It has been a while since i have posted anything but i have been busy. a lot has changed in my smoking life, mainly the introduction of my homemade electric box smoker with PID temp control. this has open up the world of cold smoking and sausage making. I will do a post about box smoker soon.
First i used a kit from TSC for summer sausage. used a blend of 3.5 lbs of lean beef to 1.5 lbs of fatty pork trimmings i had.
Smoking schedule: 2 hours at 120 no smoke
start smoke
increase temp to 135 for 2 hours
145 for 2 hours
155 for 2 hours
180 until IT of 165
smoke stopped after about 5 hours
after smoking hang in woodshed. it was -5C out , so was like a water bath
this first attempt was great. second i did the rest of the kit with very lean deer and pure pork back fat. i didnt set PID properly and some fat started rendering but end product was still great.
Now I was into it. Bought a Kitchener #12 grinder and 5lb stuffer from princess auto and a 18.5lb pork shoulder. Next project was Kielbasa Wiejeska and some snack sticks. snack sticks were from a kit.
Kielbasa Wiejeska (from let-make-sausage.com)
Into the smoker
After smoking and ice bath, hanging to bloom
Finished Product
After much reading, this time I brought to an IT of 160 instead of 165. Taste and texture were amazing! One big issue, i didnt get my AMNPS lit properly and it went out , i didnt notice for a long time, so sausages only got smoke for last 4 hours of cooking.
I am totally hooked on sausage making now!
thinking about Salami Cotto next
First i used a kit from TSC for summer sausage. used a blend of 3.5 lbs of lean beef to 1.5 lbs of fatty pork trimmings i had.
Smoking schedule: 2 hours at 120 no smoke
start smoke
increase temp to 135 for 2 hours
145 for 2 hours
155 for 2 hours
180 until IT of 165
smoke stopped after about 5 hours
after smoking hang in woodshed. it was -5C out , so was like a water bath
this first attempt was great. second i did the rest of the kit with very lean deer and pure pork back fat. i didnt set PID properly and some fat started rendering but end product was still great.
Now I was into it. Bought a Kitchener #12 grinder and 5lb stuffer from princess auto and a 18.5lb pork shoulder. Next project was Kielbasa Wiejeska and some snack sticks. snack sticks were from a kit.
Kielbasa Wiejeska (from let-make-sausage.com)
- 5 lbs pork shoulder, 15% to 20% fat content
- 2 tablespoons whole mustard seed
- 1 tablespoon salt (4 teaspoons if using kosher salt)
- 1 tablespoon marjoram
- 1 tablespoon black pepper (fresh ground is always best)
- 12-15 cloves of crushed fresh garlic
- 1 level teaspoon of either Prague Powder or Instacure #1 or the equivilant
- 1 cup ice water
Into the smoker
After smoking and ice bath, hanging to bloom
Finished Product
After much reading, this time I brought to an IT of 160 instead of 165. Taste and texture were amazing! One big issue, i didnt get my AMNPS lit properly and it went out , i didnt notice for a long time, so sausages only got smoke for last 4 hours of cooking.
I am totally hooked on sausage making now!
thinking about Salami Cotto next