SS Blooming question

[ademily87]

Did some summer sausage today. 5 one pound chubs. 50/50 pork butt and chuck roast. Dried for 1 hour at 120°F, then smoked at 135° for 4 hours. Vacuum sealed them individually and put them in the Sous Vide for 3.5 hours at 140°. Then shocked in ice bath for 30 minutes (not sure if this is necessary since I used the sous vide). I used the LEM backwoods summer sausage seasoning and cure, and the LEM mahogany fibrous casings to keep it simple. I cut one open to sample it, and the texture is great and the flavor is spot on. As far as blooming them, if I don't take them out of the vacuum seal package I cooked them in, is it pointless to try and let them "bloom"? I'd like to leave them in the bag, since they're going to the freezer anyways, but I would like for them to be as good as they can be. Should I remove from bag and hang to bloom? Or just throw them in the deep freeze as is in the vacuum sealed packaging?

The wrinkly one I had to stuff mostly by hand. It's what was left in my stuffer tube.

 

[SmokinEdge]

Nice job. They won’t bloom now because they are pasteurized, but they will equalize in the fridge for a a week or so. Then just freeze as is. Good looking SS.

 

[ademily87]

Nice job. They won’t bloom now because they are pasteurized, but they will equalize in the fridge for a a week or so. Then just freeze as is. Good looking SS.

Am I missing out on anything by them not blooming?

 

[chef jimmyj]

Blooming is more about Appearance than flavor with smoked sausage. After all the time in the hot water bath and cold water shock, the bloom time lets the casing dry, firm up, gets rid of wrinkles and lets the case color darken. Flavor change, melding or whatever, takes longer than an hour or two of blooming. Since all the above was done SV, you had no water contact.
Refer rest a couple of days, As Is, and freeze...JJ

 

[SmokinEdge]

.

 

[BGKYSmoker]

Stuff your casings then hang at room temp for an hour or 2 before you put in smoker. Do your smoke, take meat IT to (154* because of the venison) then hang no smoke or heat, they will IT on their own to 156*

When cool put in paper bag and fridge for a day or two.

 

[chopsaw]

It looks fantastic . Great color .

Sous Vide for 3.5 hours at 140°.

Then shocked in ice bath for 30 minutes (not sure if this is necessary since I used the sous vide).

When doing sausage SV I follow the Baldwin guide lines . He calls for Rapid cooling when the cook is finished . I put the chubs in a cooler and dump bags of ice on top . This gets them under 40 degrees asap . Then straight to the fridge with what I want to eat and freeze the rest .

 

[ademily87]

Took y'alls advice and left them vacuum sealed in the fridge for 2 days. Took one out and sliced it on my meat slicer. Just had to look! Looks so much better than the first one I cut open after the ice bath. Now the other 3 will go in the freezer. Thanks for the help everyone.

Side note - I think I'm gonna stick to sous vide for my summer sausage now lol