Dave in AZ good luck ! Good call going lower for a short amount of time on the pellet grill. At high Temps they burn so clean that they don’t out much smoke flavor on it. A charcoal/wood smoker doesn’t have that specific problem. On my GMG I can run 275 and get good flavor still though, so don’t be afraid to ramp up a bit if you want.

Remember: higher cooking Temps mean higher finishing Temps. Cook to tenderness (probing with your thermometer until it slides in and out like butter) vs temp. Don’t freak out if it gets to 207-208 or higher before it breaks.

Also,rest is important here. At least an hour, 2-3 if you ha e the time.

Quick update and question - I won the Election! Then, at our first meeting, I was elected secretary so I will be taking an officer position with the organization as well.

Is there interest in continuing this thread for the 2022 season? Lots of moving parts, so I’m not sure how many we’re going to get in, but I’d love to have you all come along with us!

These look great! Off to find a drying chamber, lol

I’ll say Texas.

I have a Weston I originally bought on here. It works well, I just usually heat the water up first on the stove then move to the lug and cover. It takes forever to bring that much water up to temp, but it will hold it fine.

HerbcoFood

I am stoked to hear this one!

To be clear, I would not allow the food to stay in the danger zone too long. I’m thinking if I have the sausages refrigerated, then give them, say, 2 hours of cold smoke and then back in the fridge, and then cooking them through at a later time (within a couple days, or vac sealing and freezing until I’m ready to use them).

That may not be long enough, and I could probably go up to 3 hours of smoke and still be plenty safe of the danger zone.

Yeah, I knew it was possible, but I never hear people talk about it. Thought maybe I was missing something.

BBQr’s delight is my favorite brand of pellet, and they have oak pellets as well.

mrobisr said in Thoughts for Cold Smoked sausage:

Midwest_kc process head hit a couple good points that I will not reiterate on, but there is also the process of pasteurization that is a USDA approved process. This is the short version, but if you look at the regulation about middle of the book the actual charts are there. There are some caveats like fat % and humidity levels, but you can read that in the manual.

Temperature…
… Time
°F (°C)… 12% fat
136 (57.8)… 81.4 min
137 (58.3)… 65.5 min
138 (58.9)… 52.9 min
139 (59.4)… 43 min
140 (60.0)… 35 min
141 (60.6)… 28.7 min
142 (61.1)… 23.7 min
143 (61.7)… 19.8 min
144 (62.2)… 16.6 min
145 (62.8)… 13.8 min
146 (63.3)… 11.5 min
148 (64.4)… 7.7 min
150 (65.6)… 4.9 min
152 (66.7)… 2.8 min
154 (67.8)… 1.6 min
156 (68.9)… 1 min
158 (70.0)… 40.9 sec
160 (71.1)… 26.9 sec
162 (72.2)… 17.7 sec
164 (73.3)… 11.7 sec
166 (74.4)… 0 sec

Beef, Lamb, & Pork
130 (54.4) 121 minutes
135 (57.2) 37 minutes
140 (60.0) 12 minutes
145 (62.8) 4 minutes
150 (65.6) 72 seconds
155 (68.3) 23 seconds
158 (70.0) 0 seconds

Appendix-A.pdf

That’s what I thought you meant. I just don’t know how you’re going to get any type of pasteurization with a cold smoke though. So snack sticks or summer sausage at that point, you’d still need to cook, whether to 160 or to whatever temp you want and hold it the appropriate amount of time.

mrobisr said in Thoughts for Cold Smoked sausage:

Midwest_kc Well I will not get into the 160f part, but ok I see why you said it, thanks.

Now I’m interested… I know there are other ways to achieve lethality, by bringing to a lower temp and holding long enough. Is that what you meant?

mrobisr my understanding is that unless you have very precise equipment and a very sterile environment to do it in, you better bring it 160 before eating.

kyle that’s what I use is the amze n tube. I had a maze before they made the rube, but the tube is just easier for me.

OK, OK, OK… I know what you’re thinking - Don’t cold smoke snack sticks and summer sausage!

You’re right, I’m not trying to do that. Here is what I am thinking, though.

If I do up a regular smoked sausage…say hot dogs, kielbasa, etc. with the cure and all. Then, I cold smoke them at temps below 100*. I get the amount of smoke I want, get them in refrigeration and then when ready to eat them, grill them up normal. How would that work and would that be a reasonable alternative for guys like me who don’t have a smoker that is made to run in the 120-150 range?

Nice! I love it!

I agree on the high temp cheese. I don’t think you’d want melted cheese in the brat running everywhere.

You know you are too into BBQ when you assumed this was a story about a Weber Smokey Mountain, lol!

ND Mike bbq’rs delight is what I use. They make some 1 lb bags, which aren’t a very good deal, but give you the chance to try them before committing to a 20 lb bag as well.

Looks great!

I like peach pellets, personally. Or Pecan, because I always have that on hand, and sometimes I forget to go grab some more peach before doing cheese.