Any issues Cooking my sausage not at 150f?
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Unlike cooking and smoking whole cuts of fresh pork or beef, sausage making is a low temperature process and ideally you never get the smoker chamber over 180 degrees. Sausage smokers are best when they control the temperature between 120 and 180 degrees.
Some of the issues with making sausage with a smoker at high temperatures are that you run the risk of drying the sausage too quickly and forming a hard outer layer on the exterior of the sausage known as case hardening. Case hardening does not allow smoke to penetrate evenly into the sausage and interferes with even drying of the interior of the sausage.
Another problem of too high of temperatures is you can easily reach the rendering temperature of the fat in the sausage meat. At approximately 175 degrees fat begins to melt and separates from the meat mixture. When that happens you get a layer of pure fat just under the casing and the meat may be dry and crumbly.
It is not impossible to make sausage in a smoker intended for cooking briskets and pork butts at high temperatures. It just becomes a whole lot more difficult to make good sausage. One trick to keeping the temperature down is to leave the lid or door open to let the excess heat out. The down side is you are also letting the smoke out too though. -
Thanks for quick and detailed reply. Could I use my oven set at 170F ? Would that work ? I would then add liquid smoke to get that smoked effect.
arnprior said in Any issues Cooking my sausage not at 150f?:
Thanks for quick and detailed reply. Could I use my oven set at 170F ? Would that work ? I would then add liquid smoke to get that smoked effect.
Yes, assuming your oven will go that low. You can also crack the door on the oven if the temperature runs on the high side.
When I first got started, I made snack sticks in the oven just like you described.
I highly recommend buying a couple of remote reading digital thermometer to monitor the actual temperature in the oven or smoker and another to measure the internal temperature of the product you are making.
The temperature settings on ovens and many smokers are not noted for being all that accurate. Having a good thermometer is the only way to know what your temperatures actually are.
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I S.V., vac-pac’d most of my sausages at 140* (pasteurized-poached)… Quick chill with ice and freeze… Ready for the grill like a hot dog… Just grill and make them look good. I do my batches 20-30lbs and pac 8-10 links per pouch, giving a lot away to friends and family so i can’t trust them to grill to 160* internal… Works for me… Cheers
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So getting into sausage making and it seems I can do the basics. My issue is my smoker will not hold temp below 225f. I see folks taking about 150f …etc. so when I make my own cured sausage in a callegen casing, any problems with my placing them in my smoker at 225f ? The cook time will reduce. Comments for a newbie.
arnprior My question is: are you smoking cured sausage or curing fresh sausage… I’m a bit confused, but that’s normal for me
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arnprior My question is: are you smoking cured sausage or curing fresh sausage… I’m a bit confused, but that’s normal for me
JoeB said in Any issues Cooking my sausage not at 150f?:
arnprior My question is: are you smoking cured sausage or curing fresh sausage… I’m a bit confused, but that’s normal for me
arnprior stated, “so when I make my own cured sausage in a callegen casing,”
Just clarifying for ya.
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JoeB said in Any issues Cooking my sausage not at 150f?:
arnprior My question is: are you smoking cured sausage or curing fresh sausage… I’m a bit confused, but that’s normal for me
arnprior stated, “so when I make my own cured sausage in a callegen casing,”
Just clarifying for ya.
Denny O Thanks for the clarification, would have been nice to hear to fm him… Not exactly the way i read it
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arnprior My question is: are you smoking cured sausage or curing fresh sausage… I’m a bit confused, but that’s normal for me
I am still not fluent in sausage speech. But here goes nothing. I was asking if I stuffed my own raw meat, spices, binder, and cure into a casing… could I cook it at 225f on my smoker ? The answer appears to be that the likely hood of success is questionable, hence a no.It seems my oven will go as low as 170… so I will try that approach. JoeB
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I am still not fluent in sausage speech. But here goes nothing. I was asking if I stuffed my own raw meat, spices, binder, and cure into a casing… could I cook it at 225f on my smoker ? The answer appears to be that the likely hood of success is questionable, hence a no.It seems my oven will go as low as 170… so I will try that approach. JoeB
arnprior It will cook faster, and i would use an internal temp probe. Presentation also plays a part. Does it look the way i want it to look? Spraying some water to slow it down works too. When it hits 160-165, cold bath to stop the cooking. Temperature cooked also has a direct influence on texture… Smouchy wet, firm, or dry. Bottom line is the way you like it, is the way to cook it. Sausage making is an interesting art. A good sausage is the way you remember it is the way you remembered it to be… 100’s brat and polish recipes fm all over the world. Just make the 1 that tastes the way you want it… Cheers
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I am still not fluent in sausage speech. But here goes nothing. I was asking if I stuffed my own raw meat, spices, binder, and cure into a casing… could I cook it at 225f on my smoker ? The answer appears to be that the likely hood of success is questionable, hence a no.It seems my oven will go as low as 170… so I will try that approach. JoeB
arnprior BTW, you did a great job with the terms. In my world “cured sausage” is different then fresh sausage with cure in the meat batter for smoking. Technically at your higher temps you don’t need cure but i use it to retard pathogen growth while stored frozen
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Thanks for quick and detailed reply. Could I use my oven set at 170F ? Would that work ? I would then add liquid smoke to get that smoked effect.
arnprior said in Any issues Cooking my sausage not at 150f?:
Thanks for quick and detailed reply. Could I use my oven set at 170F ? Would that work ? I would then add liquid smoke to get that smoked effect.
I experimented with my oven a couple batches ago when I was having smoker problems. 170 degrees in my convection oven turned out excellent snack sticks. If this is the way you are going to go, I would recommend Hickory Smoke Powder instead of liquid smoke.
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So getting into sausage making and it seems I can do the basics. My issue is my smoker will not hold temp below 225f. I see folks taking about 150f …etc. so when I make my own cured sausage in a callegen casing, any problems with my placing them in my smoker at 225f ? The cook time will reduce. Comments for a newbie.
-
So getting into sausage making and it seems I can do the basics. My issue is my smoker will not hold temp below 225f. I see folks taking about 150f …etc. so when I make my own cured sausage in a callegen casing, any problems with my placing them in my smoker at 225f ? The cook time will reduce. Comments for a newbie.
arnprior Just to say this: you don’t have to smoke or low temp cook. Flash grilling is just as good, and the smoking processes is normally reserved for “smoking” the sausage. Departing the smoke flavor in the meat. Just watch the internal temp to 160-165. Take it off the grill and enjoy… Just my opine… Cheers
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arnprior I had to convert my propane fired smoker to natural gas to get the temperature down for low smoking. My upper limit is about 250 F tops
Brianzipperdog123 I converted my smoker and grill a long time ago… A 12hr butt cook is now much simpler…
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arnprior Just to say this: you don’t have to smoke or low temp cook. Flash grilling is just as good, and the smoking processes is normally reserved for “smoking” the sausage. Departing the smoke flavor in the meat. Just watch the internal temp to 160-165. Take it off the grill and enjoy… Just my opine… Cheers
JoeB Totally agree, smoking and grilling are two different animals, both are great in their own way
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I am still not fluent in sausage speech. But here goes nothing. I was asking if I stuffed my own raw meat, spices, binder, and cure into a casing… could I cook it at 225f on my smoker ? The answer appears to be that the likely hood of success is questionable, hence a no.It seems my oven will go as low as 170… so I will try that approach. JoeB
arnprior said in Any issues Cooking my sausage not at 150f?:
if I stuffed my own raw meat, spices, binder, and cure into a casing… could I cook it at 225f on my smoker
Yes you can, but as everyone is pointing out for you to make the best product will require your extreme diligence on your part. Best scenario is to fully cook at the lower temp and ice bath then bring them back up to temp in your 225f smoker. If you really monitor the temp, humidity, and internal temp then yes you can do them on you 225f smoker.
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