Smoking Wet Casings

[mickey jay]

I've been curious.. All the sausage smoking methods I see say to run your cooker at a low-ish temp before adding smoke in order to dry the casings so they'll take smoke. But when I smoke jerky (wet brine) or butts (pasted with oil and spices), I just turn on the smoke immediately and have never felt like the end product was under smoked.

Is there something about casings specifically that require dryness before taking smoke, or are us sausage folks taking an extra hour to dry that maybe isn't needed?

 

[daveomak]

what ever you smoke, it is best to have the surface dry.... water and smoke makes acid rain and an acrid flavor to the finished product...
But, everyone has a different method and none are wrong.... personal preference is what counts....

 

[woodcutter]

Smoke doesn't stick to water and freshly stuffed casings are wet on the outside. If you do not dry them you will get blotchy looking sausage. Water also blocks the smoke from penetrating the casings and getting smoke on the inside. It is well worth the time to dry them first.

 

[darwin101]

Drying the meat is to promote pellicle formation.  Here is a short article http://chefsblade.monster.com/training/articles/966-how-to-smoke-meat?page=2

 

[mickey jay]

Thanks everyone for the replies; that was exactly what I was looking for.