Tips for smoking sausage?

KiterTodd

I'm going to make some gumbo this weekend.  I always add smoked sausage to it which gives the entire stew a great smoke flavor.

This time I thought I'd do it a little different.  I was going to use Bratwurst (tis the season) and wanted to smoke the sausages myself.

So, since I'm going to add them to a stew I don't really need them to cook all the way, but I do want to make sure they get some solid smoke flavor and browned a bit on the outside.

Any recommendations for time, temp and type of wood?  I want a strong smoke that'll carry through.

My Gumbo is usually pulled chicken, smoked sausage and shrimp.  But for this one I think I'm going to do smoked pulled pork, smoked brats and oysters.  Open to any suggestions on that, and if I do it...I'll surely share the cook here.   

Thanks!

SGH

There are a couple of different ways to reach your goal with the sausage. First you can smoke it until it's done and add it to your gumbo once the gumbo has completed cooking. This way the sausage will not over cook in the gumbo. Once the gumbo had completed cooking, add the sausage while the gumbo is steeping. The sausage will still impart its flavor to the gumbo by doing it this way. As far as wood, I pretty much stick with oak and/or pecan. However you mention that you want a real strong smoke. With that said, Hickory will certainly accomplish this in spades. The other route that you can take is smoke your sausage to about 135-140 degrees and then finish it in your gumbo. Both methods yield the same end result in my opinion so just pick which method sounds the most feasible to you. Again I have done it both ways and they work equally well. However for absolute maximum smoke  I would go with the first method. Completely cook the sausage in the smoker and add it to the gumbo at the end while it is steeping. Good luck with the gumbo and can't wait to see it my friend. 

fishlessman

would definitely add at the end of the cook, not sure bratts will hold up well if cooked to long in a gumbo, much finer texture than andouilli. most andoiuilli looks to have curing agents added for longer colder smoking which i dont think you can do with the bratts so your going to need to do a hotter shorter cook

KiterTodd

Good tips, guys. Yeah, I usually use some andouilli and some off the shelf smoked sausage (the kind that says fully cooked but most people cook it anyway).  I brown them first and then make the roux in the drippings (add more oil).  I throw everything back in with the stock and that kind of sausage seems to hold up well.   Good point on the brats being more fragile, though.  I'm heading out to buy fresh ones now from the Amish market...

Ladeback69

I like @SGH's comments and sounds like good advice.  I have smoked brats and kielbasa a few times and I smoke them at 225 for at least 2 hours or more.  I don't really cook to a temp on them, I go by color.  I think you could smoke them longer, but once they hit 150 they aren't going to take much more smoke.  As for more smoke flavor the heaviest wood to me wood be Mesquite, but it is really heavy and would prefer hickory to.  I think taking them all the way and adding it at the end may be the way to go too.  Good luck and that sounds like good gumbo.  

Plutonium

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UQQ6Wk4nIwo

That's how Franklin handled pre-smoked/cooked sausage has a few good tips on things to look out for with respect to doneness. It seems like a good reference. I'd expect similar things for raw sausage, although I've never done it before.

Darby_Crenshaw

the skin can sometimes get damned wrinkley when you hot smoke them a long time until 'cooked' (say 150).  doesn't affect anything other than make them look odd.

cooked a little hotter and quicker they swell up, and can split.

i think it would (as a few have mentioned) add them at the end, after having hot smoked them only partially.  a little smoke often goes a long way

Little Steven

Darby_Crenshaw said:

the skin can sometimes get damned wrinkley when you hot smoke them a long time until 'cooked' (say 150).  doesn't affect anything other than make them look odd.

cooked a little hotter and quicker they swell up, and can split.

i think it would (as a few have mentioned) add them at the end, after having hot smoked them only partially.  a little smoke often goes a long way

I seem to remember letting them sit for a while after cold smoking and then rinsing in cold water? Does that sound right?

canman

One tip for smoking sausage is to set the sausage out to dry the casing. It should look dry and dull to help the smoke adhere. Also keep the egg temp below 175 deg and cook to an internal temp of 153 deg. Then put them in an ice bath to stop the cooking. This will help with the shriveling. At 175 dome temp the fat in the sausage will melt out and give you a dry crumbly texture.

KiterTodd

canman said:

One tip for smoking sausage is to set the sausage out to dry the casing. It should look dry and dull to help the smoke adhere. Also keep the egg temp below 175 deg and cook to an internal temp of 153 deg. Then put them in an ice bath to stop the cooking. This will help with the shriveling. At 175 dome temp the fat in the sausage will melt out and give you a dry crumbly texture.

Smoking below 175?  That is technology I have not yet mastered!  May have to give it a try.   May just wing it...  that's the nice thing about stews.  Very forgiving to idiots. 

canman

Yes, maintaining 175 is tricky. I use an A-maze-ing smoker tray with pellets for the smoke and just a few lumps for heat. I have even put a tray of ice in to help keep the temp down. Good thing it only takes about an hour and a half to reach 153.

It can be tricky, but well worth it.

Little Steven

canman said:

Yes, maintaining 175 is tricky. I use an A-maze-ing smoker tray with pellets for the smoke and just a few lumps for heat. I have even put a tray of ice in to help keep the temp down. Good thing it only takes about an hour and a half to reach 153.

It can be tricky, but well worth it.

Do you have to go that hot? I used to live in a heavily Portuguese populated area. In the fall they would just make a ply wood shelter b at the end of their houses and run a small smoldering fire in it. They made linguisa and chourice. I don't think it got very hot. They didn't use nitrites/nitrates but if you did I didn't think they had to be hot as much as dried.

fishlessman

Little Steven said:

canman said:

Yes, maintaining 175 is tricky. I use an A-maze-ing smoker tray with pellets for the smoke and just a few lumps for heat. I have even put a tray of ice in to help keep the temp down. Good thing it only takes about an hour and a half to reach 153.

It can be tricky, but well worth it.

Do you have to go that hot? I used to live in a heavily Portuguese populated area. In the fall they would just make a ply wood shelter b at the end of their houses and run a small smoldering fire in it. They made linguisa and chourice. I don't think it got very hot. They didn't use nitrites/nitrates but if you did I didn't think they had to be hot as much as dried.

they probably cured with salt and cured it that way overnight before packing and smoking. there was a guy here that used to do keilbasa that way around 140 degrees for half a day, maybe even at a lower temp, it wasnt hot enough to melt the fat. the commercial chourico definitely has a little curing agent mixed in

KiterTodd

Took the pork shoulders off and threw on the brats!   Not getting scientific with these guys, too much to do and those shoulders took foooorrreeeeever this time.  I'll just go for, "yeah, that looks about right", and then cut them in thick slices and throw them in the gumbo.  It's going to be one of those cooks...

KiterTodd

THE RESULT...

...good!  I'll definitely do this again.  They really came out great and it's more low maintenance than standing there grilling them.

I cooked indirect at about 250.  I had just taken off a couple pork shoulders.  I'd say I left them on for about 90 minutes.  Turned them once.  I just cooked them until they were dark brown but still plump and juicy.  I ate one right away and it was awesome.  Had a smoke ring and solid smoke flavor without being overpowering.

Thanks for the help.  Pics...


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....aaand, went into a clean burn after that.  After the shoulders and the brats, I had a lot of fat in the egg.   If I left the top open too long I'd get flare ups.  Hopefully this took care of it all.

Ladeback69

@KiterTodd, sausage looks great.   If you let it go for a while at 700 it should help.  That's going to be done great gumbo. 

canman

Nice looking Brats. Well done.

Griffin

Looks great. I would not advise smoking sausage below 175 (or anywhere close to that) unless it has a cure in it and you know what you are doing. That would put your sausage in the danger zone for way to long. You won't know you have botulism until you are dead. If you want to cold smoke sausages and not hot smoke them, I suggest you pick up a book and do some, scratch that, lots of research before you begin.

GATraveller

Those look awesome.  Definitely gonna have to give that a try.  Another cook now added to the ever expanding list.

KiterTodd

Griffin said:

Looks great. I would not advise smoking sausage below 175 (or anywhere close to that) unless it has a cure in it and you know what you are doing. That would put your sausage in the danger zone for way to long. You won't know you have botulism until you are dead. If you want to cold smoke sausages and not hot smoke them, I suggest you pick up a book and do some, scratch that, lots of research before you begin.

Good advise! Thanks.  This tasted so good that I don't think I'd take the risk you highlighted above.

By the way, the smoked brats which into this 15 quart batch of Gumbo which was some of the best I've ever made.  My guests devoured it this weekend!
Oktoberfest Gumbo.

hondabbq

hondabbq

Dammit I lost my text. 

Here is what I did this weekend. 20 lbs of kielbasa. Plus 20 of each of Italian and jalapeño and cheddar. 

You shouldn't smoke at low temps unless you have a cure as previously stated. 
These were started at 125 no smoke for an hour to dry the casings. Then up to 145 with smoke for an hour. Then 165 for another hour with smoke. Then up to 180 with smoke to finish with an internal temp Of 155. 
You should not go over 180 or you run the risk of your sausages "fatting out". 
Also too high a temp to fast will toughen the casings. 

byrne092

Nice! I love smoking brats and kielbasa on the egg, creates a much different flavor than hot and fast. Your gumbo looks great as well!

KiterTodd

byrne092 said:

Nice! I love smoking brats and kielbasa on the egg, creates a much different flavor than hot and fast. Your gumbo looks great as well!

Thanks. 

(This is the GUMBO cook if you missed it.)

gmac

Last time I made andouille I took them straight from the egg into a bath of ice water. No wrinkly skin. Then into vacuum bags and into the freezer when they were cold. I'm overdue for another sausage making day now that you mention it...