Melting Points of Different Fats:
Pork) 82-104*F
Beef) 104-122*F
Lamb) 110-130*F
Chicken) 75*F
So as you can see hot smoking or generally cooking sausage is a balancing act of heat over time. The higher the heat the lower the cooking time. Lower temps the longer you can be there but not to long as fat is melting.
Cooking or smoking sausage warm/hot in a smoker is done with dry heat. This is much different than cooking with sous vide where the thermal transfer is much more powerful with water than is dry air heat. It’s my belief that the time in temperature is the key factor. 150*F in dry air heat is much different acting than 150*F in water heat.
The Polish pretty much cold smoke then poach in 170*F water. The cold smoking dries the sausage slightly, and this may be key because a dryer meat will come to temp faster than just fresh. Think dry aged steaks. So the more water you bind in sausage the juicier it will be cooked, at least theoretically, but the longer it will take to come to temperature because of the extra water. This is fine in fresh sausage that’s grilled, but a bit counterproductive for hot smoked sausage. Cherry picking parts of one sausage method and blending them with others can cause problems. This is to say that finding that balance for smoked sausage is very important. There is more to say, but I’ll see where this goes.
Pork) 82-104*F
Beef) 104-122*F
Lamb) 110-130*F
Chicken) 75*F
So as you can see hot smoking or generally cooking sausage is a balancing act of heat over time. The higher the heat the lower the cooking time. Lower temps the longer you can be there but not to long as fat is melting.
Cooking or smoking sausage warm/hot in a smoker is done with dry heat. This is much different than cooking with sous vide where the thermal transfer is much more powerful with water than is dry air heat. It’s my belief that the time in temperature is the key factor. 150*F in dry air heat is much different acting than 150*F in water heat.
The Polish pretty much cold smoke then poach in 170*F water. The cold smoking dries the sausage slightly, and this may be key because a dryer meat will come to temp faster than just fresh. Think dry aged steaks. So the more water you bind in sausage the juicier it will be cooked, at least theoretically, but the longer it will take to come to temperature because of the extra water. This is fine in fresh sausage that’s grilled, but a bit counterproductive for hot smoked sausage. Cherry picking parts of one sausage method and blending them with others can cause problems. This is to say that finding that balance for smoked sausage is very important. There is more to say, but I’ll see where this goes.