quote:

Originally posted by medic451:
It sounds like you just want it smoked and to cook it later.

Yep.

Also, if pork is safe at ~145, why the need to go to 150+? Just an extra measure of protection?

quote:

Id up it straight to 200 and if you hit your target temp at around 2-3 hours youre good to go. Make sure you are using a quality temp probe as well, like thermoworks.

I'll give this a whirl. And, yeah, I have the latest Thermoworks.

Good thing I have lots of pig to practice with.

quote:

Originally posted by Gustofer:

quote:

Originally posted by medic451:
It sounds like you just want it smoked and to cook it later.

Yep.

Also, if pork is safe at ~145, why the need to go to 150+? Just an extra measure of protection?

quote:

Id up it straight to 200 and if you hit your target temp at around 2-3 hours youre good to go. Make sure you are using a quality temp probe as well, like thermoworks.

I'll give this a whirl. And, yeah, I have the latest Thermoworks.

Good thing I have lots of pig to practice with.

145 is the safe temp for lean pork, fatty pork should be cooked actually to 160+ still. To be honest im not sure where they got the 152 number in your recipe.
I like this guys idea about upping the temp every hour and smoking for 4 hours total, then finishing them in hot water.

https://www.theblackpeppercorn.../08/smoked-kielbasa/

quote:

Originally posted by medic451:
I like this guys idea about upping the temp every hour and smoking for 4 hours total, then finishing them in hot water.

https://www.theblackpeppercorn.../08/smoked-kielbasa/

Interesting method certainly. It seems to me though, they would be way overcooked and I'm having a hard time understanding, given the #1 cure, why there seems to be so much importance placed on temperature. Certainly, you don't want to leave it out for an extended time as anything will grow bugs eventually, but a quick heavy smoke should be OK even below 160F, as long as you cool it down immediately after, shouldn't it?

I think tomorrow I'll give it another attempt.

I found this site explaining things as well.

http://www.lets-make-sausage.c...smoking-process.html

They also emphasize the 152F. What I don't get is what I did wrong. I kept it at 160F (verified with the Masterbuilt itself, as well as my Thermoworks), yet it still rendered the fat and took nearly 8 hours to get there. I'm not really concerned about the time, just the drying out from the fat rendering, and I don't know how to avoid that.

quote:

Originally posted by Gustofer:

quote:

Originally posted by medic451:
I like this guys idea about upping the temp every hour and smoking for 4 hours total, then finishing them in hot water.

https://www.theblackpeppercorn.../08/smoked-kielbasa/

Interesting method certainly. It seems to me though, they would be way overcooked and I'm having a hard time understanding, given the #1 cure, why there seems to be so much importance placed on temperature. Certainly, you don't want to leave it out for an extended time as anything will grow bugs eventually, but a quick heavy smoke should be OK even below 160F, as long as you cool it down immediately after, shouldn't it?

I think tomorrow I'll give it another attempt.

Think about it like this- if you bought a hotdog from the store, you could eat it right out the package safely. Thats because they have been cooked already. Your sausages should be technically fully smoked and cooked before storage, not just a reliance on curing agents. The process of recooking i.e. boiling/grilling them is just for taste and flavor. You dont really just smoke sausages half way and finish them up months down the road if that makes sense. If you find your sausages are still coming out dry/tough it could also be a lack of fat in your mix. Maybe try 70/30 vs 80/20 if your temperature experiments dont yield results.

quote:

Originally posted by Gustofer:
Also, if pork is safe at ~145, why the need to go to 150+? Just an extra measure of protection?

butchered portions of pork (loin, chop, etc) are safe at 145 but all ground meats need to be 160 to be safe.

Here is a good article on the USDA 7D kill rate and establishing safe cooking temperatures.

I wonder how many people died from trying to figure this shit out.

If the fat rendered out the temp got too high, time in the smoker wouldn't matter. I usually smoke 5-10# at a time and it takes 8-10 hours easily, at smoking temps it would never finish in 2-3.

Stick an oven thermometer in the smoker and verify temp, if yours holds accurate temp you have a rare one. If you have a Maverick or thermo with a probe, even better.

Start at 130 and bump the temp 10 degrees every 30-60 minutes until you reach 170 actual temp. One problem with the MES is that you need to ignite the chips to get smoke but when you get hot enough to get smoke it's too hot to smoke sausage. Look into something called the Amazen pellet smoker, I think Amazon might even carry them now. That will provide the smoke and the MES will provide the smoking temps.

Hang your sausage at room temp for an hour or two to let the casings dry some, smoke won't really stick till they dry. You can even leave the smoker door open an inch for the first half hour or so ( no smoke yet) to let the links warm and have a nice draft to dry them. The MES isn't really a sausage smoker but it's workable.

Don't forget to add extra garlic, always extra garlic to everything.

quote:

Originally posted by mark60:
Hang your sausage at room temp for an hour or two to let the casings dry some, smoke won't really stick till they dry.

Can you explain this more? Is it because there is casing on the outside instead of meat?

The reason I ask is that I'm an avid smoker (not a sausage maker) and that is 180 degrees the opposite of my experience where moisture attracts more smoke and builds more bark.