Smoked Cajun Pork Sausage from Pine Prairie Louisiana

[embersmks]

I've been attempting to replicate a smoked pork sausage that my mother and grandmother used to buy from Guillorys Grocery in Pine Prairie LA. I was able to enjoy it every time we visited my grandmother in Ville Platte from the 1960's through the mid 70s. I was able to get the very basic recipe from the store manager a few years ago which is nothing more than shoulder, pork fat, salt, lots of garlic powder and enough cayenne to give it some punch. Where I'm missing something is the smoke taste which was/is unique and does not happen with sawdust or chips on a hotplate nor from a good offset smoker fire. Don't get me wrong, the flavor when smoked in the offset is wonderful but does not at all taste like the product smoked at Guillorys grocery.
From photos I've been able to get from Google maps of their smokehouse at the rear of the grocery store, it appears like there is a steel cart of sorts with most likely, oak logs or splits that are smoldering and not sure if the cart is soon to be hauled into the smoke room or if they will be burning it down more prior to rolling it in. I've attached a closeup of the cart and sorry for the lack of clarity in the photo.
I found the same flavor profile with the sausage from Teets grocery in Ville Platte as well so they are most likely using the same method.
I would love to hear from anyone familiar with how these guys produce the smoke so I can try and replicate it.

 

[chopsaw]

They might be using pecan .

 

[embersmks]

They might be using pecan .

Definitely a possibility but I don't think the difference in wood would bring about the large difference in taste I found. I think there has to be something in how they are creating the smoke.

 

[indaswamp]

Does the original recipe use cure #1? If not, then the links are hot smoked....

 

[embersmks]

Yes it does. It's not a hot smoked sausage. Here's a shot of the same product at Teets

Teets pork sausage

 

[indaswamp]

Looks like the color of some of my smoked sausages...All I can say is low and slow....8-10 hours of smoke starting around 100*F stepping the temp up slowly....120, 130, 140, 150, 160.

When the internal temp. hits 136*F, start the clock and time it for 1.5 hours. This is to insure all links achieve 136*F incase you have some cool spots. USDA says they are one after about 30 minutes, but I do like DaveOmak and let them go for 1.5 hours for a LOG7 reduction. The links have been pasteurized...safe to eat. And until the surface hits about 140*F, the sausages will continue to take on smoke flavor.

The final internal temp. might be 140-148, be either way, they are done and safe to eat.

You can also chill the links and double smoke them the next day for even more punch of smoke....

 

[indaswamp]

pic. of my smoke sausage...

 

[SmokinEdge]

They may use a liquid smoke or a smoke powder. This is common.

 

[HalfSmoked]

Yup that's my thought they may add smoke flavoring. Then also as said on here it could be the method you are using.

Warren

 

[02ebz06]

pic. of my smoke sausage...
View attachment 673523

Just curious what you do with all that...
I don't make near that much and it takes wife and I a long time to eat it.

 

[zwiller]

You can also chill the links and double smoke them the next day for even more punch of smoke....

Pretty much convinced this is quite common. Easy to do if you are running product every day...

 

[indaswamp]

Just curious what you do with all that...
I don't make near that much and it takes wife and I a long time to eat it.

We eat it! I do a lot of activities outdoors and take a lot of it on trips in the woods or on the water in the boat...it's ready to eat, just let it thaw.

 

[indaswamp]

Pretty much convinced this is quite common. Easy to do if you are running product every day...

Could be....

 

[embersmks]

Looks like the color of some of my smoked sausages...All I can say is low and slow....8-10 hours of smoke starting around 100*F stepping the temp up slowly....120, 130, 140, 150, 160.

Your exterior color looks spot on to Guillorys and Teets.

From memory, the sausage from Guillorys looked to have hit in the neighborhood of 135 or so degrees final temp. After reconsidering how intense the reddish-brown internal meat color is from both stores, more red than brown, it makes me wonder what causes that. Most of my sausage making, regardless of wood or smoking time, only hits a very light brownish tan internally, never that deep red-brown as seen in the Teets image. It's almost like the particular cure they are using doesn't cause the meat to change to the usual pale gray/brown that I always experience once cure hits it.

If you can take a look again at the Teets image, what plate hole diameter do you think they're using?

On the comment on liquid smoke, definitely not. I can spot that taste a mile away.

 

[indaswamp]

After reconsidering how intense the reddish-brown internal meat color is from both stores, more red than brown, it makes me wonder what causes that.

The color of the smoke is due to the wood being used. you can get that reddish color by playing with the amount of cherry wood you use. SmokinEdge just posted a thread on ham steaks using pecan and cherry...

 

[indaswamp]

Here is a batch of Cajun Andouille, no cherry...

Smoked 14 hours......low and slow.

 

[zwiller]

After reconsidering how intense the reddish-brown internal meat color is from both stores, more red than brown, it makes me wonder what causes that. Most of my sausage making, regardless of wood or smoking time, only hits a very light brownish tan internally, never that deep red-brown as seen in the Teets image. It's almost like the particular cure they are using doesn't cause the meat to change to the usual pale gray/brown that I always experience once cure hits it.

Shouldn't be a "pale grey brown" color but a nice pink-red one. That color is actually pretty easy to achieve if you're doing it right. Are you are allowing enough time for curing? From here, how much cure are you using? With any luck that is the flavor your i... PS That Teets stuff looks like a fairly large grind to me.

Aside from curing, IMO color development comes from having a dry meat exterior. Back when I ran stuff without drying it overnight it really fell short on color. Clear casings and oak.

 

[indaswamp]

I'd say 6 or 8mm plate for the grind on that Teets sausage....

 

[chopsaw]

After reconsidering how intense the reddish-brown internal meat color is from both stores, more red than brown, it makes me wonder what causes that.

Properly cure sausage should look something like this .

 

[embersmks]

Shouldn't be a "pale grey brown" color but a nice pink-red one. That color is actually pretty easy to achieve if you're doing it right. Are you are allowing enough time for curing? From here, how much cure are you using? With any luck that is the flavor your i... PS That Teets stuff looks like a fairly large grind to me.

On the pale grey brown color, I was referring to the color of the ground pork after blending in basic spices, water and cure and prior to smoking. Not sure if that color description is accurate but it definitely loses the nice red/pink it has prior to cure addition which from all I've ever seen is typical and also allows one to judge if they've missed some areas of the mix. I use 1.36 g /lb of #1 cure.
I stated that mine hits a light brownish tan internally after smoking. Brown is probably also not a good descriptor and is probably closer to a very light pink/tan but if you look carefully at the Teets image, their cooked/smoked product is almost the color of an uncooked steak blood red which makes no sense to me.