Done?

[smkemifugotem]

About how long does it take to smoke Bratwurst? Hot dogs?

And how do I tell when they are done?

 

[bayoubear]

the meat is done when the internal temperature of the sausage is what the particular recipe you are using says it should be.

 

[tn_bbq]

Hot dogs come cooked. You're simply warming them up.

Brats don't take too long. Probably an hour or so, but you'll need to use a probe thermometer to be sure. I think the U.S. Department of Agriculture recommends cooking fresh pork to an internal temperature of 160º F

On a side note, brats can stand a lot of cooking time. Therefore, I usually put mine on the smoker for a couple hours or more with no problems.

If you are really concerned, you can par-boil them with onions and peppers (yes, I said par-boil) and then finish them on the grill or smoker. When grilling burgers, I do this all the time with great results.

 

[hog warden]

Big difference between smoking and grilling.

Smoking, to me, implies a long, slow (hours) cooking process at low temps, slowing bringing the temp of the sausage up to around 155 to 160 F. It then gets showered in cold water, dried, and is then stored until ready to cook and eat.The goal is to cook the sausage, while at the same time introducing smoke flavor and the preservation qualities of smoke, without excessive heat that will cause the fat in the meat to melt, leak out, etc. This is all temperature sensitive and due to the conditions, introduces the chance of botulism poisoning. You should not "smoke" sausage like this unless it has some nitrite cure in it. Nitrite causes the cooked product to turn pink and you can't tell what's going on without a thermometer.

Grilling....is get it cooked and let's eat. You can do a decent job of grilling a brat in under half an hour, even with indirect heat. The casing will be browned, some juice flowing and don't forget the mustard!

 

[teacup13]

smoking brats are one of my favorite ways to cook them. they still maintain that pop when you eat them. cook them to 160*

depends on your smoker but mine usually take 1 1/2 hours - 2.... i like cherry and oak for mine

bad pic(old camera)

 

[smkemifugotem]

Thanks everybody for all your help!

 

[fire it up]

Suppose I am a bit late on this but as far as hot dogs go I usually smoke them for 30-45 minutes depending on heat and they always come out nice and hot. Since they are already cooked they only need to be heated (as previously stated) but I like to add a good smoke flavor to them since you cannot taste the smoke in most dogs. My favorite ones to smoke are Nathans, they are already a delicious dog and adding some hickory puts them over the top.

 

[the dude abides]

And for goodness sakes, do those brats a favor and boil them in beer for a while before they hit the grill. I like mine to simmer in a low boil for about 20 minutes. Then they're basically cooked through, so another 15 minutes or so on the grill and they'll be as tasty as the Wisconsinites love them.