Could use a little help....

[redt]

OK, this old retired airplane mechanic needs a little help - after many years burning meat on gas and charcoal grills, I  bought a Weber Performer Platinum and am hooked on smoking low and slow! So, ran out and bought a 18 1/2 inch WSM primarily for smoking sausage. By spending countless hours in this and other forums reading all about experiences with smokers and smoking, bought an electric meat grinder and a stand-alone stuffer. Understand (I think) the grinding, mixing, stuffing process, have experienced several casing blow-outs, and have smoked some sausage (passable, I guess but I know I can do better with a bit more experience under my belt).  

So, here's one of several questions: How are the casings tied so that the sausage hangs on that wooden dowel to dry and smoke? I have ordered a Weber Original[emoji]8482[/emoji] Expandable Smoking Rack from FireCraft, but that won't get me in business unless I learn how to tie 'em!

Second question: I have learned so much just by lurking here, but feel that I could learn more by studying a book on the basics instead of my trial and error methods and watching U-Tube videos. I see several books listed at several places - many claiming to be the sausage authority. Can you smoking experts recommend an authoritative book for this neophyte 'wanna-be' sausage maker?

Thanks so much for any info you can provide.  

 

[themule69]

 
OK, this old retired airplane mechanic needs a little help - after many years burning meat on gas and charcoal grills, I  bought a Weber Performer Platinum and am hooked on smoking low and slow! So, ran out and bought a 18 1/2 inch WSM primarily for smoking sausage. By spending countless hours in this and other forums reading all about experiences with smokers and smoking, bought an electric meat grinder and a stand-alone stuffer. Understand (I think) the grinding, mixing, stuffing process, have experienced several casing blow-outs, and have smoked some sausage (passable, I guess but I know I can do better with a bit more experience under my belt).  

So, here's one of several questions: How are the casings tied so that the sausage hangs on that wooden dowel to dry and smoke? I have ordered a Weber Original[emoji]8482[/emoji] Expandable Smoking Rack from FireCraft, but that won't get me in business unless I learn how to tie 'em! You can twist a few times and use as simple as a paper clip to hang them or their are lots of gadgets. You can also string tie them and lay them on the rack. I checked the 

 and since it is your sausage you can play with it any way you want.

Second question: I have learned so much just by lurking here, but feel that I could learn more by studying a book on the basics instead of my trial and error methods and watching U-Tube videos. I see several books listed at several places - many claiming to be the sausage authority. Can you smoking experts recommend an authoritative book for this neophyte 'wanna-be' sausage maker? Their are a lot of books on the subject. Their are also a ton of post here. Use the search bar at the top of any page and you can read for days.

Thanks so much for any info you can provide.  

Spend a little time with the search bar it is your friend. If you are going to get into the cured stuff PLEASE check to make sure that you are using the correct cure and the correct amount. That is where most of the problems come from. The wrong cure because that is all they had or a bad recipe. To much is a very bad thing.

Happy smoken.

David

 

[timberjet]

Yep he has you covered. There are some great videos people have posted here on this website on how to be a sausage twist master. Type the appropriate subject into the search bar a read away.

 

[gary s]

Be sure and post some pictures

Gary

 

[redt]

Thanks for the responses on the sausage links and rings - the U-Tube videos helped a lot. (And here I thought U-Tube was for young 'uns!) 

 

[chewmeister]

An abundance of info to be had here. As far as books, the Rytek Kutas book is a good one.

 

[gary s]

Sure is nice this day and time there is so much information available at your fingertips 

Gary