Want to make sausage

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mike57

Newbie
Original poster
Jan 6, 2015
8
10
Hey everyone, I'm brand new to the making/smoking sausage game, so I have a few questions before I jump into my first batch. I'm planning on using a Boston Butt-grinding it-then stuffing it in hog casings. But I'm reading alot of conflicting info about smoking these sausages. Now from what I gather, if I plan on smoking,

1- I will need to add a cure additive(like Instacure) to the ground pork before stuffing. What proportion is required, or does it come with instructions?

2- I read that whatever smoking box is used, make sure the box temp never exceeds 170 degrees or else it could start melting the fat in the sausage? Others say 180-190. And does the internal temp of sausage need to be checked? 

3- Some say to air dry before smoking, can someone elaborate of that please?

4- Some also say to give a water bath after smoking to reduce wrinkling. 

I figure if anyone could set me straight, it would be you guys. :) Any help is appreciated, Thanks.
 
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hey mike, as for the cure it should have directions i use the pink salt i know that is 2 teaspoons for every ten pounds,if your planning on smoking at a higher temp,no cure is needed,'rule of thumb is if the meat won't hit 140 degrees within 4 hours you need to use cure to kill off any bacteria"not sure of the technical terms but smoke will stick better if you dry the sausages first and you will get a more uniform color,the water bath will stop the cooking when you hit your desired temp,also will stop the casing from wrinkling just looks a whole lot better. hope this helps alittle, i'm sure some of the pro's will jump in with more info. good luck
 
I'd suggest you decide on 'what' variety of sausage you plan to make and then use the search bar, typing that in, and READ, READ, READ some of the many posts that will appear. Many here will post their 'fails' or not their best batch made along with numerous successful batches. Tips and techniques will be explained, many recipes will show up creating a 'to-do' list for you that will keep you busy. Brats and Italian are some of the easiest to start with and pretty forgiving. Water is your friend when making sausage so add your spices and cure, if used, into it and blend in well before stuffing. Many here, myself included, will grind & season one day, allow the blob to rest overnight for the cure to work it's magic, then stuff and finish the next day. I like mine done to fully cooked at 165 IT so I know it's safe....I give much away to share so want to be sure it's cooked. Often, I prefer a barely simmering water 'poach' after some hours of smoke to get the job done. Allow to air dry & bloom, then refridge to mellow out....HTH, Willie
 
Mike57,

My take on the difference in fresh and cured sausage

Fresh Sausage, has no cure and will have to be cooked hot and fast…. IE. Grilled, fried in a skillet. Anything that will get the temperature of the sausage above 140 deg in less than 4 hours. (The IT will need to be above 140 in less than 4 hours as stated above or it will allow bacteria to grow that you don't want to eat or feed to your family.) It will also have a gray color not the pink color that regular smoked sausage that you buy from the store will have….. Also fresh sausage has a shorter shelf life than cured sausage, so if you plan on freezing it for a long time keep this in mind…..

Cured Sausage, is usually smoked for a long time at a low temperature….. the closer to 120-140 deg you get, you will start rendering the fat out of it and it will not hold together or have a desirable flavor…. I know some people that will smoke sausage for hours and hours to get the desired color and flavor and never get there smoker over 100 degs…. It’s all about technique  

Remember when dealing with meat……

 FAT=FLAVOR

So the more fat that you are able to retain when smoking your sausage, the more flavor it will have when you are ready to eat it or use it in a meal……

Cure # 1 is all I have experience with and it is 1 even teaspoon per 5lbs of meat

Good luck and remember to post pictures or you will get
worthless.gif


ShoneyBoy
 
Hey alot of great info guys. I'll probably give it a go this weekend.
 
 
Hey everyone, I'm brand new to the making/smoking sausage game, so I have a few questions before I jump into my first batch. I'm planning on using a Boston Butt-grinding it-then stuffing it in hog casings. But I'm reading alot of conflicting info about smoking these sausages. Now from what I gather, if I plan on smoking,


1- I will need to add a cure additive(like Instacure) to the ground pork before stuffing. What proportion is required, or does it come with instructions? 1 level teaspoon per 5 lbs of meat


2- I read that whatever smoking box is used, make sure the box temp never exceeds 170 degrees or else it could start melting the fat in the sausage? Others say 180-190. And does the internal temp of sausage need to be checked? Smoker should not exceed 180 degrees. IT temp  for sausage 154, USDA says 160 for all ground meats


3- Some say to air dry before smoking, can someone elaborate of that please? When using natural casings hanging the sausage to dry with a fan before smoking will form a pellicle. A tacky surface for the smoke to adhere to.


4- Some also say to give a water bath after smoking to reduce wrinkling. Stops the cooking process and adds moisture back into the casing



I figure if anyone could set me straight, it would be you guys. :) Any help is appreciated, Thanks.
 
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Thanks for the reply boykjo. 1 teaspoon per lb, vs what some are saying, 2 teaspoons per 10 lbs? Big difference there.
 
Sorry. Typo error. 1 level teaspoon for 5 lbs of meat. I will correct my error. Thanks fo the catch
 
 
http://www.diggingdogfarm.com/page2.html This is a cure calculator you can use to easily figure out the ratio in metric measurements. I highly recommend a small cheap digital scale. Many good recipes are in metric. This was put together by one of our sausage guru members. Thanks DiggingDogFarm I use it all the time.
absolutely correct! No good sausage maker can get around using metric scales and weights. A teaspoon or tablespoon is no good advice for a sausage maker. Why? my tablespoon might be bigger than yours. And my teaspoon smaller than yours. And that difference destroys the flavor a lot.
 
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