Sausage on pellet grill

[Winterrider]

Naked all the way. No, natural casings do not really take in any water at all. You do lose a little of the color from the smoking stage, but it mostly comes back after you let them bloom.

These were right out of the water bath after SV. No excess moisture at all inside the casings.

View attachment 691089

Collagen casings don't fare as well nekkid in SV. They get waterlogged and mushy.

Thanks !

 

[PapaRed]

10 pounds, 2 blowouts. In the refrigerator for a nap until Tuesday, then on the rec teq to smoke.

 

[chopsaw]

In the refrigerator for a nap until Tuesday, then on the rec teq to smoke.

Nice . Looks great . You covered it right ? Or put it in a bag . Don't leave it uncovered . Drys the casings to much .
I just pulled the Chorizo off the SmokeFire and put the pork steaks on .
Smells good . Spicy smoke . Can't wait to cut into it .

 

[Hijack73]

Chud's bbq has a good Youtube video on this. He cold smokes in his pellet grill with a tube then cooks it to temp on the pellet grill.

And I discovered a bit of a trick that helps with smoke tubes in my pellet grill. At first, I had trouble keeping it lit. Now I fill up the tube, put the tube in a foil pan, and let it come up to heat in a 350 degree oven. I let it sit at 350 a bit - not really paying attention but once it's been in there maybe 20 minutes I take it out to the grill, light it with a torch and set it in the corner farthest from the exhaust. I then use a nickle to prop the door open on that side (just that little bit of air keeps the tube smoldering and the smoke moving)

My big failed experiment stuffing sausage yielded pretty tasty results by running cold smoke for about 2 hours, removing the sausage, turning on the pellet smoker (mine will not run under 215) long enough for it to stabilize, smoking/cooking the sausage for an hour (left the tube in) then turned the grill off and let it cool down for maybe 30 minutes (tube still smoking). Then straight into 170 degree H2O for 30 minutes. It was such a small bit that I did not temp it, but I did cook some of it in a pan and some in the air fryer just in case it didn't temp to 155. My only problem was that it wasn't enough smoke. Maybe next time I'll vac seal it before I drop it in the H2O or just cold smoke it longer.

From now on, at least 1 link/rope will have a probe in it.

I'll have to look into the Chud's fellow.

 

[Hijack73]

Nice . Looks great . You covered it right ? Or put it in a bag . Don't leave it uncovered . Drys the casings to much .
I just pulled the Chorizo off the SmokeFire and put the pork steaks on .
Smells good . Spicy smoke . Can't wait to cut into it .
View attachment 691178

I've seen on here where people say to let it ride uncovered in a fridge for 24 hours just to dry. Is 24 ok or does it need to be covered/bagged no matter how long?

 

[chopsaw]

I've seen on here where people say to let it ride uncovered in a fridge for 24 hours just to dry. Is 24 ok or does it need to be covered/bagged no matter how long?

Natural casings sausage needs to be bagged or covered with plastic wrap for holding in the fridge . It will never recover from that when you smoke it if you don't . Drys the casing to much .
They might be saying that about whole muscle meats , but to do that with sausage is a bad idea .
Hang at room temp for 60 to 90 minutes out of the fridge before going into a smoker . Then run a dry cycle at temp of your choice . 100 to 130 .

 

[chopsaw]

Cut shot of the above links . I'm liking the pellet grill for cured sausage . Freeze , then cook as needed .

 

[GatorAGR]

Natural casings sausage needs to be bagged or covered with plastic wrap for holding in the fridge . It will never recover from that when you smoke it if you don't . Drys the casing to much .
They might be saying that about whole muscle meats , but to do that with sausage is a bad idea .
Hang at room temp for 60 to 90 minutes out of the fridge before going into a smoker . Then run a dry cycle at temp of your choice . 100 to 130 .

So would it be better to mix the sausage batter, put in fridge overnight then stuff and smoke the following day? In the case that time is limited…

 

[PapaRed]

Following. I'll let the knowledgeable folks here answer.

 

[chopsaw]

So would it be better to mix the sausage batter, put in fridge overnight then stuff and smoke the following day?

I usually grind and mix one day , hold overnight in the fridge and stuff the next day . Sometimes it goes back into the fridge , sometimes I dry it under a fan , then freeze or smoke . Depending on what it is .
If I mix and go in the fridge I push plastic wrap down tight onto the grind so air can't get to it .

You can stiff and hold overnight , just cover it or put it in bags .

 

[PapaRed]

Dentist visit was quick, so decided to smoke the sausage after 24 hours in the reefer. Started a smoke tube with hickory pellets in the rec teq, after smoke started the pellet grill and put the links on at 12:20 PM. Using Hickory pellets, I felt the smoke was more than sufficient.

The grill indicated “SetPoint” and 180℉. During the cook, a considerable amount of smoke was noticed (although it doesn’t show well in the photo)
Pulled links at 2:45 PM (140℉) and placed in water filled turkey roaster at 160℉.

This first sausage cook on the rec teq pellet grill resolved all of my apprehensions concerning the RT-1250 – though for grilling I’ll stick with the Weber kettle.

 

[SmokinEdge]

Dentist visit was quick, so decided to smoke the sausage after 24 hours in the reefer. Started a smoke tube with hickory pellets in the rec teq, after smoke started the pellet grill and put the links on at 12:20 PM. Using Hickory pellets, I felt the smoke was more than sufficient.

The grill indicated “SetPoint” and 180℉. During the cook, a considerable amount of smoke was noticed (although it doesn’t show well in the photo)
Pulled links at 2:45 PM (140℉) and placed in water filled turkey roaster at 160℉.

This first sausage cook on the rec teq pellet grill resolved all of my apprehensions concerning the RT-1250 – though for grilling I’ll stick with the Weber kettle.

If you stuff sausage and fridge it until the next day to smoke, always bag it or otherwise cover it. Once the casing ever dries out it’s very hard to recover and you will have very chewy sausage. Also your hot water finish is the only way I finish sausage now. I smoke for color and finish in about a 160 poach or a 151 SV bath. It’s fast and effective and really helps the texture of the casing.

 

[PapaRed]

Thank you for the advice! I'm thinking next cook I will cut, grind, mix and then refrigerate covered. Next day stuff and cook. Is that a reasonable plan?
I was told that adding the cure during the mix step could cause the mix to be harder to stuff. Comments?

 

[SmokinEdge]

Thank you for the advice! I'm thinking next cook I will cut, grind, mix and then refrigerate covered. Next day stuff and cook. Is that a reasonable plan?
I was told that adding the cure during the mix step could cause the mix to be harder to stuff. Comments?

Mix the cure in at the mix step. The meat will stiffen but this is because of the salt not necessarily the cure itself. If the meat is real stiff the next day just add a bit of water and remix to loosen it up. This is why I usually try to mix and stuff in the same day, rest over night covered in the fridge then smoke the next day. I find that if you are linking the sausage it’s much easier to do that mixing day. If making ropes or hoops it doesn’t matter much.

 

[PapaRed]

Thanks! I've gained more knowledge here than anyplace else. This is a great group.

 

[SmokinEdge]

Thanks! I've gained more knowledge here than anyplace else. This is a great group.

Glad to help, as are many others.

 

[JckDanls 07]

Another thing that will help when stuffing...

If you mix and fridge rest over night... Take it out of the fridge a couple hours before stuffing and let it sit on the counter to come up to room temp... Then give a remix and see if any more water is needed... Usually it doesn't need more water once warmed up to room temp as it is not as stiff...

 

[Schwarzwald Metzger]

Does anyone smoke home made sausage on a pellet grill? If so, I would be very interested in knowing your procedures used in smoking the sausage to 152℉. I bought a new pellet grill with the lowest temp setting of 180℉ - I'm thinking that's too hot for sausage?

I remove the heat plate on my pellet, hang the sausage, and smoke pellets in a tube.

 

[FrankTroy]

Just set it to the lowest temp , and think of it as cooking more than smoking . Keep an eye on your temps and pull the sausage around 152 . It works as long as you get the sausage off when it reaches temp . It comes out great like this .
I have a SmokeFire . I put the sausage as far from the hottest part of the grill as I can .
View attachment 691006
The stuff on the right / rack is from the pellet grill . Left side MES 30 / poached finish .
View attachment 691007
The pellet grill cooked sausage was fantastic , and actually like it better this way .
Comes out great as long as you don't let it hang past a finished internal temp .
View attachment 691008

I did Italian Sausage on my Trager pellet grill this weekend, following the recipe to set the grill at 225 for 1 and 3/4 hour and pull the sausage at internal temp of 160. My sausage came out tough due to the casing being hard. I would like to try your procedure, but my question to you is how did you prepare your sausage for smoking? How do you prevent the casing from getting tough? Thank you!

 

[chopsaw]

I did Italian Sausage on my Trager pellet grill this weekend, following the recipe to set the grill at 225 for 1 and 3/4 hour and pull the sausage at internal temp of 160. My sausage came out tough due to the casing being hard.

If you're doing store bought fresh sausage , get them cooked . Either straight grilled , or indirect higher heat . Almost 2 hours at 225 is going the toughen the casings . Especially on a pellet grill with the fan running .

The sausage above has cure in it . If you're holding in the fridge ahead of time , make sure you cover it or put in a plastic back . I hang the cured links like above at room temp for 60 to 90 minutes to start warming up .

Fresh sausage , I go straight to the grill from the fridge . If you want to use your pellet , increase the heat to around 300 .