Smoked Polish Kielbasa

[Camardelle]

My Polish Kielbasa seasoning jar came in today and I’m itching to have a go at it. My question is the smoking directions…

It states to start out at a pretty low temp and ramp up. My RecTeq will only go as low as 180. I’ve been doing bacon there every smoke.

Think I’ll be ok starting at that temp for my sausage? And what internal temp should I be looking for? I’m thinking 160?

Finally, sold I let the links sit in the fridge overnight to allow time for the cure to do its thing, or can I go directly to the smoker? Any thoughts on wood for smoking? My plan was for hickory but I have some blends available as well.

I’m very excited to try to my hand at making this. I’ve done breakfast pan sausage numerous times and have been curing and smoking bacon and other meats for a while as well so while I’m quite the noob at link sausages I’ve been using a smoker for many years.

All input welcomed. Thanks!

[YooperDog]

I would find a way to get the initial temp down so that the sausage has a chance to dry so that your smoke will have a better chance of adhering. Maybe prop open the door.

If you are not using a cure accelerator it would be fine to let them rest overnight.

For smoked Polish oak or pecan would also be a good choice.

[Camardelle]

YooperDog are you speaking of Pink cure #1 when you talk of a cure accelerator? If so then yes I will be using that.

Couldn’t the links dry in the fridge overnight or even for a couple days? That would dry the skins for sure I would think.

Your thoughts?

[YooperDog]

Camardelle there are several types of cure excelerators. The only ones that comes mind right now is smoked meat stabilizer and sodium erythorbate. If the only cure agent you are using is cure #1, then you can let them rest in the fridge. The casings will dry but I have never went from fridge to 180 smoker making sausage.

You take the chance of case hardening and fatting out. I would try to get your temp down someway.

https://meatgistics.waltonsinc.com/topic/172/using-cure-accelerators-in-making-sausage

[rich]

try a ice tray

[TexLaw]

Camardelle said in Smoked Polish Kielbasa:

are you speaking of Pink cure #1 when you talk of a cure accelerator?

The Sure Cure (a.k.a., pink salt, cure #1, etc.) is not a cure accelerator. It’s the actual cure. If you’re only using Sure Cure or other pink cure, then you need to let it sit overnight before smoking so that the cure can work.

As YooperDog mentioned, there are a lot of cure accelerators out there that allow you to go straight to the smoker after stuffing. My preferred cure accelerator at the moment is ascorbic acid (1/4 tsp per 5 pounds of meat). The Smoked Meat Stabilizer is a good product, but note that it contains a good deal of salt and dextrose, so you might want to adjust your recipe accordingly. I haven’t used sodium erythorbate, but a lot of folks like it. I think the challenge with sodium erythorbate is that you need so little of it per pound of meat that it can get tricky for the home sausage maker.

Yes, do see if you can get your smoker temp down below 125F or so to get started with your cook. The simplest thing to try is to crack the lid (use a dowel or something to hold the lid open a little). You also can start by poaching the sausage or par-cooking it by sous vide, giving it some time to dry back out, and then finishing it on your smoker. You should still get plenty of smoke in your final product, especially for kielbasa.

You want to shoot for an internal temperature anywhere between 152-160F, depending on what you want and who you listen to. Obviously, 160F is the safest way to go, and it also will get you a texture that is most like what you’re used to from commercial outfits. Some of the old sausage sages go for lower temperatures (152-155F) for texture reasons. Personally, I shoot for 160F or just shy.