Dry sausage

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arldon

Newbie
Original poster
Dec 24, 2015
8
10
I am a newbie to this post and I have had a problem smoking that I hope can be solved by someone out there.

I have a Masterbuilt smoker with a heat probe.  When I smoke larger sausage like deer sausage in a 3 in casing it takes forever to get to 152 degrees if I set the smoker on a max of 170 deg.  Last batch took about  9 hrs and although not too dry it still did not turn out like I wanted it to.  If I set the smoker on a max of 170deg.  The sausage only gets to about 140 deg and will not get to temp until I put the smoker up to 185 or higher.  Any ideas.
 
What recipe are you using for your sausage? That will help us answer on the dryness.

As for time and temps. I use a step method starting at 130 pit temp for one hour and then increasing ten degrees every hour until the pit gets to 180. I take the sausage to an IT of 156. It takes a long time, anywhere from 12-18 hours. Mine is never dry.

If you need to speed up the process you can water bath in 160-165 degree water to get to your finishing temp.

It has been my experience that your smoker pit temp needs to be 25-30 higher than what you want the final IT of the meat to end up at.
 
The recipe I am using is one from letssmokesausage.com.  I believe it has enough fat in it.  I am wondering if I should be putting water in the pan for the whole smoke.  I have been getting a lot of shrinkage.  I have been making my own hot dogs but have trouble finding 26 mm natural casings with out buying $50 worth.  Anyone know where I can get a small amount?
 
Like dirtsailor said, large casing sausage chubs take a LONG time.  I do mine the same way he does and I've had some summer sausages take over 18 hours to get to 152.  Cooking fast could be causing a dryness issue due to fat out.

Have you checked the probe to see if it's accurate?  A lot of the factory probes and therms are notorious for being way off.

I never use water in my smoker.  My "water pan" has fire brick in it and is covered in foil.

As for 22mm casing, you can get some from Butcher Packer or Sausage maker for less than 50 bucks.  They keep forever.

Here's some sheep casing for less than 15  http://www.sausagemaker.com/Home-Pak-Natural-Sheep-Casings-1-Pack-p/17-1110.htm
 
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I dd smoke them for at least 12 hrs and had a lot of shrinkage.  Used pork butt with the venison.  Still after 12 hrs the sausage temp was still not much over 145 deg.  I checked the probe against a pretty good tester that I use for steaks and the like and it was pretty much rite 0n.  Maybe I should not smoke when it is cold outside.  May be it is getting a little cool air in there.  Will try something different on the next smoke.
 
I dd smoke them for at least 12 hrs and had a lot of shrinkage.  Used pork butt with the venison.  Still after 12 hrs the sausage temp was still not much over 145 deg.  I checked the probe against a pretty good tester that I use for steaks and the like and it was pretty much rite 0n.  Maybe I should not smoke when it is cold outside.  May be it is getting a little cool air in there.  Will try something different on the next smoke.

Did you start low and bump the temp now and then until you got to 170, or did you start at 170?

The big trick to the chubs is start low and slowly rise in temperature. If you start too high, you can case harden and bring on a stall that lasts forever it seems.

As for smoking in cold weather, nah, as long as the temp inside the smoker is where it needs to be, you're good to go.

Check your temp probes in boiling water.
 
I agree with these guys... test your temp probes in boiling water.. should be near 212` ... I just did some venison summer sausage in smaller casing's (1 1/2" x 12") than yours.. it took 13 1/2 hours to get to 150`ish... was 1:30 in the morning so I pulled em... They will stall on you.... as for shrinkage.. make sure you pack em tight.. when you twist the end make sure to twist really tight to tie them ... so as they say.. PATIENCE....
 
Hey, Thanks for the info guys.  I did raise temps in increments last time.  But will be more careful next time.  
 
After you have added the smoke, close the exhaust 95% on the MES...   The air flow is causing evaporation which cools the meat...  My 21mm beef sticks take 20 hours...   Don't be in a hurry...  

 
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