Smoked Sausage Temp.
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So had a question on the best way to finish cooking smoked sausage to 165 temp. I’ve been making goose smoked sausage ( 5lbs. Goose - 5bls. Pork and 1 lbs. bacon) batches at a time. So the last batch I did this weekend I was 6 hrs into the process using the 125/1 hr—140/1hr-155/2hrs-175/ until 165 internal temp. But unfortunately it was taking a long time . So I pulled the sausage out of smoker and put into a big pot of rolling hot water and submerged until it reached 165 internal temperature, and then put in ice water to cool quickly. I got to say the overall look of the sausage was great!!! No wrinkles very nice looking. So my question is!! Is this ok to do??? I found it made it easier to finish the sausage this way and not dry it out.
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mikeihuntr Absolutely this is okay to do! We have actually had a lot of people on this board doing this recently, gadahl created a post titled Summer Sausage Nightmare and then Parksider mentioned that he usually only smokes for a few hours and then he moves it to water to finish up. I’ve done testing here and I found it to be a great and easy way to blow right past the stall. Since we are starting it a few hours in the smoke flavor has already been imparted and for the most part it won’t be picking up anymore.
I am pretty sure those guys toss the sausage in water directly and claim it does not affect the flavor of the sausage. I’ve done it both ways and I like using a vac bag, this could be entirely mental on my part though!
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Jonathon Yes Jonathon-it’s in your head
mikeihuntr My only advice is to keep the water around 170F, not a rolling boil. If the casing are too tight they WILL explode then you have a really big pot of bad soup! A nice simmer is the way to go, take them out 155-160 and into a water bath. Here is a pic, we just use the turkey fryer with the basket. It makes it really easy to remove from the water and rinse. I will also recommend keeping a temp probe right in the meat you can see the wire going into the water. Good luck!!
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Parksider has the right idea! Smoke the sausage using Jonathan’s recommended schedule until you have applied about four hours of smoke (after an hour of drying before the smoke goes on) then remove the sausage from the smoker and go directly into a hot water bath–poaching temp not rolling boil. Take to an internal temp of 160 F then a cold shower or ice water bath. When internal temp drops below about 120 F remove the sausage from the water, let it dry at room temp for at least two hours to “bloom.” Then refrigerate, vacuum seal, and freeze.
No need to put the product into plastic before the water bath; the smoke has been absorbed and the water bath does not remove or dilute the flavor. I’ve found that Parksider’s advice made a world of difference in my sausage making process. Both Summer Sausage and smoked Hawaiian flavored brats came out with great flavor profiles, smooth attractive casings, juicy and smoked to perfection.
The only downside is you may need to buy a big stockpot. I hijacked one from my wife’s kitchen.
Good luck.
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gadahl mikeihuntr Just bought another turkey fryer entire unit on Craigslist for $35, keep you in good standing with the wife, don’t “borrow” her pot!
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gadahl I really think you turned us on to something here that more people need to know about! I’ve used this method a few times now and it has cut my summer sausage cooking time down dramatically. I’m going to be trying this with some whole-muscle cuts in the next few months like Brisket and Bacon and I will let everyone know!
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gadahl You might look for a beer brewing kettle with a ‘false’ bottom and a thermometer. Stainless steel is king. Bayou Classic makes an affordable option. I haven’t used mine as a sous vide yet but I will try to hook it up this week and post a picture of my set up. I will be using a high temp pump and a ‘sparging’ arm for recirculating. It might be overkill for the average guy but it should work very well and give accurate temp control.
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Joe Hell Yes, I agree stainless is the way to go. We actually have a wood stove in the clubhouse that we set our pot on and get it cranking we don’t even use the propane base!
As far as sous vide, i’d recommend some heavy bags or they will leak, 5 mil for sure. i’ve never used my sous vide in the pot so i’m curious if it can keep that much water warm. I’m not a fan of sous vide whole muscle, i think it looses some of the texture that makes a steak a steak but i’ve also never tried brisket just steaks.
