- Aug 27, 2008
- 5,170
- 409
It’s been too long since my last run of chicken sausage, and we really love this stuff. Today is a twist, while I experiment with some changes to the seasoning blend.
The amounts given are for 2lbs, with a fat content of approx. 17-18%. Use 27oz mostly lean trimmed boneless skinless chicken thighs and 5 oz beef (or pork) fat. Chop the meat coarse and the fat fine, and combine. Mix with seasoning/cure blend, wrap/stuff and cure for 24 hours minimum @ ~35*. Smoke to 165* internal, chill well and slice for cold cuts.
2 Tbls dried Red Bell Pepper, powdered
2 tsp Garlic powder
2 tsp Black Peppercorn, powdered
2 tsp Basil leaves, fine ground/powdered
1 tsp Oregano, fine ground/powdered
2 tsp Onion powder
***The above spices were powdered in a electric coffee grinder***
2 Tbls Morton’s Tender Quick
The above recipe is a combination of my recently developed Red Bell Pepper dry rub and my Sweet Garlic & Pepper Chicken Sausage seasoning blend. I made 3-2lb chubs for this project. My previous runs were 3lbr's.
For today’s smoke, I started cold, using my smoke can mod in the bottom of my Smoke Vault 24, and charcoal briquettes to heat cherry smoke chips. I ran with a 24” vent stack installed, exhaust vent fully opened, and the lower vents were opened approximately 1/3. Temps were under 100* for the first 45 minutes, then, I dumped the coals to the smoke pan and temps climbed to ~150* within 90 minutes. As the coals were burning down, I closed the lower intake vents and added more heat with the propane burner to keep the temps climbing. By the 3-hour mark, I was nearing 200*, and continued bumping the temps slowly to ~225* by the 4-hour mark.
I wanted to start cold to get a firmer texture and more smoke flavor in the finished sausage, as the meat‘s reaction to smoke slows as the meat‘s internal temp rises above 140*. So, this allowed for a longer reaction time with the cherry smoke. It should be a nice, sweet deep flavor for sure.
Here’s the wrapped sausage after a 2.5 day cure…my wife was thawing this meat for another cooking project and it got side-lined, so we needed to do something with it soon, or lose it. Tender Quick to the rescue! Today was my first opportunity to lay the smoke to ‘em:
Just into the Vault:
2 hours of cold smoke:
3 hours, transitioning to a hot smoke now:
4.25 hours...I rotated the grate 180* for more even cooking and added another pocket thermo:
6 hours, and internals are nearing the finish point on 2 of the chubs:
6.5 hours, and two chubs are ready:
Patting off the exterior:
Ready to chill before slicing:
Oh man, that coarse texture looks nice under the outer skin...this is going to make for some really interesting eating. I can't wait to grab a knife, steel and board!
So, I have one more 2lb chub finishing in the Vault right now, which will get the same finishing touches before slicing.
I have a 3lb chub of the Sweet Garlic & Pepper sausage from late last fall thawed in my fridge. This was hot smoked as I recall, with charcoal fire in my GOSM. I will use this for color, texture and flavor comparisons when I get one of the Sweet Reds sliced.
Finished pics and a review to follow ASAP.
Thanks for checking out my new version of chicken sausage!
Eric
The amounts given are for 2lbs, with a fat content of approx. 17-18%. Use 27oz mostly lean trimmed boneless skinless chicken thighs and 5 oz beef (or pork) fat. Chop the meat coarse and the fat fine, and combine. Mix with seasoning/cure blend, wrap/stuff and cure for 24 hours minimum @ ~35*. Smoke to 165* internal, chill well and slice for cold cuts.
2 Tbls dried Red Bell Pepper, powdered
2 tsp Garlic powder
2 tsp Black Peppercorn, powdered
2 tsp Basil leaves, fine ground/powdered
1 tsp Oregano, fine ground/powdered
2 tsp Onion powder
***The above spices were powdered in a electric coffee grinder***
2 Tbls Morton’s Tender Quick
The above recipe is a combination of my recently developed Red Bell Pepper dry rub and my Sweet Garlic & Pepper Chicken Sausage seasoning blend. I made 3-2lb chubs for this project. My previous runs were 3lbr's.
For today’s smoke, I started cold, using my smoke can mod in the bottom of my Smoke Vault 24, and charcoal briquettes to heat cherry smoke chips. I ran with a 24” vent stack installed, exhaust vent fully opened, and the lower vents were opened approximately 1/3. Temps were under 100* for the first 45 minutes, then, I dumped the coals to the smoke pan and temps climbed to ~150* within 90 minutes. As the coals were burning down, I closed the lower intake vents and added more heat with the propane burner to keep the temps climbing. By the 3-hour mark, I was nearing 200*, and continued bumping the temps slowly to ~225* by the 4-hour mark.
I wanted to start cold to get a firmer texture and more smoke flavor in the finished sausage, as the meat‘s reaction to smoke slows as the meat‘s internal temp rises above 140*. So, this allowed for a longer reaction time with the cherry smoke. It should be a nice, sweet deep flavor for sure.
Here’s the wrapped sausage after a 2.5 day cure…my wife was thawing this meat for another cooking project and it got side-lined, so we needed to do something with it soon, or lose it. Tender Quick to the rescue! Today was my first opportunity to lay the smoke to ‘em:
Just into the Vault:
2 hours of cold smoke:
3 hours, transitioning to a hot smoke now:
4.25 hours...I rotated the grate 180* for more even cooking and added another pocket thermo:
6 hours, and internals are nearing the finish point on 2 of the chubs:
6.5 hours, and two chubs are ready:
Patting off the exterior:
Ready to chill before slicing:
Oh man, that coarse texture looks nice under the outer skin...this is going to make for some really interesting eating. I can't wait to grab a knife, steel and board!
So, I have one more 2lb chub finishing in the Vault right now, which will get the same finishing touches before slicing.
I have a 3lb chub of the Sweet Garlic & Pepper sausage from late last fall thawed in my fridge. This was hot smoked as I recall, with charcoal fire in my GOSM. I will use this for color, texture and flavor comparisons when I get one of the Sweet Reds sliced.
Finished pics and a review to follow ASAP.
Thanks for checking out my new version of chicken sausage!
Eric
