]

Thank you! I think this is something I am going to start doing.

All my comments are based on the use of the proper amount of cure 1 .
If you're not using it they may not apply .

 

[indaswamp]

1 hr. Let stuffed sausage dry at room temperature. This could also be done in the smoker. Just do not fire it up.
1hr. Start the smoke generator but try to keep the temperature under 70-75f
2 hrs. Continue smocking but increase the temp. to 150f

Please replace necessary amount of salt with Cure#1. Sorry, I do not use it. I just keep my exposure in the danger zone under 4hrs.

I was not sure whether you were using cure #1 or not. Looking at your recipe, you state you do not use cure #1.

With that in mind, looking at your smoke schedule, I do not believe you are achieving an internal temperature of 140*F within the 4 hours using this schedule- 1hr. hang time to dry, 1h. smoke @ 70-75*F, then 2hrs. @150*F....

The internal temp. of the sausages will usually lag the smoker temperature by 15-25*F; depending on sausage diameter. That would put the INT of the sausages around 130-135*F after 4 hours.
Do you use a probe thermometer to monitor the INT of the sausages?

For safety reasons, I would suggest foregoing smoking the 1hr. @70-75*F if you are not using cure #1 and instead start the temp around 120-125*F and step up to 150*F over about 2 hours, then moving to the SV bath to finish.

 

[Oleg]

For safety reasons, I would suggest foregoing smoking the 1hr. @70-75*F if you are not using cure #1 and instead start the temp around 120-125*F and step up to 150*F over about 2 hours, then moving to the SV bath to finish.

Minimizing the danger zone time is the hardest part. This is the reason why I am using SV to quickly bring the temperature to safe levels and kill the bacteria after smoking. I am concerned that starting at 120-125 will cause water condensate on the sausages even with the vent fully open. Do you think I could skip 1st hr. air drying and start with smoking at 70-75f?

 

[chopsaw]

Agree with the suggestions in post 13 , or add the right amount of cure one .

 

[indaswamp]

Minimizing the danger zone time is the hardest part. This is the reason why I am using SV to quickly bring the temperature to safe levels and kill the bacteria after smoking. I am concerned that starting at 120-125 will cause water condensate on the sausages even with the vent fully open. Do you think I could skip 1st hr. air drying and start with smoking at 70-75f?

What kind of smoker do you use? With most smokers I would think this should not be an issue. I start my sausages @120-125*F and have no issues with condensation. You just need really good airflow to remove the moisture. I will leave a crack in the door when smoking large batches over 60#'s.
I would recommend adjusting your smoke schedule somehow....either shorten the time lower than 4 hours before you put them in the SV bath, or up the smoke temp. so the INT. reaches 140*F before the 4 hours is up. With your current schedule, you are probably reaching 140*F INT at 4.5-4.75 hours after immersion in the SV bath.

 

[Oleg]

What kind of smoker do you use?

similar to this one:

https://www.lowes.com/pd/Masterbuilt-John-McLemore-Signature-Series-711-51-sq-in-Silver-Smart-Electric-Smoker/1000386171

Also smoke generator

 

[BGKYSmoker]

The cure 1 will not add much salt to the 20g, your only using cure 1 at 1 level tsp for every 5 lbs of meat.

Yeah i know cure 1 is 93.75% salt, you wont even notice it in the recipe at 1 tsp.

 

[Oleg]

The cure 1 will not add much salt to the 20g, your only using cure 1 at 1 level tsp for every 5 lbs of meat.

Yeah i know cure 1 is 93.75% salt, you wont even notice it in the recipe at 1 tsp.

Yes, I completely agree with you. I'd be using it but my wife is opposed to it to the degree when no rational argument can make a difference. :)
If I were to use Cure 1 I'd be deducting from my salt as much weight as I am adding Cure 1. This way the amount of salt would remain the same.

 

[chef jimmyj]

There are hundreds of Smoked Sausage recipes here that start at 130, no smoke first hour to dry the casing, and bump 10° an hour to 170, to get to an IT of 150. Starting at a higher temp than 75° for 2 hours will not hurt and with No Cure Sausage is darn good Insurance Policy!

That said...140 in 4 hours is a good guideline. However, it is not a hard and fast deadline where taking 30 or 60 minutes longer to reach 140 and your sausage becomes a Bio Hazardous Cesspool of Toxic Botulism. Remember, from the pasteurization charts, 132°F for 1 hour or 135°F for 30 minutes is just as effective at producing a 5 log reduction in bacteria as hitting 140°F for 9 minutes....JJ

Just curious...Does you wife know
Nitrites are produced by your own body in greater amounts than can be obtained from food, and salivary nitrite accounts for 70-90% of our total nitrite exposure. In other words, your spit contains far more nitrites than anything you could ever eat.
When it comes to food, vegetables are the primary source of nitrites. On average, about 93% of nitrites we get from food come from vegetables. It may shock you to learn that one serving of arugula, two servings of butter lettuce, and four servings of celery or beets all have more nitrite than 467 hot dogs.( Or a 58 POUND BATCH of your Kielbasa with Cure #1) And your own saliva has more nitrites than all of them! So before you eliminate cured meats from your diet, you might want to address your celery intake. And try not to swallow so frequently..
The full article...https://chriskresser.com/the-nitrate-and-nitrite-myth-another-reason-not-to-fear-bacon/