I made my first ever batch of summer sausage this morning, it was my first time stuffing also. I ground up 7lbs of venison and a 3lb boneless pork butt with a coarse plate. I mixed in a lem premix kit with 2 cups of water. I then ran it through the grinder again with a fine plate. I soaked the casings in warm water while I was doing the grinding and mixing. Then I packed in 5lbs at a time into my new 5lb lem stuffer I got for Christmas. The stuffing went smooth. The casings were clear and I could see what was going on. This really helped being my first time. They are in the fridge now and I plan on smoking them in the morning. I'm not sure whether to hang them or place on racks for the smoke. Besides that, I plan on preheating smoker to 120 then putting them in with no smoke for 2 hours to dry. Then I will add smoke with my amnps, insert meat probes and continue raising the temp 10 degrees per hour till 170 is reached. Then I will pull out the ss once 153 internal temp is reached and put in an ice bath till internal temp drops to 100. Then place in refridgerator to bloom. Does all this sound right? So should I hang them or lay on racks, does it make a difference? smoker is a MES40
thanks jeff
thanks jeff