sasage hanging question

[backwoods bbq]

question 1: when i hang my sticks...if i hang them with butcher twine from tying them directly in the middle will the casing break if i hang by string instead of draping over a small rod?

question 2: when they are done I plan to let them hang outside which temps should be around 45-50 degrees is there anythign wrong with that or should i cool to room temp then chill in fridge?

 

[mike johnson]

I know it sounds totally red neck but the first time I smoked some SS I used paper clips bent into the shape of an S. They work if you have nothing else.

 

[backwoods bbq]

does not sound redneck at all man, my plan wat to use BIG fish hooks! hahahaha

 

[jarhead]

If you want Redneck, get yourself a pack of them Shower Curtain Rod Hangers. They work great.

 

[backwoods bbq]

haha thats funny. Yea I can get paperclips free from work so i will go with the less redneck and more cost efficient method. Thanks!

 

[nozzleman]

"when they are done I plan to let them hang outside which temps should be around 45-50 degrees is there anythign wrong with that"

Can you catch the local dog as he is running away with them?

 

[fpnmf]

I used to make a lot of effort to hang my sausage..

I can get more in the smoker if I just lay them flat on the racks..flip them half way..

finished andouille 10oct2012 002.JPG

• fpnmf
• Oct 14, 2012

 

[boykjo]

question 1: when i hang my sticks...if i hang them with butcher twine from tying them directly in the middle will the casing break if i hang by string instead of draping over a small rod? Not sure what your saying here. You want to hang the sausage upside down with the butchers twine on the top where the sausage comes together as a ring? The casings should not break if they are tied with butchers twine. The twine really makes the connections stonger than just the casing

question 2: when they are done I plan to let them hang outside which temps should be around 45-50 degrees is there anythign wrong with that or should i cool to room temp then chill in fridge? After smoking, place the sausage into a cold water bath and bring the temp down  to around 100 degrees or cooler. You can hang to bloom in the house or outside but be aware of the flies..... I Go straight to the fridge and hang in a large pot

HPIM1290.JPG

• boykjo
• Oct 20, 2012

 

[weisswurst]

It almost seems like you have two questions in regards to tying with twine ( or Butchers string )I frequently ty the ends with string.This is going to be a little tricky to explain.If you are tying one end to hang such as a salami or summer sausage that is the typical diameter and straight , lets say 2and a half or 3 inches in diameter and a foot to a foot and a half in length ( as apposed to a ring ) you can re enforce your string ty by first tying the usual way then fanning out about one to two inches of the end of the casing and tying that off with a couple of loops and a strong knot so that half your fan is separated from the other half. You will never have a problem.Just be sre your string is long enough.

  If you are tying something like ring bologna at the ends together try first tying a common knot around the end of the ring. Ty that tight. Then take a little of the excess casing that you have tied , make a loop and ty that off so your string is tying the excess to itself. Picture a letter U or a horse shoe. If you ty 1 piece of the U it can slip thru because of shrinkage bad ty or what ever. But if you ty both of the Straight arms of the U together it is almost impossible to come loose. Then  ty your seperate ends together with more than one knot .

  The question i think i saw was what would happen if you were to ty the casing after it was filled to define length.and hang .If your sausage is packed very tightly and you tried to ty it off without there being any "give" it would probably break . When i need to do it that way , I i have the string lying on the table , the i decide where i want the ty.I use my thumb a nd forefinger to make a slight separation , that is where I ty. To be honest , I wish I was good at the twisting thing , you know , where they spin it and it comes out perfect. I am lousey at that. If some one can help me with that please do. Happy SM. Weisswurst

 

[shannon127]

Boykjo,

Does that have cocktail sauce in the center?  Hmmm...Sausage Cocktail.....Brilliant!!!!

 

[weisswurst]

In response to the chilling part of your question..To do it the way you described " would not hurt anything , your sausage would be safe (watch for contamination out side ) If outdoor temps were  in the 85 or above range i wouldnt do it , especially not in the sun. I would immerse it in cold water or spray bringing temp down around 100 or so. I would then let it hang at room temp ,about 65 to 75 for a couple of hours. Then age it in fridge. This is assuming you are talking about cured , smoked sausage .Hope this helps Happy SM , Weisswurst .

 

[rich-]

Hi Backwoods, I'm not all that seasoned as a snack stick maker, But I have made close to 150 pounds of snack sticks over the past 1 1/2 years.

When I stuff my colagen casings (21 MM) i just twist the first end of the casing and hold it untill I have stuffed approx 3 inchs of meat into the casing, then it can be let go as the meat doesn't push out the end, I then stuff my casings to a lenghth of 26 inchs long, Pull about an inch of casing off my stuffing tube, cut it with the sizzers and twist the end of the casing. Then do it all over again. In my smoker I use 1 1/4 inch diameter wood dowels ripped lenghth wise on my tabel saw. I just drape the 26 inch stuffed snack stick over the dowel rod and let it hang over the dowel. I try to place the stick so it hangs down evenly from the dowel. The    1 1/4" diameter of the dowel keeps the sticks seperated so they don't touch and I place them far enough apart so the sticks don't touch eah other on either side.

I used to use the butcher string to tie the ends but soon found that it is not needed for the size casings I use and the string was also a huge waste of time.

Rich