# Smokies - know what I mean?



## marknb (Aug 6, 2009)

Smokers,

Does anyone live in an area where the local supermarkets sell 'smokies'?  I lived in Calgary, AB, Canada for 25 or so years, and every grocery store there sold them.  They're smoked sausages, often sold still linked in a box, you helped yourself to however many you wanted, loaded them into a bag, and on yer way.  Perfect for the grill, then onto a bun with mustard.  Nice mahogany color, not real spicy or anything, and often there's regular or cheese.  

I guess if you know what I'm talking about, I'm looking for a recipe.  They're fairly similar to a number of brands sold in the freezer section of a lot of stores (here in Canada think President's Choice brand), but if you can get 'em fresh/unfrozen, oh baby!

Thanks,

Mark


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## beer-b-q (Aug 6, 2009)

We have a sausage market that makes their own sausages, in fact that is all they sell is sausage, they are an old Croatian family.

I don't know if they ship or not but here is their info.  They don't have a website.  They do however make the best polish sausage I have ever had.

My good luck is I am only 4 Blocks from them.

*Krizman's House of Sausages (Krizman's House Of Sausage Inc*)* 
*424 N 6th St
  Kansas City, KS  66101-3137 (Kansas City, MO-KS Metro Area)*
*Phone: (913) 371-3185*


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## backcountry (Aug 6, 2009)

My suggestion is to contact a butcher or deli that sell them in your area or old stomping grounds and see if they can share any information. 

They're also refered to as Bavarian Smokies. Maybe that will help in your search. 

I don't have a recipe for you unfortunately, but if you find one, I'm interested as well. I haven't put my grinder and sausage stuffer to good use in quite some time.


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## the dude abides (Aug 6, 2009)

Sorry, can't help you with that one.  I've had "Little Smokies", the vacupack of mini (about the size of Vienna Sauages) sausages.  But not where you go and select your own quantity.

good luck with your search


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## mballi3011 (Aug 6, 2009)

I'm with the dude you can get them in vaccum sealed bags but not a grab your own. But I would get me a handful there GOOD.


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## farmerchad (Aug 6, 2009)

Question - did they have a bit of a snap to the casing when you bit in? If so, then I would like to add myself to your hunt'n party for the recipe. I have been looking for years to no avail.


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## marknb (Aug 7, 2009)

I'm heading out to Calgary in November for my nephew's wedding, I'll probably do some checking around when I'm back.  I'll let yuz know what I find out. 

And yeah, they sort of do have some snap to the casings.


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## backcountry (Aug 7, 2009)

A ton o' snap! 

I'll do some digging here in Winnipeg and see what I can come up with as far as a recipe. If you haven't had smokies, you're missing out! So simple, yet so delicious!


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## farmerchad (Aug 10, 2009)

Is it poosible that its some sort of smoked brat? I was hunting round on the internet and that came up as a possibilty.. just throwing out some ideas.


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## marknb (Aug 11, 2009)

Exactly, BC!


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## marknb (Aug 11, 2009)

I haven't managed to get any of my brats into the smoker Chad, they all end up on the grill so I can't say lol. I'd say they're more like a smoked polish though, but bolder somehow. I'm wondering if they're made from beef maybe. Western Canada Alberta, Saskatchewan, Manitoba, are much like Montana, and N. Dakota - cattle country!


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## backcountry (Aug 11, 2009)

They're called Smoked Bratwurst in the US - Bavarian Smokies in Canada. It's a pork based sausage actually. "Medium coursely ground pork with mild seasonings". 

I'm going to give these a shot in the fall I think (when I have more time...I'm not a hunter...). My first batch will be a Cheddar & Jalapeno Smokie. 

Thanks for bumping this up - I would have forgot to fill you guys in...


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## backcountry (Aug 11, 2009)

I made fresh brats last winter and the castings I used didn't seem to have the same snap as smokies have. 

However...

When I made peperoni and jumbo snack sticks using the same castings and smoked them. They got more snap, so smoking them must firm up the castings a little and allow for that.


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## farmerchad (Aug 11, 2009)

I may be on to something! Need to test a 1 lb batch..... does anyone remember whether or not mustard seed was visible? I seem to think it was. I also dont think they were smoked... cured yes.. smoked no.


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## que-ball (Aug 11, 2009)

Mustard seed is visible if it is in your sausage.  They are like pencil lead diameter BBs.  If you don't want them visible, grind the seeds in a pepper mill or substitute ground mustard.  They stay hard as BBs in the sausage too, to the dismay of several denture wearers I know.  They get behind the upper plate of the dentures.


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## jerseyhunter (Aug 12, 2009)

If your looking for the snap, stuff them into collagen or sheep  casings of the proper diameter..
My dogs and venison sticks are usually  snappy.


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## jimmyh (Feb 22, 2011)

I've been trying to get a recipe for smokies for years now. I have to admit that I have cheated on occasion and used a commercial mix. The best mix that I have found is from a company called Canada Compound in Winnipeg. Google their website and you should find a catalogue list. I have never ordered online from them but I think that they do offer that service. If you are going back to Calgary might I suggest you take a 45 minute trip north and stop at the Meat Processing lab at Olds College and pick up some of their smokies. I took their 19 week course in 1999 and I have to say that the smokies we made there were the best I have ever tasted. Their recipe made use of their proprietary "ham cure" which was a basic salt/sugar/cure mix plus some possible additional ingredients. We were told to sue what we had learned and develop our own cure...never found out the exact recipe for the cure mix. We used it to cure hams, picnics and bacon as well as a base for other cured sausages. If I recall correctly, the other ingredients would have been garlic powder, onion powder, white pepper (no one wants to see black specks in their smokies), a small amount of cayenne and possibly some paprika. No one flavour is dominant so I wouldn't use any of the spices in excess. Another option is to put small cubes of cheese in the mix. We used mozza but I have also seen cheddar and I also bought some smokies from a German meat shop in Brandon, MB that used Swiss cheese. They told me that Swiss won't "explode" when you bite into it, saving you from possible scalding on the inside of you mouth. Generally the meat we use was beef/pork although the Co-op grocery store would bring in tubs of frozen ground pork that I suspect was salvage from the meat counter or perhaps trim from chops and roasts. We custom processed it into smokies and it was sold loose in a plastic lined box where you pulled as many links out as you wanted and then cut them from the rest with a small knife that was supplied in the counter. The "bite" you find on the outside comes from the casings as well as the process. We used 32-35 pork casings. The smokies were hung in the smokehouse at 40C for about 1/2 hour to dry (just until the casing is"tacky"). Next the house is brought to 50C for about 1/2 hour of heavy smoke. After that is is brought to 85C and held there until the internal temperature is 69C. All cooking time after smoke is done with high humidity. After the sausage is cooked it is showered in cold water to eliminate the "wrinkled" look and to quickly bring the internal temperature down to a safe range. The bite comes from a protein ring that forms around the outside of the product when it is dried and cooked. If you want to offend a sausage maker just try to peel the casings (and with it the protein ring) off of his handiwork!


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