# First time making smoked sausage



## smokibones (Jan 30, 2015)

I read many recipes on how to make smoked, cured sausage before I did my first try.  I made 10 lbs of mixed pork and beef and mixed in 2 tsp. Prague powder no 1. with my spices.  I ground it, mixed it with the spices and cure and left it overnight in the refrigerator. I stuffed it and smoked it the next day.  (should I have left it longer?)

The recipes that I had all instructed me to cook the sausages to an internal temp of 152 deg.  I did that in my smoker with a hot plate, and smoke from a Big Kahuna Smoke Daddy smoker.  I really liked the look of the sausages when I had finished smoking, before raising them to the 152 deg temp.  By the time they were cooked, they had shrunk due to some loss of the internal fat from the cooking.

While I like them, and they have a great flavor, is it possible to stop the cooking after the 2-3 hr smoking time , while they are still plump, and simply cool them and freeze them without fully cooking them?  The commercial sausage I buy in the food stores is not cooked at all.   I am asking if it is ok to stop the cooking process and freeze, to be cooked when needed.


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## crazymoon (Jan 31, 2015)

You probably could BUT your sausage shouldn't have shriveled up, your temps may have been to high ?? show some pics!


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## smokibones (Jan 31, 2015)

sausage stuffed on table.jpg



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smoked sausage in cooker.jpg



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The bottom photo is the sausage after 3 hrs of smoking, when I stopped the smoke. I left the smoker heating burner running, but I never did get the smoker over 130 deg. After about 6 or 7 hours, I moved the sausage into a 170 deg oven to finish at 152.  My smoker is a Pitmaker Vault. Excellent smoker, but I put a side electric burner inside to provide heat.  I don't think the side burner got hot enough for the space on the interior.  Does anyone know of an excellent, high BTU electric burner???


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## chewmeister (Jan 31, 2015)

If you're rendering the fat out, lower your smoker temp. You didn't say what casings you were using. You could smoke and then finish in a hot water bath until they reach 152. That may help eliminate some of the shrinkage.


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## tropics (Jan 31, 2015)

smoki how are you monitoring the temp of your smoker and the sausage?


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## crazymoon (Jan 31, 2015)

Sb, did you cold shower your sausage after hitting the desired IT ,they would have continued to cook otherwise. Nice looking sausage !


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## smokibones (Feb 2, 2015)

I use a digital thermometer (DigiQ).  Monitors temp of meat with 4" probe and inside of smoker with another probe.

No, I hung them up in a cool, dry place to cool off. Then sealed them and put them in the freezer.    Thanks for the comment.  I really liked them at the stage in the photo.   I was wondering if I could just take them, smoked but not fully cooked, vacuum seal them and freeze them for cooking later...????

I am using hog casings.


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## tropics (Feb 2, 2015)

smokibones said:


> I use a digital thermometer (DigiQ).  Monitors temp of meat with 4" probe and inside of smoker with another probe.
> 
> No, I hung them up in a cool, dry place to cool off. Then sealed them and put them in the freezer.    Thanks for the comment.  I really liked them at the stage in the photo.   I was wondering if I could just take them, smoked but not fully cooked, vacuum seal them and freeze them for cooking later...????
> 
> I am using hog casings.


even with the cure I wouldn't half cook, you can always just warm them a little to eat.


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## rgautheir20420 (Feb 2, 2015)

smokibones said:


> I use a digital thermometer (DigiQ).  Monitors temp of meat with 4" probe and inside of smoker with another probe.
> 
> No, I hung them up in a cool, dry place to cool off. Then sealed them and put them in the freezer.    Thanks for the comment.  I really liked them at the stage in the photo.   I was wondering if I could just take them, smoked but not fully cooked, vacuum seal them and freeze them for cooking later...????
> 
> I am using hog casings.


There is no reason why you couldn't do this. However, if you're making sure that you are slow cooking them then you should not have loss from internal fat.


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## woodcutter (Feb 2, 2015)

The cold water bath mentioned will stop the cooking and shriveling. It sounds to me like your oven may have gotten a little warm. Sausage does tend to shrink if it is left to cool on its own. If your sausages are not fully cooked you can freeze them that way and cook them another day but make sure everything is well marked so it does not get forgotten and you start eating raw meat someday.


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## boykjo (Feb 2, 2015)

I don't see the point. .... you wouldn't sear a steak on both sides then freeze it to cook at a later time............. finish the sausage then seal and freeze. Thaw, then heat to serve. You shouldn't finish the sausage in the oven. Ovens have a big swing in temps.

My 2 cents

Joe


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## rgautheir20420 (Feb 2, 2015)

boykjo said:


> I don't see the point. .... you wouldn't sear a steak on both sides then freeze it to cook at a later time............. finish the sausage then seal and freeze. Thaw, then heat to serve. You shouldn't finish the sausage in the oven. Ovens have a big swing in temps.
> 
> My 2 cents
> 
> Joe


I don't think freezing a seared steak and par cooking sausage then freezing for later is a fair analogy. We par cook or warm smoke things all the time for later cooking....think bacon. If he was to say smoke at 100 degrees (lowest MES setting) for x amount of hours and then freeze he wouldn't be actually cooking the sausage. This isn't ideal of course and something I don't I'd do, but it follows the same cooking premise of warm smoking bacon for freezing and cooking later on.


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## daveomak (Feb 2, 2015)

I would never partially cook/smoke sausage and then freeze....  It needs to be totally cooked during the FIRST process..   Nitrite attacks botulism and kills it....   BUT, salmonella and other pathogens are only killed, in this particular case, by heat...... 

The temp range for those pathogens to grow _RAPIDLY _is somewhere around 80-125 deg F....     So, partially cooking, say to 100 then cooling, you have allowed them to multiply rapidly for awhile, the cooled them.... they are still alive, even in the refer...  so when you reheat the sausage again, you are starting with contaminated meat and it has to go through the "_RAPID GROWTH ZONE_" again...   drastically increasing the numbers of pathogens.....

Don't start in in bacon.... it's a totally different animal....   WHOLE MUSCLE MEAT....  

Sausage is ground/comminuted and falls under a TOTALLY different category.....


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## boykjo (Feb 2, 2015)

just


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## daveomak (Feb 2, 2015)

is what I do best at times.....     Sometimes the horse keeps gettin' up....


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## smokibones (Feb 2, 2015)

Makes sense on the bacteria growth.  What is done with commercial sausages?  I buy them uncooked at the supermarket.


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## tropics (Feb 2, 2015)

smokibones said:


> Makes sense on the bacteria growth.  What is done with commercial sausages?  I buy them uncooked at the supermarket.


They are not made for smoking. They do not have a cure in them, grill, fry, bake, at higher temps. You can freeze them when you buy them but they have to be fully cooked, in order to refreeze.


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## chewmeister (Feb 2, 2015)

tropics said:


> They are not made for smoking. They do not have a cure in them, grill, fry, bake, at higher temps. *You can freeze them when you buy them but they have to be fully cooked, in order to refreeze.*


IDK. A lot of commercial pre-packaged sausages (Johnsonville, etc.) are shipped to retailers frozen.They thaw them as needed to stock their display cases. I've purchased a fair amount of them over the years before I began making my own and would take them home and re-freeze them until I needed them without any problem.


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## ron forst (Feb 2, 2015)

There is absolutely nothing wrong with smoking sausage that has cure in it for a few hours and then freezing it   I have make 100's of pounds of sausage this wY and have yet to have anyone get sick. If you do a little research and stop at meat markets or grocery stores and check the meat cases most sausage needs to be COOKED before eating. Maybe I just am from a different area but I've never known anyone who makes sausage or bacon for that matter who COOKS it in a smokehouse   I'm sure I'll get flamed for this post but that's ok


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## alelover (Feb 2, 2015)

A lot of commercial pre-packaged sausages (Johnsonville, etc.) are fresh sausage. They have no cure in them. Totally different thing.


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## tropics (Feb 2, 2015)

chewmeister said:


> IDK. A lot of commercial pre-packaged sausages (Johnsonville, etc.) are shipped to retailers frozen.They thaw them as needed to stock their display cases. I've purchased a fair amount of them over the years before I began making my own and would take them home and re-freeze them until I needed them without any problem.


I believe any thing that was frozen has to be labeled as previously frozen


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## chewmeister (Feb 2, 2015)

Ron Forst said:


> There is absolutely nothing wrong with smoking sausage that has cure in it for a few hours and then freezing it I have make 100's of pounds of sausage this wY and have yet to have anyone get sick. If you do a little research and stop at meat markets or grocery stores and check the meat cases most sausage needs to be COOKED before eating. Maybe I just am from a different area but I've never known anyone who makes sausage or bacon for that matter who COOKS it in a smokehouse I'm sure I'll get flamed for this post but that's ok


Hmm. Most recipes for smoked sausage require some type of cure and smoking to an IT of a minimum of 140 to 152 degrees to kill off any pathogens. Additionally, many commercial sausages (hot dogs, smoked sausage, etc.) are labeled as fully cooked.


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## chewmeister (Feb 2, 2015)

tropics said:


> I believe any thing that was frozen has to be labeled as previously frozen


I'm not sure. I can't say that those products were labeled that way.


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## chewmeister (Feb 2, 2015)

alelover said:


> A lot of commercial pre-packaged sausages (Johnsonville, etc.) are fresh sausage. They have no cure in them. Totally different thing.


I understand that. What I'm saying is that a lot of them have been already frozen and are refrozen all the time.


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## ron forst (Feb 2, 2015)

If you read Rytek Kutas book you will find example after example of what I'm talking about


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## tropics (Feb 2, 2015)

Ron Forst said:


> There is absolutely nothing wrong with smoking sausage that has cure in it for a few hours and then freezing it I have make 100's of pounds of sausage this wY and have yet to have anyone get sick. If you do a little research and stop at meat markets or grocery stores and check the meat cases most sausage needs to be COOKED before eating. Maybe I just am from a different area but I've never known anyone who makes sausage or bacon for that matter who COOKS it in a smokehouse I'm sure I'll get flamed for this post but that's ok


Ron when you do the sausage what is the IT that you finish them at?


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## ron forst (Feb 2, 2015)

I first of all make sure to use the required amount of cure secondly I run my smokehouse at around 200 degrees with full smoke usually about 3 hours and go totally by color and firmness   Sausage is then pulled refrigerated and then within a day frozen. So no I don't check internal temp   The exception would be summer sausage or beef sticks shock I cook to internal temp of 154 then ice bath to stop cooking. Bacon is triple smoked at maybe 150 in smokehouse and pulled when color is to my liking


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## tropics (Feb 2, 2015)

Ron Forst said:


> If you read Rytek Kutas book you will find example after example of what I'm talking about


Ron I just referenced the book IT should be 152* for almost all I checked.


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## ron forst (Feb 2, 2015)

That's fine I'll keep making it this way and if somebody wants to finish it in the smoker that's fine too. The original topic was about him not liking the final result bring dry and he asked if he could partially do it and then freeze. I just replied that if you have cure in it you are fine. I've found examples of people cold smoking sausage for days. It can be done it's probably not as common as what I've thought but does work for me.


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## daveomak (Feb 2, 2015)

Ron Forst said:


> That's fine I'll keep making it this way and if somebody wants to finish it in the smoker that's fine too. *The original topic was about him not liking the final result bring dry and he asked if he could partially do it and then freeze. I just replied that if you have cure in it you are fine. *I've found examples of people cold smoking sausage for days. It can be done it's probably not as common as what I've thought but does work for me.


That is not true....   Cure#1 does NOT kill pathogens like salmonella......


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## boykjo (Feb 2, 2015)

http://www.smokingmeatforums.com/t/86649/the-final-word-on-food-safety


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## tropics (Feb 2, 2015)

boykjo said:


> http://www.smokingmeatforums.com/t/86649/the-final-word-on-food-safety


Joe Thank You


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## ron forst (Feb 2, 2015)

http://www.meatsandsausages.com/meat-smoking/cold-smoking


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## JckDanls 07 (Feb 2, 2015)

Lets go back to the cooking method..  you say you can't get over 130` with the electric element.... If it buy chance is one of the hot plates, the problem is a thermal protector installed in them to keep them from overheating and catching something on fire...  You will have to do some surgery on the hot plate and bypass the thermal protector...  but most hot plates have plastic surroundings and that's why the protection....


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