# First Time Cold Smoke, Ekk!



## mawil1013 (Dec 31, 2016)

Planning tonight for doing a first time cold smoke, Andouille. The next 4 days we are looking at night time temps 27 to 47F and day time temps of 51 to 58F. My recipe does use pink salt. I have a 36 inch Masterbuilt. I'm making the sausage Saturday afternoon and will hang the sausage to dry until 9PM. Then I'll light up the A-Maze-N 5x8 using apple wood pellets Not turning on the MB, The next two nights I'll repeat, light up the A-Maze-N at 9PM, and let the sausage sit in the MB during the day. After three days of three smoke applications, then cook the sausage 180-200F??? until an internal temp. of 155F?? then cool off asap with cold water?? 
 
Does this sound acceptable?
 
PS: I'm cubing the meat, then I was going to add liquid to dry seasoning/pink salt, then mix into cubed meat/fat, then go right into stuffing on first coarse grind. (everything will be cold including grinder metal components.)  Also: I'm guessing to set top vent wide open??
 
I've made fresh sausage for many years, have not done any process requiring pink salt.
 
I've only seen nonfat dry milk in recipe, why not dry whole milk?
 
Mike


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## mawil1013 (Jan 2, 2017)

IMG_20170102_091927.jpg



__ mawil1013
__ Jan 2, 2017






What a ride! Started at 9am in cold smoke with four hours of smoke before Pellets went out at turn.  Found out the next morning,  re started the second row in am and at end of second row Pellets went out,  drove to hardware to buy bernzomatic mini torch,  restated and this time of smoked until around 6pm, then I turned on electric my 30 to 180f, about 10pm,i increased temp to 200f, sausage reached 156f took off at 11pm, wrapped in foil and let sit on counter until 11:20Pm then placed in refrigerator.  Forgot one short link in cooker and took that out today at 9am, going to simmer in hot water to heat up,  if that don't kill me it worked!  I did use a heaping teaspoon of cure no.1 in 5pounds of meat and fat.  Since this is first time in feeling very apprehensive!! It smells sour? Used apple wood Pellets. The recipe used cooked onion and raw fresh garlic.

Update: preparing to make NOLA Andouille, using all the tips from ya'll. Even going to use dry milk and bloom that sucker. I know it's gonna be right!


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## daveomak (Jan 2, 2017)

Pellets going out at the corner could indicate the pellets need to be piled higher in the corners...  up to the top or a little higher...


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## mawil1013 (Jan 2, 2017)

DaveOmak said:


> Pellets going out at the corner could indicate the pellets need to be piled higher in the corners...  up to the top or a little higher...


Makes sense, the pellets seemed dry, bought last week and keep inside house. But now I have bigger issue, the finished sausage smells sour.


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## daveomak (Jan 2, 2017)

Once the sausage was cooked, it should have been cooled immediately to below 40 deg. F...  Not wrapped in foil...   Foil holds in heat and slows the cooling process.....   Usually, it is submerged or sprayed with cold ice water then allowed to finish cooling in the refer unwrapped so it cools faster....    That's one method of cooling...  I'm sure there are others that are satisfactory....

Chef JJ will have the true skinny on this....

Dave


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## mawil1013 (Jan 2, 2017)

I read that it was cooled so it didn't wrinkle, is there another issue?


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