Hi Mountain sausage kits techniques please

orion11 · May 2007

Just got 2 boxes of sausage seasoning from these folks, love the buckboard bacon so I thought I would try some. I got a Polish and a Bratwurst and I am wondering what mix of meat everyone uses? I thought polish was all pork but they suggest mixing in some beef with the pork? Never heard of this but, wondering who has used them and, what mix of meats did you use in the process? It also has a very low temp for smoking suggested for the first hour, I dont think I can get my large down to just over 100 degrees, do you do this in the oven or just not worry about having it at such a low temp. My understanding is that this initial low temp dries the sausage out some to take in the smoke. Is this correct? Any and all techniques will be appreciated, cant wait to get started!!

thirdeye · May 2007

orion11,[p]I hope you like their products. I sure do. Combining a little of beef is 1. a way of reducing the greasiness if the butt is not trimmed) and 2. a flavor thing to help enhance the flavor of the pork. (sort of like frying a little ball of fatty hamburger meat in a skillet, then cooking a ham steak or a pork chop in the beef fat). In most of my sausage recipes I like all pork butt, but I do trim the fat cap and any heavy veins.[p]Hi Mountain sausage mixes (I believe all still do) contain a curing agent which is a recommended adder when cold smoking sausages due to the low temps and long smoke times. Hi Mountain sells a smoker similar to a Cookshack and some of their instructions are written with that in mind. (You can still hot smoke or grill sausages with curing agents, just not the other way around).[p]You are correct, the 100° time in the smoker is to dry the casings and sweat some of the moisture out. (some cold smoked sausage recipes call for increased liquid added to the meat) You do not want humid conditions or condensation inside a cold smoker. Yes, you can do this step in your oven and transfer to the Egg. OR as mentioned above hot smoke your sausage at a low temp comfortable for you to maintain. I do a lot at 175°-200° dome temp.[p]BTW, If you need some eggspecific instructions on the buckboad, look on the buckboard page on my site.[p]~thirdeye~

AZRP · May 2007

<p />orion11,
I haven't tried the Polish sausage but the bratwurst is great, we had it for dinner last night. You need to decide what kind of sausage you want before you start. By that, I mean cured and smoked sausage or fresh sausage. To me brats and Polish should be fresh sausage, in which case you don't put the cure in them or smoke them. I just use pork butt w/o veal or beef. I cube the meat to fit the grinder and mix the seasoning on the cubes. Then grind it, mix it up in the bowl, then stuff it. You want to keep it as cold as possible, and may need to refrigerate it between operations. Let the links rest in the fridge overnight for the flavors to meld before freezing them. I'll be in my office for the next 5 hours, give me a call if you have any questions. -RP
800-845-2252 x321[p]

thirdeye · May 2007

AZRP,[p]Sheesh, I forgot about being able to add or not add the curing agents in the Hi Mountain mixes. In my earlier post I thought they were mixed in. [p]~thirdeye~

AZRP · May 2007

thirdeye,
Don't feel too bad, the first kit I tried was Italian sausage and I missed the part in the instructions about not using the cure for fresh sausage and put it in. I wasn't very happy with the results and ended up tossing it. I have made it with the cure since, and smoked it. It is really good in a low country boil. -RP[p]

thirdeye · May 2007

AZRP,[p]I would bet they use 6% nitrite in their cure. You know, I like the pinkness and the slight texture change that a small amount of tenderquick adds and I use it on occasion in some of my recipes, even fresh ones. It is only .5% of nitrite and nitrate.[p]~thirdeye~

Hi Mountain sausage kits techniques please

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