Polish Sausage question?

[Mofatguy]

Ok, here is my plan.

Going to try making polish sausage for the 1st time. Using recipe in Great Sausage recipes and meat curing book.

Here is my question.

I plan on smoking for 2-4 hours to get good color and flavor and then boiling to reach IT 155*.

Friend of mine said to boil first to IT 155*, let dry overnight in fridge wrapped in parchment paper, and then smoke for 2-4hrs.

I can smoke for the whole time to reach IT 155* but really don't have the time to let it smoke for 12-24hrs in my Big Chief Smoker so was planning on the boil to lessen the time. I know I will loose much of the smoked flavor but I really can't find the hours to watch a smoker that long.

So....smoke 1st then boil? Or boil 1st then smoke?

Thanks!

 

[indaswamp]

Yep. I would just smoke them until INT reaches 155*. I would not cook them first and then try to smoke them.

 

[indaswamp]

Really though, you only need o go to INT of 152* as long as you hold that temp. for about 12 minutes.

 

[chopsaw]

was planning on the boil to lessen the time.

I do mine start to finish in the smoker , but if you want to finish in poaching liquid , my opinion is 170 degrees on the water until you reach the IT you want . Not boiling .

 

[BGKYSmoker]

Smoke em, you can pull at 150* and hang they will IT to 152 on their own (no cold water bath)

 

[PolishDeli]

Smoked first, then poach.

Don’t boil it! Put in water at ~ 170°F.
Fat renders at ~140°F. Water boils at 212°F. If you boil it, you can end up with a sausage casing full of fat puddles.
If you have a sous vide, use that to prevent the water from stealing flavor and to control the temp.

All that said, I’ve found that by the time the casing develops a nice color, the IT is already good.

Fresh sausages, on the other hand, do well with a poaching before grilling.

 

[Mofatguy]

Ok. I will poach and not boil. But b4 I do I'll check IT b4 I pull from smoker.
That way if it is getting close to 155 I'll just finish in smoker.

Thanks guys! I knew I should ask here 1st!

 

[Mofatguy]

Like I said in my 1st post. I don't really have time to watch a smoker all day. Only free time in a week other than nights is Saturday and Sunday afternoons. Too old to stay up all night and work all day. Ha!
It's my understanding that traditional polish sausages are poached to cook and then browned.
Just was wondering if it could be done to make it quicker so I can do it in a shorter amount of time.
Thanks for all the replies.

 

[jimmyinsd]

I think of this akin to the texas crutch on a brisket, the purists will say to take them all the way in the smoker even though many will cut the smoke off after 3 to 4 hours or so they arent really adding much more flavor in the smoker unless they are using charcoal or wood for their fuel source. (maybe a little from the cooker walls themselves)

I run smoke and slowly rising low temps (130-170) in the smoker until I get the color I want and then maybe another hour or so in the smoker. I then dip them into an electric roaster full of water (about 175) to finish getting up to my 152. from there they go directly into a tub of ice water for about 10-15 minutes and then onto a rod hanging at room temp for about 3 hours to bloom.

Maybe this isnt the proper way, but it works for me and I am not waiting for hours and hours for them to finish in the MES40.

 

[indaswamp]

I think of this akin to the texas crutch on a brisket, the purists will say to take them all the way in the smoker even though many will cut the smoke off after 3 to 4 hours or so they arent really adding much more flavor in the smoker unless they are using charcoal or wood for their fuel source. (maybe a little from the cooker walls themselves)

I run smoke and slowly rising low temps (130-170) in the smoker until I get the color I want and then maybe another hour or so in the smoker. I then dip them into an electric roaster full of water (about 175) to finish getting up to my 152. from there they go directly into a tub of ice water for about 10-15 minutes and then onto a rod hanging at room temp for about 3 hours to bloom.

Maybe this isnt the proper way, but it works for me and I am not waiting for hours and hours for them to finish in the MES40.

That would work for a small batch, but 120# would be tough to do that way IMO... plus, with the smoker so full, there is so much humidity coming out of the links, at that point, you are really steaming them anyways.....to each his own....