So, just after I signed up to SMF, I gave a run at my first smoked sausage.
I borrowed a friend's New Britain #1 Food Chopper, ground up some venison, ground up some pork picnic roast, mixed in season/cure.
Working with an (yet) unmodded ECB, I can't tell you exactly what the chamber temps were along the way.
I stuffed the 32mm collagen casings the night before, left them in my fridge overnight. Afterwards I put them in front of a fan for 3 hours. They were pretty damp to begin with.
I stuck a probe in one of the sausages to monitor the IT progress.
Over a 4 hour period, I slowly brought them up to 160°F. For the first 3 hours of the process, I kept the chamber door open the whole time to keep it cool and let moisture escape. During the first 3 hours, the IT gradually rose up to about 132°F. Afterwards, I stopped adding wood chips (I used applewood), closed up the door and let the IT raise up to the 160°F mark. I held them at 160 for the last 30 minutes (by intermittently opening and closing the chamber door) then pulled them at the 4 hour mark and tossed them in an ice water bath until they cooled off. (I ate one before the IWB, not bad for a first go).
The pic is after I seperated the links. I only made 19 links, I was working with 5 lbs of ground meat. Half venison, half fairly fatty pork.
As for the recipe, I'd have to pull it up at home and repost it.
They taste decent, I'd say the internal density is a bit light, I could have probably packed more in there and improved the texture a bit. The internet recipe I snagged for the seasoning wasn't bad, but I think I can improve on it.
I tossed them back in the fridge for a night and vacuum sealed some links.
I tried a couple grilled, and enjoyed that. I ate a couple ungrilled, just sliced, and they weren't bad. Definitely needs some work and practice.
I missed some air bubbles, but all in all, I'm pleased with myself for a first run.
Thoughts? Suggestions for improvement?
Dave
I borrowed a friend's New Britain #1 Food Chopper, ground up some venison, ground up some pork picnic roast, mixed in season/cure.
Working with an (yet) unmodded ECB, I can't tell you exactly what the chamber temps were along the way.
I stuffed the 32mm collagen casings the night before, left them in my fridge overnight. Afterwards I put them in front of a fan for 3 hours. They were pretty damp to begin with.
I stuck a probe in one of the sausages to monitor the IT progress.
Over a 4 hour period, I slowly brought them up to 160°F. For the first 3 hours of the process, I kept the chamber door open the whole time to keep it cool and let moisture escape. During the first 3 hours, the IT gradually rose up to about 132°F. Afterwards, I stopped adding wood chips (I used applewood), closed up the door and let the IT raise up to the 160°F mark. I held them at 160 for the last 30 minutes (by intermittently opening and closing the chamber door) then pulled them at the 4 hour mark and tossed them in an ice water bath until they cooled off. (I ate one before the IWB, not bad for a first go).
The pic is after I seperated the links. I only made 19 links, I was working with 5 lbs of ground meat. Half venison, half fairly fatty pork.
As for the recipe, I'd have to pull it up at home and repost it.
They taste decent, I'd say the internal density is a bit light, I could have probably packed more in there and improved the texture a bit. The internet recipe I snagged for the seasoning wasn't bad, but I think I can improve on it.
I tossed them back in the fridge for a night and vacuum sealed some links.
I tried a couple grilled, and enjoyed that. I ate a couple ungrilled, just sliced, and they weren't bad. Definitely needs some work and practice.
I missed some air bubbles, but all in all, I'm pleased with myself for a first run.
Thoughts? Suggestions for improvement?
Dave
