# Thanksgiving and Cajun Fatties (with Q-view!)



## hova1914 (Feb 27, 2013)

I've been thinking of new fatties to try and since I was off I decided to make 2 of them. I smoked them both on indirect heat, minion method, hickory wood chunks. The first one I did was a Thanksgiving Fatty. 













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__ hova1914
__ Feb 27, 2013






I got one pound of smoked turkey breast (like most grocery stores, they smoke turkey breast and sell rotisserie chicken at my neighborhood store. So I just picked one up because it was easy). I cut the breast off the bone and then sliced the turkey up in chunks. I then made some stuffing (stovetop) and got a can of cranberry sauce (jellied) and mixed it all in a bowl. Put the mixture into my fatty piston with the turkey gravy and put that into the freezer to let it solidify. 

Here's where things got dicey. While I was at the grocery store, I was going to pick up my usual jimmy deans or bob Evans (whichever is cheaper at the time) and saw they had a sale on some locally made brand. Thinking I was helping out local farmers and simultaneously helping out my wallet, I went with that. BIG MISTAKE! I can't really explain it, but the sausage was "lighter" than JD's or BE's. I usually freeze my sausage a little after it's flattened to make it easier to handle, and after 30 mins in the freezer this thing was still too soft to roll and was falling apart. It was so bad that I ended up having to put it in a pan which angered me because I'm big on presentation. I don't want my food to look ugly. I sprinkled some BBQ rub on it and hoped for the best.

While smoking, the fat that would usually drip from the sausage got trapped in the pan with the fatty. So I had to keep dumping that out every 30-60 mins, which released my smoke (grrrr!). But I will say even though the fatty was ugly, it tasted WONDERFUL. Since the sausage was so light, it really allowed the smoke to permeate it. The light, airyness of the sausage was a very smooth and delicate compliment to the smoked turkey and dressing insides. I highly recommend this one, and look forward to doing it correctly next time.

The second fatty I made was a Cajun Fatty. I got a box of red beans & rice, Andouille, pepper jack cheese and shredded jack cheese, and Cajun rub. I made sure to get reduced sodium red beans & rice beause between the Andouille, the sausage, and the rub; I didn't want my fatty to turn out too salty.













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__ hova1914
__ Feb 27, 2013






Made the red beans & rice. Cut up the Andouille and put it in with the rice to simmer and heat up for the last 10 mins of cooking. Let it cool for about 20-30 mins and put the mixture with intermittent layers of pepper jack and Monterey Jack (I wanted kick, but not too much. So I used jack instead of just pepper jack to bring the heat down a little) into my second fatty piston. Put that in the freezer to solidify along with the turkey one. 

Since I rolled this one AFTER the debacle with the thanksgiving one, I let the flattened spicy sausage (marked with an "S". The "M" was for mild, which I used on the other fatty) freeze til damn near solid for this one. Smooth move on my part because it handled and rolled like it was supposed to and I was able to place this one directly on the grill (after sprinkling it was Cajun rub).

Took this fatty off the grill and the lighter sausage was once again a problem. It was too delicate to be picked up off the grill. When i tried, i got an immediate blowout with lava hot cheese (good thing i had my trusty Redskins grillin gloves!) coming out. the thing was basically falling apart. I had to put down foil next to it, get a spatula, and roll it onto the foil. once inside, the wife was so excited to taste it that she wouldn't even let it rest for the 10 mins. At first her mouth was REELING from the cheesy, cajuny, spicy goodness. Then her face frowned up: TOO SALTY! I tasted it to verify and sure enough, too salty. Like, in edible salty. We ended up having to throw it away. I'm pretty sure I heard taps playing softy in the background as my beautiful fatty was lowered into the trash can. A single tear rolled down my eye.

The wife and I discussed where I went wrong and how I could improve it and we both agreed that for a Cajun fatty to work with pork sausage, you need to get low sodium EVERYTHING. from sausage to filling. We also decided that just the red beans & rice, spices, and cheeses were enough. Leave the Andouille out since it only adds to the saltiness. 

Anyways, hope this gives you guys some ideas and you can learn from my mistakes.


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## chef jimmyj (Feb 27, 2013)

Sorry they were such a problem but that was great learning experience and an outstanding post, thank you. What do you mean by " Lighter "? Fattier, Leaner, more coarsely ground, not as Sticky? I don't have exact numbers but JD's sausage is about 40% Fat, fine ground and mixed until very sticky so it does hold together when rolling a Fatty...JJ


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## hova1914 (Feb 28, 2013)

I can't think of a way to describe it outside of saying that jimmy deans and bob evans is more dense and heartier. Both for rolling and when eaten. Don't get me wrong, the sausage I used was delicious. It was delicate and flavorful. I could probably eat a pound of it and not feel like I just ate a pound of meat. But it's not good for fatties. And it was PLENTY sticky. I would say stickier than JDs or BEs. It was all over my hands by the time I finished rolling it.I can't remember the brand's name, but next time I'm at the store I'll post a picture of it and compare its fat content etc to JD/BE. It never even occurred to me to check that stuff when going of the beaten path for sausage. Consider that ANOTHER lesson learned


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