smoked polish sausage w/qview

[atcnick]

Ok, finally!!! Here are the pics. Smoked these bad boys yesterday. I'm a little dissapointed, they didnt come out the way I wanted. The smoker only got up to about 130*F and I smoked them with 3 parts oak, 1 part hickory for two hours. Then I finished them in the oven at 170 to bring them up to 156* The smoke flavor seems way too strong, and the texture is not what I had expected.

 

[brohnson]

Nice pics, sorry to hear they did not turn out the way you wanted them, they look good through a piture though. :)

 

[tlzimmerman]

Yeah they look great. What was off about the texture to you?

I don't know what you were going for in the smokyness, alot of people prefer more, some prefer less, but your smoke in that picture looks a little white in color and rolling. You want to go for a thin blue smoke, as prolonged periods in white can give it a strong and bitter flavor. Its the toughest thing for me as well is finding the correct heat source, wetness, and air combination to be able to get and sustain that thin blue smoke. Good luck.

Also that looks like the GE hot plate, those don't get very hot and cyle on and off and on and off, never had any luck with mine so I returned it and found some coil styles. They work much better. Another member also did a tutorial on how to wire these so they are always on full blast, which gives you alot more heat, you then can control your inside temp with venting. Here is the link might be good to look at.

http://www.smokingmeatforums.com/for...threadid=87763

 

[scpatterson]

Looks good to me....I didnt like the texture on my last sausage either and I know what i did wrong and Im gonna make more when I get home this time....what did you not like about yours???

 

[atcnick]

Texture: Not sure how, but I think I may have possibly overcooked it? What I didnt like about the texture was that I couldnt really distinguish the fat from the lean meat.

The taste was overly smoker and bitter. The casing was fully dry when I started smoking so that wasnt it. Im thinking the lack of draft on the ccardboard smoker may have been the issue.

I think Im going to wait til I get a real sausage smoker before I make another attempt. Do you guys have any recomendations for up to a couple hundred bucks?

 

[meat hunter]

What size plate did you use when you ground them? As far as overly smoky, lack of draft could be part of it. As far as a good smoker for a coulple hundred bucks, I think the New MES might fit the bill. Send RonP a pm and ask him what he thinks of it as I think he just bought one.

 

[atcnick]

Lean meat was 3/8", fatty meat 3/16". I'll take a look at the MES. I think that's the one I saw at Sam's Club.

 

[scpatterson]

Heres a great way to smoke sausage..I spent less than 150 on it and here are some threads of my smokes in it. i put wheels on mine so i could roll it around

Solaryellow also has one and there are a bunch more that do.

http://www.smokingmeatforums.com/for...ad.php?t=85627

http://www.smokingmeatforums.com/for...ad.php?t=85701

http://www.smokingmeatforums.com/for...ad.php?t=86965

http://www.smokingmeatforums.com/for...ad.php?t=86962

 

[scpatterson]

This is what I didnt like about mine and was told form the guys here
1) i used too small a disk (I bought a new one that is course
2) I did not partially freeze the meat before grinding

 

[meat hunter]

Although I have never used the MES, I have heard several positive things about it, and I know many many members here use it. Granted, it doesn't have some of the features of the cardboard box but. LOL. I'm sorry, I had to throw that one out there. Don't be mad

.

I was just trying to figure out why you think you couldn't distinguish the lean meat from the fat. Did you have the meat chilled prior to grinding? Almost to the point of freezing? Cutting meat that is soft will not grind so much as it will smear and tear it when it goes thru the cutting blade and plate.

Do you have a dedicated stuffer or did you use the grinder to stuff? If so, did you grind right into the casings or did you grind, then load the grinder back up and run everything back thru.

I was just looking at your last pics. If you can't get your temps up to where you want them, I think you could still get a decent smoke with that box setup, but you would still have to finish them off in the oven to achieve final internal temp. If you do this again, that flap on the bottom, leave that open, and crack the top more than what you have. Remember, it only take a little smoke to make a nice flavor. I'm saying this because you commented on the final product having a somewhat bitter taste, most likely caused by stale smoke.

Check out that MES, I don't think you could go wrong with that, in fact, I am strongly considering getting one for when I do smaller smokes.

 

[mulepackin]

Your sausage sure looks good. I seem to have a tough time getting my polish texture the way I want it too. It always seems too dry no matter how I adjust cooking times and temps. My salami and summer sausage is always right on, as are my snack sticks. It could be fat ratio too. Not sure what capacity of stuffer you are looking for, but the Northern Tool 15# is right in your price range, and I believe a pretty darn good unit. I have a 30 lb. stuffer since most of my batches are around 25#. I'm thinking I'd like a 5# for smaller batches though, and I'd go with Northern or Grizzley.

 

[atcnick]

Too small for both fat and lean meat? I have a 3/4" plate as well, maybe I should try that one. I didnt partially freeze the meat either, maybe that was it

 

[scpatterson]

Was told to grind both through the big plate. I think the freezing will make a huge difference

 

[atcnick]

You makin fun of my super-duper hi tech smoker? lol No I didnt partially freeze the meat, just had it in the frige. I grind first then mix spices then use the grinder again with stuffing attachment. I have a norther tools electric grinder. The $129 one. I think Im going to get me a dedicated stuffer soon.

 

[atcnick]

I'll keep that in mind for next time. Thanks

 

[meat hunter]

According to Ryteks book, your plate sizes you are using are correct. I don't think it would hurt to go a bit larger. Here is a trick you can do that someone on here told me about, I forget who it was but it worked very well for me prior to me getting a stuffer.

My wife is Polish, and she has me make that stuff whenever I can. I don't mind as I love it, especially the smoked ones.

I will start with pork butts, cut the bone out and such, then cut the meat into cubes no larger than 3/4" by 3/4". You can also do this in strips, 3/4x 3/4 by however long, 5-6 inches maybe. To this, you add your spices and cure, mix everything up and let it sit in the fridge for a few hours so things have time to absorb. Set this in a freezer an hour or so prior to grinding to firm up the meat. It should be close to freezing without being solid.

The reason for doing this is to preserve the integrity of the meat. I have found that when you grind the meat, add the spices and such, then run thru again, the meat tends to "mush" so to speak.

But cubing it, or making it into strips, I run it thru the grinder, then.....right into the stuffing tube and into the casing. You are only grinding once. Now some grinders won't allow you to do that, so I've been told, so if this interests you, set your grinder up with stuffing tube on the end and see if everything works.
It's really a time saver, and the meats integrity is saved.
Something to consider.

 

[beer-b-q]

They Look Great from here, sorry you didn't like them...

 

[morkdach]

look good to me but i cant smeel or taste them.
but it did look like ya had alot of smoke in the one pic.
might have to vent a little more next time

 

[txbigred]

Well, they sure look good. If you are using your grinder for stuffing, then that is probably your texture problem. I notice in one of your previous posts that it was a pretty small grinder, which is ok for grinding. for stuffing though, I think it would smear the meat too much. If you do use your grinder for stuffing, make sure the knife is off, and use as large of a plate as you have, a kidney plate preferably.

Dave

 

[justsmoke2]

Really can't add any advice that hasn't been covered here. What you might also do is get a note book and take notes on every attempt. Likes and dislikes of each attempt. Reason being if you make adjustments from memory of the last cook you may keep going in circles. This way you can reference from the very beginning.
Your smoke looks good and tasty.