sausage temps.

[runswithbeer]

hi all,
it's now 1;00AM in my neck of the woods. warm out thou. looking at 69 degrees right now.
my problem right now is a batch of summer sausage stuck at 139 degrees. its been on since 8:00 o'clock this morning. (17hours) my smoker is now running at 175, controlled by a pid and being checked by 2 different thermometer's. the temp will not get off 139. I just checked it with a instant read thermometer and all temps jive. what to do, i'm just about ready to pull it out and junk it! I always have this trouble when smoking sausage. any tricks to get the temp up. should I bump it to 180 or more for a little while and then back down to 175. I don't want to have a fat out either.
thanks for reading my rant, not much to do here at this time of night.
RWB

 

[crazymoon]

RWB, My response is kinda late for you but ride it out. If you have cure #1 in the mix then you will be fine,try moving the probe to a different chub or different spot to verify IT. I wouldn't increase the temp IMHO as I don't have good luck forcing the IT up.

 

[indaswamp]

I would say you are good with the cure #1...
Pasteurization charts say 136* for 3 hours gives a log5 reduction....I can't remember what 139 is, but the reduction is higher no doubt. Only reason to continue the cook is if you want more moisture loss. As far as safe to eat, you are ok.

How much water did you use in your meat paste and while stuffing? That is a long stall time...also, what type of smoker are you using and are you using a water pan?

 

[torp3t3d0]

When I have to bring the sausage to 155 degs, I bring it home in a 165 deg water bath.....

 

[runswithbeer]

thanks,
heres my rig, a 40in. masterbuilt, not sure the gen., vent is on the right side top. I have a inkbird pid on it, and also use a inkbird 4 probe remote thermometer. the pid inside temp. probe is mounted just below the top shelve on the back wall. I hang the sausage from the bottom of the top shelve and the inkbird internal temp probe is clipped to the top shelve. the other probe is in one of the 1# chubs. the pid temp over runs a little on the high side, so I set the temp. a few degrees lower.
I make small batches of SS just for me and my wife. 2# beef & 1# pork mixed, common spices and just over a 1/2 teaspoon of cure. I use 1/2 cup of water I make 2 chubs regular and one chub with cheese.
I hang it at 120 for a hour to dry, smoke it with the amazing smoke tube (mailbox mod) for 4 hours, bumping it up about every hour to about 155. that's where my trouble starts, it gets to 130, 135 and then stops. I just can't get it off of the 130s. maybe too much water? I hope it is something that easy.
RWB

 

[runswithbeer]

PS. no water in pan

 

[indaswamp]

thanks,
heres my rig, a 40in. masterbuilt, not sure the gen., vent is on the right side top. I have a inkbird pid on it, and also use a inkbird 4 probe remote thermometer. the pid inside temp. probe is mounted just below the top shelve on the back wall. I hang the sausage from the bottom of the top shelve and the inkbird internal temp probe is clipped to the top shelve. the other probe is in one of the 1# chubs. the pid temp over runs a little on the high side, so I set the temp. a few degrees lower.
I make small batches of SS just for me and my wife. 2# beef & 1# pork mixed, common spices and just over a 1/2 teaspoon of cure. I use 1/2 cup of water I make 2 chubs regular and one chub with cheese.
I hang it at 120 for a hour to dry, smoke it with the amazing smoke tube (mailbox mod) for 4 hours, bumping it up about every hour to about 155. that's where my trouble starts, it gets to 130, 135 and then stops. I just can't get it off of the 130s. maybe too much water? I hope it is something that easy.
RWB

MES are known to hold a lot of moisture in the cook chamber... As the links heat up, they start sweating, creating more moisture.
How thick are the chubs?

 

[chopsaw]

I make small batches of SS just for me and my wife. 2# beef & 1# pork mixed, common spices and just over a 1/2 teaspoon of cure. I use 1/2 cup of water I make 2 chubs regular and one chub with cheese.
I hang it at 120 for a hour to dry, smoke it with the amazing smoke tube (mailbox mod) for 4 hours, bumping it up about every hour to about 155. that's where my trouble starts, it gets to 130, 135 and then stops. I just can't get it off of the 130s. maybe too much water? I hope it is something that easy.

I'm using a MES 30 doing almost the same as you . I've started using TSP-X starter culture and letting the chubs hang overnite at 60 degrees . So when the sausage goes into the smoker it's already warmed up . I max my smoker temp to 165 / 170 and wait it out .
However , I'm using a 30 .
IF you are hanging the chubs on the left side of that 40 , vent on right side , left side temps will be lower . This may be why you are having issues . Make sure you know what the temp is in the box , where you hang the sausage .
Also , if you have good box temp , and you get that close to what you want as final temp . I close the exhaust off if it's been in a long time , I'm thinking the smoke is done .
I just did 3 lbs , almost the same as what you had ( I used a pre-mix ) with 1/2 cup water . 9 hours start to finish . 170 max box temp . Auber controller , mail box , 12 inch tube .

 

[chopsaw]

runswithbeer , just went a re read post 5 . So that answered some of what I was wondering above . Heres how I hang mine in the 30 . Auber probe middle of box . Front to back top to bottom .

hang the sausage from the bottom of the top shelve and the inkbird internal temp probe is clipped to the top shelve. the other probe is in one of the 1# chubs. the pid temp over runs a little on the high side, so I set the temp. a few degrees lower.

You might not be getting the heat you need at the sausage . Could be 15 or 20 degrees less , and that's about where your temps stall . Just thinking , I could be way off .

 

[indaswamp]

Could make a sausage rack for the MES:
https://www.smokingmeatforums.com/threads/mes-40-hanging-sausage.103241/#post-591693

Fairly easy to do...the wood slats slide down into the grate holders on each side...this will raise the chubs higher in the MES and give you more room.

 

[runswithbeer]

thanks for all the replies, taking them to heart. I hang my chubs left to right in the middle of the bottom top shelf. I close my chubs with a cable tie and a piece of twine, I also shorten the string that comes with the chub. I also turn them end to end halfway thru the 5 hours of smoke. maybe I should let them hang lower towards the middle of the cabinet. might be hotter there. I'll stick a probe there and check the temp. I think my chubs are 2 1/2 diameter. not sure of the length. filling them to the end makes a 1 pounder. And now that I think about it, they always feel wet when I swap then end for end. maybe I am starting at too low a temp.
chopsaw, do you start your sausage with the temp at 165/170? or do you start at 120/130 and bump it up every hour or so? 9 hours total!!! wow, I don't know what I would do with a time like that. I'd have to have another beer. I think 14+ hours is the best I've ever done. so, now I am thinking my start and smoking temp is too low. because of the moisture on the casings.
so back to drawing board, I think I an getting closer.
RWB

 

[chopsaw]

Your method is a good one , your start temp is fine . I'm thinking where you have the sausage is not up to the temp you think it is to finish the sausage .

I start at 130 to dry , mine has hung overnite , so already pretty dry , but it does condensate some .
I start the smoke about an hour in , and let it go for a couple hours at 130 . After that my Auber steps the temp 10 degrees every hour until the smoker reaches 165 , then I'm in for the ride . No more temp swings in the 30 helps with the shorter time .

 

[runswithbeer]

for indaswamp, I just reread all the posts, are you saying I could just get the sausage to 139-140 and hold it for 3 hours and it would be good to go.? I could shave off a lot of time stalling it on purpose, instead of letting it do on it's own.
RWB

 

[indaswamp]

I would have to check the pasteurization tables to be certain, but yes, that is basically what I am saying. As long as the sausages have cure #1, you could cook to 140* and hold for 3 hours and you would be ok. But, if you step the temps up like chopsaw is recommending, keeping the chamber temp. 25~30* above the INT of the links, you should have no problem getting the INT up to 152*. If you don't keep the chamber temp. 25~30* above INT, it will take forever to reach target INT.

 

[daveomak]

I would add 1/2 to 1 hour to the times listed below to be on the VERY safe side....