shriveled up sausage

achtungpv · April 2011

Both times I've smoked raw sausage, it looks picture perfect on the egg. Before I can even carry it in the house, it shrivels up. Tastes great but looks bad.

Any idea why?

Used the plate setter both times. First time was at 230 and second time at 300. Judged by appearances when it was done. Used a different brand of raw sausage each time. One from a local butcher and the other from Elgin Southside Market. Both ended up shriveled up.

AZRP · April 2011

Probably smoking it at too high a temp and rendering out the fat. -RP

stike · April 2011

yeah
overcooked

Mickey · April 2011

Tastes trumps looks everytime :laugh:
You can put Bone Sucking Sauce on it and will not see shriveled....
Sausage is the only thing I overcook....

Grandpas Grub · April 2011

Thanks for the tip Randy. My first batch of Summer Sausage looked and tasted great. Since then I have ended up with good tasting but the casings were shriveled.

Kent

fishlessman · April 2011

are you smoking it from scratch, never have made it from scratch but i believe an icewater bath is needed

stike · April 2011

when i do hotsmoked sausages, an ice water bath immediately off the grill is what i give them to prevent shrivelled casings

Rascal · April 2011

I would think that an ice-water bath would shrivel your sausage...

stike · April 2011

aber das ist nicht richtig

Grandpas Grub · April 2011

Yup, grind the beef & pork then a small amount ice water in the mix (no ice), stuff, 24hr rest and a 3 stage smoke after the 24 hrs.

The first batch was great. The 2nd & 3rd batch srunk leaving the casing looking wrinkled and a bit unappetizing, good taste though.

Grandpas Grub · April 2011

Those look great, I need to make some...

Would summer sausage need the same?

How long in the ice water?

stike · April 2011

my understanding (ruhlman/polcyn) is that anything hot smoked to 150 or so, with natural casings, should get an ice water plunge to quicky stop cooking and bring temps down principally to prevent wrinkling. not sure if the cellulose casings need it though.

fishlessman · April 2011

ice bath is for after the smoking, chill as quickly as posssible to stop it from cooking further, i think you want the internal temps down to 100 immediately off the smoker

Grandpas Grub · April 2011

My first batch I put in the fidge imediately and the other I let sit on the counter to cool then in the fridge. I think I will ice bath next time.

Thank you for the help.

Kent

LFGEnergy · April 2011

I have had same problem, and started putting a pan of a dark beer on egg to warm and then putting finished sausages directly from grill into beer. Works great. Probably cooling as Stike suggested. Beer imparts a little flavor, but not overwhelming by any means.

Grandpas Grub · April 2011

Thank you for the tip. I will give that a try on the next smoke.

Kent

thirdeye · April 2011

Stike is right on the money. Here is a hair more of the info on showering, blooming and holding. With respect to the bloom, these instructions are assuming you have used curing salts (nitrates/nitrites) in your mix. (Fresh sausages that are flavor smoked are usually cooked at higher temps and are not in the smoker as long and don't get the same bloom.)

Showering:
...After smoking, shower the sausage with cold water until the internal temperature drops to 110 – 120 deg. F. This prevents the sausage from shriveling. Showering (or immersion in cold water, with more cold water running into the container) must occur quickly after the sausage leaves the smokehouse. If too much time passes, the sausage shrivels. If this happens, the sausage can be made plump again by cooking in hot water. After the hot water cooking, the sausage should immediately be showered with cold water.

Blooming:
After showering, the sausage should remain at room temperature until it blooms to a desirable dark color. This typically takes 2 or 3 hours.

Holding:
After blooming, the sausage should be held in a cooler or refrigerator at least overnight , and preferably 24 hours, before it is used.

Grandpas Grub · April 2011

Thanks for the details.

Kent

nuynai · April 2011

Smoking should not be done at a temp over 160, as then the item gets cooked and starts losing fat, juices, etc. Make sure the item is dry, as that is how the smoke adheres. If wet, you're wasting your time or keep it low to let the casing dry out, than start to smoke. You can smoke it at a low temp, than finish at a higher temp to internal of around 170. Cold bath helps, as it stops the cooking process. Get internal with cold bath to 110, than refrigerate overnight.
Hope this helps.

Grandpas Grub · April 2011

Thanks.

GG

ChuggaBrew · April 2011

I must admit, I was a little nervous clicking on this link showing a photo of a shriveled up sausage. :laugh:

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