Sausage from start to finish HELP!!!!!!!!

[masonman1345]

Hello fellow smokers, I am fixing to attempt my first Venison/pork sausage. First thing is to make the sausage. I purchased some really nice pork butts from my local grocer that I will be mixing with the venison.

1st  I would like to do a 60/40 split. How can I easily figure the ratio? Is it done by weight?

2nd My smokehouse is homemade and all I have to use right now for a heat source is a propane burner. I know DANGEROUS.

3rd What temp do I need to try to get my smokehouse at and how long should I smoke the sausage for?

4th Does the sausage need to reach a certain temp? I will be adding cure.

Any info would help.

Thank you all in advance for the advice.

house 3.jpg

• masonman1345
• Nov 6, 2014

 

[daveomak]

I don't see much in the way of air inlets at the bottom of the smokehouse.... That propane burner NEEDS air to keep it from having a "flame out" and turning your smoker into a BLEVE.... needs good vents at the top also for "flow through" air....

And of course, for safety measures, a flame detector would have been nice...
http://www.meatsandsausages.com/smokehouse-plans/smokehouse-burner

 

[masonman1345]

It has air all the way around. The smokehouse isn't sealed. It was made out of pallets.

 

[masonman1345]

house.jpg

• masonman1345
• Oct 5, 2014

 

[masonman1345]

I just sent a pic to show the smokehouse wasn't sealed. I would think it would have good air flow. But if I need to add a vent I can.

 

[timberjet]

Well it looks like you might have a hard time with that house in the slightest breeze. Maintaining temperature would be interesting. Have you done any test runs in it yet to see how it preforms? You should figure out what kind of sausage you want to make as there are plenty. A really good recipe will give you all those details you asked for. It is different for say Summer sausage as for Kielbasa so you need to figure out what you want to make. I will give you this link that is really good and has many sausage recipes and lots of good information but if your smoker doesn't do what it is supposed to you will have a hard time. Here you go. http://lpoli.50webs.com/Sausage recipes.htm

 

[daveomak]

I sent you a PM.....

 

[masonman1345]

I did some beef jerky and it was awesome. In fact while I was charging my phone to take a pic and post everyone eat all the jerky. It seemed to have a good flow for drying. I was able to maintain the temp of about 150. I used one of Todd's tube smokers that I must say are worth more than he charges. I put it in a mailbox attached to the side of the smoker. I also have a drip pan over the burner. I think it will be ok for Sausage. We will see. I'm preparing the sausage today for smoking tomorrow. The high temp here will be below 40 degrees.

 

[crazymoon]

M1345, I would do a 70/30 ratio for you mix. Dry your sausage @110-120 for an hour before adding any smoke,start smoking @ 130  and bump your temp every hour by 10 degrees or so.You want to reach 165 IT and you NEED to use cure #1 for safety. Don't exceed 190 in the smoker  or your fat will render out. These are the basics but tips can change with more facts about what you are smoking. Hit  the searchbar above for great tips on all sorts of sausage ! Good luck and have fun with the new smoker.