Sweet Garlic & Pepper Chicken Sausage for cold slicing

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forluvofsmoke

Smoking Guru
Original poster
OTBS Member
Aug 27, 2008
5,170
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I just got a chance to catch up here...lots of goodies in the smokers today. This is a recipe I just started using few weeks ago, and had such good results with it for the cold sliced sammies that I had to grab more bone-less/skinless thigh @ Sam's last week to do it again.

Here's the original q-view & recipe if you're interested:
http://www.smokingmeatforums.com/for...ad.php?t=83568

I started a cure on these about 5 days ago, just to be sure I wouldn't have any meat going bad, as I didn't want to refreeze it (purchased in a partially frozen state)...I also wanted to get the meat chopped/mixed with cure/seasonings right away while I had the time to do it.


3# chubs wrapped in poly, ready to be smoked:



Onto my Smoke Vault Jerky Grate, so I can hopefully avoid sagging through the grates...started a cold smoke for about 1 hour 45 minutes to start, then bumped to 250*:



160* I/T...going to pull them for a pat down to remove external grease and for chilling @ 170* (it should be just a slightly drier sausage this time):





I only have 2# left in my freezer from the last batch, so this is just in time!
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Back later with the finish!

Thanks for peekin'!

Eric
 
Chicken sausage...sounds delicious. Just looked at the other thread. A question from a guy who's never cured meat. When you do the cold smoke, does this mean it still needs to be cooked prior to eating?
 
Thanks, this stuff is really good...and easy!


Thanks Paul!

Thanks bud, we REALLY like this stuff as a cold cut of sandwiches...the textures and flavors are very unique, in a good way.

Yeah, Dude, you need to get it up to temp before eating. I just started these with a cold smoke for a slower rendering out of fat, and to extend the plateau a bit. Also, the cold smoke dries the sausage more than a hot smoke would. So, today's smoke is another experiment with my sausage making skills to see just how it effects the texture of this recipe when cold smoked for a couple hours prior to hot smoking to finish.

You could cold smoke, and gradually increase the temp like a Kielbasa recipe might suggest. Starting at about 120-130*, then, finishing at 160* chamber temp and 140* I/T. This would be considered smoked only, and not cooked. Grill, fry or brase to finish. Now, this would be with a cased sausage.

This chix sausage is not that great served as a hot dinner sausage, but works great as meat for a entree pasta dish, as we did with the smoked/seared last time. It's a salt content issue.

What I'm doing today is a cold-to-hot smoked, fully cooked, strickly for cold slicing/sandwiches. The salt content seems pretty low when prepared in this manner, so that's where I'm fopcusing my attention now.

One thing to remember about this and any sausage: if you will hot smoke and not store long-term prior to smoking, you can omit the TQ cure agent...this would be a fresh sausage, so just smoke away, finish at a safe IT and enjoy cold or hot. It's not carved in stone that sausages must have cure...fresh is easy and no worries, I just use it so I can prep the meat ahead of time and get the smoke done when my time allows.

The seasoning recipe for this sausage does not contain any salt, as it comes from the TQ...so it would need a bit of added salt to make the fresh sausage.

Thanks guys!

The smoke is finished, and the chubs are chillin' in my outdoor fridge right now @ about 20*.

More pics to follow as soon as I can get them sorted and uploaded.

Thanks again all!

Eric
 
I kinda followed the recipe here, I had some chicken thighs in the freezer that needed something done so I tried this but ended up using 2 lbs of chix and 3 lbs of pork. And used fresh basil and some frozen green pepper instead of dried. I am going to smoke here in the next few days. I have it stuffed in some salami sized casings. Fried some up that was left in the stuffing tube it is very good. I am anxcious to see what it tastes liked smoked.

Mark
 
I was wondering what was under the strami.
I must have missed that thread because I would have remembered something that awesome.
Gonna go and read the whole process.
Nice post!
 
This worked out beautifully...the Smoke Vault wire mesh Jerky Grate was just what I needed for a perfect finish. No sagging, and a light set of grill marks on the bottom...I LOVE IT!!!!!!!!!!!

Just out of the Vault:




Patting off the exterior rendered fat with napkins:


Isn't that pretty? They lifted right off the grate with very slight sticking, but no tearing of meat at all:




Ready to hit the fridge after sitting in 44* ambient temps on the smoke grate for 45 minutes...I'm chilling these uncovered so the humidity doesn't soften the bark:



I gotta stab 'em with a pocket thermo and check I/T's for chilling progress...want to get started slicing ASAP, as I have a pastrami'd brisket flat and point going right now, too. My Nesco Pro slicer will get another workout tonight!
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Slicing to follow later this evening!

Thanks all!

Eric
 
Well, this stuff is even better than I remember. I haven't eaten any myself for over a week...don't know how I lasted that long, 'cuase it's sooooooo good!


Loaded up my Nesco for some slicing fun:









42 oz sliced and vac-sealed for the freezer...started with 48 oz pre-cooked weight, and we sampled anbout 2 to 2.5 oz before weighing it out, so very little loss with this batch:



I've got 3 more chubs like this one to slice, but a pastrami smoke going, with the point almost ready to come out for a breather. I'll do the rest up in the morning after I start my turkey burn!

Catcha later!

Thanks all!

Eric
 
Those are beautiful Eric. Thanks for the details.

Points.
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Excellent post Eric, and thanks for the great follow through pics. It really looks enticing. Points to you.
 
Cool! That does sound like a very good spin-off of my chix thigh & beef fat recipe. Man, that's gonna be good, no doubt about it! That's what's so great about any sausage or seasoning recipe...you can tweek it as needed and still have a unique and very good product in the end.

Glad I helped you find a use for those thighs, too!

Post up how it works out...I'd be interested to know how the chix/pork go together. The beef fat/chix meat mix tastes so good, it should be illegal! LOL!!!!

Thanks man, this stuff will win your heart if you wanna give it a try...that much I'm sure of.


Thanks Ron! Hey, as much as you like chicken, this would be right up your alley....maybe don't let Carol know what you're doing with her food processor? HEH-HEH-HEH!!!

By the way, I gotta mention this again for those who weren't following Ron's Beef Salami smokes last fall and winter: He's the man who got my wheels turning in this direction...first, I did a bunch of salami smokes, then came the chicken sausage..who know's what's next...I don't even know...but I love it!!!!!!!

My sincerest thanks to the man, Ron himself! We should all thank him for inspiring me to do this sausage...he's the one to blame for it!!! LOLOLOL!!!!!!!!


Enjoy fellas!

Eric
 
You are welcome Eric. Yea all that salamie I did is just a memory, as I think all the posts were lost in the crash.
 
Wow Eric, that looks amazing. Between the pastrami, this and a turkey, you're a busy man.

You are right, this is a beautiful picture...



Points on this one for sure
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Thanks Rich! All you need is the wife's food processor......(hint-hint)...heh-heh! Really though, think it over...very good eats...it's relatively new for us, but it's somewhat of a delicacy already...we love this stuff!

Thanks! These just keep gettin' better each round...I have a blast doing sausages for cold cuts, and they're such a good eating snack or lunch item.

Oh, you must have missed one item I smoked today...jerky! LOL!!!

I do highly recommend the sausage chubs for a super-good treat, and a fun way to change-up your smokes a bit. Especially if you're like me and have no sausage equipment...this method gets you around the immediate need for a grinder/stuffer/casings, and you still get all the smoky sausage goodness.

Also, if you mix the meat up and freeze it, you can pull it out and thaw for a day when you think you'd like to have something extra to toss into the smoker with your entree item(s), just to fill up the smoker a bit more. That's how I started to get to the point where these things became so popular with my family that now, I do them as the main smoke items for a given day. It was a rather rapid shift of gears, but, it's working out very well for us this way...we get the snack/lunch food items we like the most, and I can stock up the freezer with loads of it all in one smoke.

Gotta love it!

Eric
 
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