Making fresh sausage, how long to smoke??

orion11

Making some fresh Polish sausage today and I cant remember how long to smoke it, and what a good temp. is? Not sure if I should fully cook it in the smoking process, or just have it on long enough to flavor it. I'm making extra and have no problem simmering it for awhile to finish cooking it before each meal. Any thoughts and/or experiences will be appreciated.

BlueSmoke

orion11,
Without the addition of a curing agent, sausage is prey to the same bad nasties that afflict all meat - i.e. the growth of bacteria when meat spends more than 4 hours outside the 40-140 degree range.[p]If it were mine to do, I'd bring the links to 140 degrees internal in a pot of simmering water. Maintain that temp for 5 to 10 minutes, remove and hang the links to dry. When the links are cool and dry, smoke 2 to 3 hours at the lowest possible temp.[p]HTH
Ken

thirdeye

<p />orion11,[p]When smoking fresh ground and stuffed sausages you will run into two categories, cold smoked and hot smoked. I'm guessing you are talking hot smoking since the cold smoking process is quite detailed and needs some special equipment.[p]Anyways, keep your smoker below 200°, just a nice gentle heat and smoke. I like to hang the links and I make them just long enough to fit my home-made hanger. Monitor the temperature as you are looking for an internal temp of 150° for fresh pork products. They will rise slightly once they are removed from the smoker. Let them rest a few minutes before slicing. If some will be packaged for storage, many folks will chill those in an ice water bath after removing from the smoker.[p]~thirdeye~[p]Just wanted to point out that many experts will advise you to add 1 teaspoon of pink salt (sodium nitrate) per 5 pounds or pork to ward off any bacterial growth since you could be in that 40°/140° zone more than 4 hours during the grinding/stuffing/smoking process. I do this when using one of my low temp smokers and have a full load of sausages just to be on the safe side. [p]However, When I'm using my Egg, my smoked sausage comes up to temp in just a couple of hours, and I am VERY careful aboug grinding and stuffing while the meat is icy, so I DON'T use the additives. [p]PS: Adding 1/2 cup of milk powder per 5 pounds will help retain some moisture if you have experienced a dry product in the past.[p]

thirdeye

orion11,[p]Dang it, I didn't proof read my post. Pink salt is sodium NITRITE not nitrate.[p]Sorry[p]~thirdeye~

ChrisC

thirdeye,[p]I just emailed Sandbagger this morning about a sausage / jerky hanging rack - could not remember who had posted the hotlinks on a hanging rack. Checked the forum this morning and there it is.[p]Any chance you would consider making any more of those racks???[p]Thanks,
ChrisC

thirdeye

ChrisC,[p]This one was simple to build but ya know, I think the design is something that could be improved upon. I threw it all together in about 15 minutes with no real plan.[p]You have to look close to notice but every connection point has an alligator clip on it. The materials are two U pieces, two side support pieces and one spacer on the top. Everything is held in place with a total of 10 aligator clips. I wanted something that would breakdown for storage, and this does work well for that. Maybe some joint input from what ClayQ called the "EEA" (Experimental Egg Association) is needed as far as any modifications. Like maybe a couple of free standing posts that would hold removable rails for hanging sausage & jerky? Later today I'll post a breakbown photograph and open up to the forum for suggestions.[p]~thirdeye~

orion11

thirdeye,
Thanks for the great tips, never heard of the dry milk addition, I will try it. I do remember it being a little dry, just thought it was solely due to the lesser fat content, compared to the junk you buy in the mega mart. I will post some pics, times, temps., when completed.