sausage temps

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weisswurst

Smoke Blower
Original poster
Feb 12, 2011
108
12
The question of sausage making and smoking temps comes up a lot. if i might , I would like to add another 2 cents. what I am going to offer is taken from technical essays , professional " meat / sausage preparers and hobbyists. Some of the newer folk may or may not be aware.When the internal temp of meat reaches 165 degrees F it stops taking smoke into the meat.It collects on the outside of the product.When meat reaches that temp it tends to stop absorbing and start repelling moisture and smoke.This is one of the main reasons it is recommended that we smoke at lower temps.Or as the old timers ( including me ) call it cold smoking .

   the same goes for smoke cooking. After the brisket reaches 165 it contiues to cook but it also starts to dry out.Injecting the brisket will help but the tendency is there to dry out.

  Something one of the folks said in a different thread is very important. It is not good to use 2 different woods at the same time.It is better to use apple for example then clean out and switch to whatever it is you want to use.Now if one can formulate a mixture that consistently gives them the flavor they want  , great. I will for example do a pork butt for maybe 3 hours using corn cobs., switch to hickory for a couple of hours or until temp reaches 165 then stop smoke and bring internal temp to about 190. I think corn cobs from sweet corn dried the previous summer and sliced into thick coins and soaked for about 1 hour has a mellow flavor that is great with pork.As one of the other guys said  I am not the sausage police  , I just hope this will help our sausage making  friends. By the by , I stopped in to the Butcher and Packer in Madison heights Mich yesterday. It is a clean place and the service is good.Happy sausage makin weisswurst !
 
See thats where i'm different. I use mixed woods in both pellet grill and smokehouse. My smokehouse i have mixed sassafras/pecan with great results.

My pellet grill i use a combo of hickory/apple/alder, Sometimes i add 2 cups of dry sweet corn to the hickory pellets in the hopper.
 
you obviously have formulated a mixture that works for you and you are happy with the results.And thats what making it ourselves is all about. I still would advise new comers to not mix woods and hope for a good result.Its like anything else , get the basics down then experiment and test. I do think that in the case of a person who primarily uses a particular wood as the main fuel  ,( not neccesarily the smoke ) Then adds a different wood as the smudge would not have a problem. While one may get some smoke from the main fuel wood ,  the predominant aroma and effect would be from the  smudge wood. Thanks for responding and happy sausage makin. Weisswurst
 
  Something one of the folks said in a different thread is very important. It is not good to use 2 different woods at the same time.It is better to use apple for example then clean out and switch to whatever it is you want to use
With all respect, I do not understand the reasoning for not using 2 (or more) different woods at the same time. In contrary, I believe the mix of woods can enhance the flavor and color of the smoked product and I also believe that mixing woods should not be left to experienced "smokers" only.

We know that each (smoking suitable) wood have its own characteristics as far as burning temp, smoke flavor and color goes. With basic knowledge of these and following common sense it is not difficult to tailor made the appropriate mix (IMHO).

For example: I'm using an oak a lot, gives me the "back to my childhood" taste of smoked bacon and sausages. I also know that oak smoke will turn the meat brown color. On my last smoke I wanted my bacon more red-ish finish, so I decided to mix oak with mesquite. Mesquite is known to have strong earthy flavor but also burns quite hot. Whereas I wanted real cold smoke and ambient temperatures were quite high I decided to "dilute" mesquite. To counter hot burn and to mellow out strong, earthy mesquite, I used the most 'jack of all trades' wood - hickory as a base (50%) mixed wit oak (25%) and mesquite (25%). I didn't use scales, just mixed it well by eye, enough to make 5 loads for AMNS.

The results was as expected - distinctly more red colour, strong smoke flavor with good hint of oak. Very robust and satisfying taste. Hickory was workhorse, mesquite was the painter and oak the perfumer.
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Lucky me, I still had a few pieces of bacon left from previous smokes, done with oak only and oak/hickory mix so I could compare all three of them. Happy with 3 wood mix, and I would not hesitate to add another wood to mix - for example apple if I thought that I'd like to add a bit of extra sweetness.

So, I don't see any reason for sticking to one wood only rule, mixing our own wood concotions makes this smoking business even more fun. (Ordered few pounds of cherry dust, can't wait to try cherry/oak/mesquite mix
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Happy smoking everyone!
 
When I first started out I also mixed different woods with great success. I get why you want to stick with one so you can learn the flavors of the wood but anyone who started smoking butts, brisket, and ribs will already know the difference by the time they graduate to making their own sausage.
 
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