# Venison breakfast sausage temp stall in MES 40.



## smokealilsmoke (Dec 1, 2012)

Hey everyone, Yesterday I ground up about 25 lbs of venison and 10lbs of pork. I took 10lbs of the mix and stuffed some 21mm collagen casings with the breakfast sausage mix, let it hang for 2hrs then threw it in the smoker at 160 around midnight. I slept on the couch to keep an eye on my thermometer. The sausage climbed steady to 140 in the first few hrs as I dozed on and off. My thermometer has an alarm when the meat reaches the 152 mark I was after so I closed my eyes expecting to be awoke in not to long with the meat ready for a cold bath. When I woke up at 6:00 the alarm hadn't gone off and I worried the time had ran out on the smoker. I went out and everything was normal it's just that the temp stalled. I jacked up the temp to 200 to come out of the stall and the sausage was ready in no time at all. Member DaveOmak shared a good link with me last year when this same thing happened to me while smoking some Polish Sausage. The article explains very well why this phenomenon happens. The ? I have is the meat still safe after stalling at the 140 mark for 3-3/12hrs. I know they say to get it to 140 in a few hrs so it should be good. Does it matter that it stuck around that 140 for so long? Here is the link that Dave sent to me.  


Thanks
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/craig-goldwyn/physicist-cracks-bbq-mystery_b_987719.html


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## daveomak (Dec 1, 2012)

Devon, morning....  Did the sausage mix have cure/nitrite listed as an ingredient ??   Ground Game and ground pork usually are taken to a bit higher temp if no cure is added....  But then again, holding the meat at 140 deg for that long a time and then raising the temp to 152, should be safe to eat....   There is a time vs temp chart somewhere that I don't have right now.....  Holding meat at X temp for X time makes it perfectly safe to eat..... Maybe someone has that handy.....   

Using cure #1 makes it safe to eat without all the anxiety.....   Dave


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## smokealilsmoke (Dec 1, 2012)

Afternoon Dave, Thanks for the info. I did use Cure #1 in the mix and they turned out pretty darn good. That phenomenon with the temp stall is still very interesting and definitely something to be aware of.
The upper 1/4 of my hanging links in my smoker turned out more like a sausage stick instead of a breakfast sausage. Is this because obviously heat rises and it stays hotter up top of my MES 40. Is there any way to have the temp circulate more evenly. Would I have to maybe install a fan of some sort. Last night when i put it in the smoker it was also hovering around 30 degrees. I'm not sure if that had anything to do with it.

Thanks Dave

Devon


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## DanMcG (Dec 1, 2012)

were you smoking these links? If so I'd start at a lower temp of 120-130 till they are dry and tacky to the touch, then bump it up ten degrees or so an hour till 170. Are you sure you themo is accurate, I don't think I ever had a stall with a small casing like that.


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## smokealilsmoke (Dec 1, 2012)

Yes I was smoking them. After reading your post I also checked my thermometer in the oven and it was accurate. I started out at 110 for approx an hour then bumped it up to 135 for an hour then to 160 for the remainder. After a total of 6 hrs in the smoker with at least 3-4 of them at 160 they were just stalled out at 140-142 at 0600 this morning. Maybe I took to big of jumps in my temps?


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