summer sausage casing came loose

[gdp]

I searched the posts but couldn't find a definite answer to what I experienced so asking here because you guys are highly respected by me. I recently made blueberry summer sausage (can post the recipe if needed) and while the final sausage looks and tastes great, the casings separated from the meat while in the fridge after smoking. The pics show the chubs right after coming out of the smoker, 2 days later after being in a brown paper bag in the fridge, and the sausage that was in the red casing opened which has great texture, moisture and taste. I used The Meateaters summer sausage recipe and added blueberries, maple syrup and wild rice which I did once before and it worked fine. Elk meat and 25% pork back fat. Great recipe by the way!
The smoke took 10 hours in a Weber 18in Smokey, and I took it real slow and low heat until the last 15-20 minutes when I took the air temp from a160 to about 180 because I got impatient with the meat sitting at about 150 for 1.5 hours. I think the stall happened before that and the air temp just wasn't enough...and I ran out of patience. Pulled the sausage at 151, no water bath and let it cool a few hours before going into the fridge. I did not soak the casings before smoking although some from the same store worked fine before without soaking. The one sausage I took out of the loose red casing in the pic is not greasy on the outside at all, and not dry to eat. I had no water in the pan and maybe 1/3 cup of fat accumulated there, all sausages were hung over the pan. My experience is that all fatty sausage leaks some fat even under the temp to fat out but would like opinions about that too. I noticed the fat in the pan all during the smoke to some degree and my Thermopro sensor checks ok at freezing and boiling water.
I think if the end product is good, that should be good enough but I'd like to know what happened. Or maybe I just stumbled on a better way to make sausage? haha

 

[SmokinEdge]

What’s the problem?

 

[TNJAKE]

Casing aside that cut shot looks amazing! Call it a win

 

[JckDanls 07]

So now you don't have to peel it off... call it "Self Peeling" ...

 

[Steve H]

Could be a few things.
A bit of fat out.
The casings weren't packed tight with the mixture.
Did you soak the casings beforehand?
Not water bathing them to get the temp down can cause this as well.
Either way. The finished product looks great. I've had loose casings before too. If it doesn't affect the finished goods. Then I wouldn't worry about it.

 

[indaswamp]

What was the temperature of the meat and fat when you ran it through the grinder? Reason I ask-Looks like fat out to me from fat smear while grinding which indicates the meat and fat were not cold enough when you ran it through the grinder. Fat should be 28-33*F for proper grinding...meat below 35*F....

The cold fat is firm and should not smear while grinding.

If you ground at the proper temp., then I would check the plates and knives. dull plates and knives can cause fat out as well.

 

[indaswamp]

Was all the elk fat trimmed off? It could have melted from the heat is you left it on ans caused the fat out...

 

[fftwarren]

That looks amazing

 

[indaswamp]

I see you were using a Weber 18in Smokey.... where were you taking your temp. measurements? And were you using a digital Thermometer?

When smoking sausages, you want your thermometer reading right at the bottom of the links. If the bottom of the links get over 180*F you will have fat out. Ideally, you want the links 3-4 ft. above/away the heat source, but you would have to have a smokehouse or a large offset to do so....

 

[gdp]

ok, so I cannot for the life of me figure out how to insert quotes and reply, but for those of you saying what's the problem, looks great, etc, Thank you so much!!! You guys are a great source of information. My 29 yr old son who is my hunting/butchering/sausage making buddy, said the same thing, who cares if the end product is great. I've been making/smoking stuff a few years while lurking aroung this site to learn and it's worked. Your comments are really appreciated!
Steve H, we did not soak the casings at all.
Indaswamp, I don't think I had smear, ran the meat thru the grinder twice and semi froze before each, looked good to me. Elk fat was trimmed off. The plates/knives are relatively new but the plate does show some minor grooves. So i have a digital thermometer and hung the air temp probe down about 1/2 way into the chubs but not touching them. Not sure where the probe measures but the end of it was maybe 1/2 inch above the bottom of the chub.

 

[gdp]

What’s the problem?

Love it! thanks

 

[Brokenhandle]

Sure looks good to me! Looks like you figured out how to quote. Or you can also hit the reply

Love it! thanks

So it looks like that. And to tag someone in a post use the @ symbol then start typing there name and you'll have choices pop up. So gdp You get this

Ryan

 

[crazymoon]

gdp, I think your SS looks excellent ! IMHO it looks like the temp was too high and the fat rendered out of your mix and settled between the product and the casing.

 

[Coreymacc]

Any time I've ended up with a loose case is pretty much what everyone else is saying. Heat may have risen a bit past 170deg. The product is always fine, just doesn't look very pretty.

Peal it, slice it up and enjoy.

Corey

 

[forktender]

Perfect, I hate peeling that crap off. LOL

 

[gdp]

Many thanks to all of you for replying. Most of you I've seen your post before and made an effort to always read because it's clear you know your stuff! The consensus is clear that I had a little fat out and I'll work on that in the future.. Probably in the last 20 minutes or so when I just wanted to get done and took it to 190ish. I will say the final product is amazingly good! As long it's just for me and my buds, it doesn't matter but I'm a little anal about getting things right, vs effective :)
I have one more question that I'd like comments on though. With an empty water bowl, during the entire heatup time, I do see a little fat accumulating every time I've smoked sausages. Is that normal? I've always attributed it to the fact that fat seems to start melting a little at room temp, let alone in the 120-140 range. I also have this idea that temps near the outside, around the bowl, are higher than the middle and maybe those sticks fat out a little. I have measured temps around 20 deg higher using the snake method above the burn area vs the other side, and don't use that method anymore. I try to start a smaller burn in the middle with an even amount of charcoal around that for the later, hopefully more even burn. 3 years later I'm still trying to figure it out. :)

 

[indaswamp]

so when I just wanted to get done and took it to 190ish.

That did it-no doubt about it....

With an empty water bowl, during the entire heat up time, I do see a little fat accumulating every time I've smoked sausages. Is that normal?

No, not normal. But that may happen a lot if your heat source is too close to your sausages. Or, something is going on with your procedures and you get fat smear when making your sausages. Do you use a dedicated stuffer or use a grinder to stuff the casings?

 

[crazymoon]

That did it-no doubt about it....


No, not normal. But that may happen a lot if your heat source is too close to your sausages. Or, something is going on with your procedures and you get fat smear when making your sausages. Do you use a dedicated stuffer or use a grinder to stuff the casings?

I agree with IDS on your sausage being too close to the heat source. I noticed the ends of your fibrous casings turning brown and very dry from the heat. You still came out with a fine sausage !

 

[gdp]

Thanks for the advice, again! Well that's good to know it's not normal but I'll have to figure out what's going on. I'm not getting any fat smear that I can see and have a separate vertical stuffer. I'm using a 18 inch Weber Smokey Mountain. I have the bowl in place without water so it should be the same as everyone else.
The one thing I did this time was to hang the chubs from the top rack, so the bottom part may have been too close, although they were all over the bowl so I thought that dissipated the direct heat. It's got to be that or maybe the temp sensor is off. I guess I"ll fire up the smoker and do some troubleshooting w/o meat.

 

[chopsaw]

I agree with the above , and mostly the comments that they look great . I'm spoiled with an MES and an Auber controller for doing sausage . You had those results using a WSM , you did good .
Consider some type of heat sink in the water bowl . Like sand , or heck I'd probably just use water .
Nice work .