Smoking grocery store common Sausage ?

[damascusmaker]

So what started this is a friend gave me a sample of smoked country sausage (smoked in a cloth bag) from a ham house in East TN. They specialize in ham and bacon, the sausage isn't offered to the public plus they are 160 miles away. The sausage was wonderful! Since it isn't readily available from the place in TN, searching I found a couple of places in Kentucky offering a similar product but the shipping makes it quite pricy IMHO.

So I made an experiment: #1 of Laura Lynn maple flavored sausage @195 for a couple of hours naked in a wire basket. It only slumped from round slightly and tasted smelled great. While not as good as the TN pro stuff I can have it anytime with little effort. I did need to slice and fry because the internal temp never reached a safe level.

So the question is, on next experiment should I raise or lower the pit temp, change time in smoke? This time I'll be using JD Sage.

Here is the graph from 1st experiment https://myflameboss.com/en/cooks/3480544 the spikes are when the lid was opened for a peek.

 

[DougE]

For fresh sausage without cure, you need to hit 140° in 4 hours so you can't extend smoking time beyond that. This is exactly why we use cure#1 in sausages we intend to smoke.

 

[Retired Spook]

I "hot smoke" Johnsonville Italian sausages and bratwurst all the time! Get the smoker around 300-degrees and smoke em till they look done!

Usually I wait till they get a nice dark mahogany color and they are delicious. If you've never had a hot hickory smoked Italian sausage, you do not know what you are missing.

 

[Cajun Smokes]

I "hot smoke" Johnsonville Italian sausages and bratwurst all the time! Get the smoker around 300-degrees and smoke em till they look done!

Usually I wait till they get a nice dark mahogany color and they are delicious. If you've never had a hot hickory smoked Italian sausage, you do not know what you are missing.

Added to my list to try

 

[philpom]

I "hot smoke" Johnsonville Italian sausages and bratwurst all the time! Get the smoker around 300-degrees and smoke em till they look done!

Usually I wait till they get a nice dark mahogany color and they are delicious. If you've never had a hot hickory smoked Italian sausage, you do not know what you are missing.

I like to do them like this too, my "go to" because it's fool proof and hands off. I'm not a big fan of standing over a flaming grill trying to "save" the food constantly from ruin. 90% of my cooks are indirect and/or smoked. Sausage turns out great this way.

 

[damascusmaker]

Thanks for the response all. Just started another experiment, this time with Jimmy Dean Sage with my rub. Here is the graph https://myflameboss.com/en/cooks/3489578
I plan to slice and fry again to get to safe temp before freezing the extra.

 

[B_R_Brian]

The bagged sausage I'm familiar with is always cold smoked.

Question for someone with more experience than me: could he mix some Cure #1 into the sausage? That should give you some flexibility.

 

[damascusmaker]

Well, this batch wasn't as good as the 1st try, but it made a pretty fine supper. I wonder if adding the rub nullified some of the smoke this time and I didn't get much sage taste. Back to naked next time.
I'll get some cloth bags and set up a cold smoker hopefully this winter, right now it is still too warm in East TN.

 

[mike243]

Looks good, almost great temps to start cold smoking over night, going to get a couple box's of sliced Swaggerty's and cold smoke then vac pack 2 per pack for my breakfast. brother inlaw made a batch of sausage and smoked, was as good as cracker barrel which I really like, he died of covid 2 years ago , took a lot of old timey knowledge with him

 

[gmc2003]

It sounds like your talking about an original fatty.

Maybe something like this?

These started out as JD chubs. Now I put a rub on them and hot smoked until they reached temp. So no post frying is needed.

Here's the sliced shot:

Chris

 

[damascusmaker]

"took a lot of old timey knowledge with him " Yeah, that happens in my blacksmithing community as well, such a loss.

That looks great Chris, maybe I'll go hotter next time.

 

[B_R_Brian]

I'll get some cloth bags and set up a cold smoker hopefully this winter, right now it is still too warm in East TN.

I had a neighbor who gave us what we always called 'bagged sausage' every Christmas in the mid-70's. All I remember is that he ordered it from an ad in Southern Living magazine. . . and that my two brothers and I finished it off in less than a week. Three teenage boys can go through some sausage!

I bookmarked this link awhile back that may provide some useful information for you:

TENN COUNTRY SMOKED BREAKFAST SAUSAGE 1st THREAD with Q-VIEWS

I have searched SMF from one end to the other looking for a COUNTRY (COLD) SMOKED BREAKFAST SAUSAGE thread, haven't found one yet so this could be the first one!! If there is one please let me know. I did see some different kinds of sausage being fermenting not talking about those. I have...

www.smokingmeatforums.com

 

[SmokinAl]

gmc2003 has it right. That is the original fattie. JD sausage smoked whole & sliced.
Al

 

[jimmyinsd]

So what started this is a friend gave me a sample of smoked country sausage (smoked in a cloth bag) from a ham house in East TN. They specialize in ham and bacon, the sausage isn't offered to the public plus they are 160 miles away. The sausage was wonderful! Since it isn't readily available from the place in TN, searching I found a couple of places in Kentucky offering a similar product but the shipping makes it quite pricy IMHO.

So I made an experiment: #1 of Laura Lynn maple flavored sausage @195 for a couple of hours naked in a wire basket. It only slumped from round slightly and tasted smelled great. While not as good as the TN pro stuff I can have it anytime with little effort. I did need to slice and fry because the internal temp never reached a safe level.

So the question is, on next experiment should I raise or lower the pit temp, change time in smoke? This time I'll be using JD Sage.

Here is the graph from 1st experiment https://myflameboss.com/en/cooks/3480544 the spikes are when the lid was opened for a peek.

I wouldnt go lower, I would recommend higher actually. Typically there is no cure in premade raw sausage products, and as noted by others, no cure means you only have 4 hours to get that over 140, the bigger the temperature difference from the product to cooker temp, the quicker it will get above 140. If you wanted to go low and slow you could likely add cure, but I am not sure what you are gaining at that point with this type of product. and as far as your concerns about your rub, add sage to the rub if you want a more sage forward flavor, or like you said, skip it. you want to get crazy, mix up some scrambled eggs and cheese ( maybe some veggies well), use saran wrap to twist it into a small log and then freeze, roll out your sausage and put the frozen egg and cheese mixture in the center of it, season with your BBQ rub, and then smoke, when it gets close to done, make a glaze of maple syrup with some kind of hot sauce or pepper extract and spread that on it and then let it finish cooking and setting that glaze, serve on a english muffin or a nice buttermilk bisquit.

 

[chopsaw]

bookmarked this link awhile back

I'm glad you did . I buy my cloth bags from that place in Tenn. and I couldn't remember the name . I knew it was Butcher supply , but you have to put company on the end to find the website .
Just ordered 25 bags .

 

[damascusmaker]

So I just finished another experiment. Went to 160°

in cloth bags this time. Pulled a half bag and fried for my sausage sandwich supper, insufficient smoke but otherwise a killer sandwich. Two of these small bags go to friends and one for me. Smoker wood was pear.
https://myflameboss.com/en/cooks/3517554

 

[DougE]

So I just finished another experiment. Went to 160°View attachment 681036 in cloth bags this time. Pulled a half bag and fried for my sausage sandwich supper, insufficient smoke but otherwise a killer sandwich. Two of these small bags go to friends and one for me. Smoker wood was pear.
https://myflameboss.com/en/cooks/3517554

Pear is really one of the mildest woods, smoke wise. It pairs well with fish for that reason ....... it complements the mild flavor of fish rather than overpowering it. If you want a bolder smoke flavor, hickory may be a better choice.

 

[damascusmaker]

Yeah DougE, I've had plenty of pear for some years, thanks to a neighbor. In about a week, I'll be cutting a big hickory. I was thinking when I set up this evening it would be nice if that hickory was already cut and ready.

 

[damascusmaker]

Another batch:

4.4 lb Ingle's fresh sausage, added sage and Italian seasoning. 3 hours apx. on kamado.

https://myflameboss.com/en/cooks/36564654.4