sous vide

[blackjac]

I have about 20lbs of summer sausage on the smoker and plan on finishing in a sous vide for the first time , question is do you guys really vacume pack that much then sous vide ? I just read where the intake will get clogged if you don’t. Thanks

[processhead]

I have heard that just putting them in a large ziplock bag and expelling most of the air works very well.

[twilliams]

I want to learn so much more behind sous vide. I understand the concept, however im looking more for finished end product. So the theory behind snack sticks and summer sausage is a semi dried product. Removing the product early from the smoking schedule process to quickly cook it in a water bath seems to me that it is counter productive. What is the water activity in a final sous vide snack stick or summer sausage vs the traditional length smoking schedule in a smoker? What is the final texture? How is the final bite/snap? So many questions that need answered

[processhead]

I would share those same questions. For a snack stick, you can still continue to air dry in a refrigerated area after reaching the target cook temperature, but how do you do that with summer sausage or any other large stuffed product?

[twilliams]

processhead with my particular smoker i have an internal fan, as well as a big sliding draft door in the door and an exhaust fan allowing to get much more air circulation throughout than other home/hobbyist smokers. I do a 1 to 2 hour dry time after water bath as well as an 8-10 hour overnight refrigerator set before packaging. So yes i put in alot of hours just to do a 25lb batch where the sous vide would cut those hours down. However i would prefer quality over quantity depending on if there is a difference in end result between the two methods

[mdseaside]

It just depends on your taste. Sous vide snack sticks come out more moist and A little more flavorful. I use natural casings and they still have a nice snap when you bite into one. I do vacuum seal them before I sous vide. My smoker also has an internal fan that helps in the drying process. I dry for about 1 hour at 140 then smoke for 4 hours at the same temp. Pull them out and bag and seal, and sous vide at 152 for 1 hour and 20 min. This is for a 20 lb. batch. for smaller batches you could cut down on the time. On your next batch you could pull a pound or two after the smoke time and give the sous vide a try. then you can see for your self and make a decision on which you prefer.

[shoprat53]

At least for summer sausage you can not tell the difference between smoke finish or sous vide finish. I do not do snack sticks way to much work for the end product. I always put my sausages into A large zip lock bag then into the sous vide, have tried it without bag worked well but saw tiny particles and also some grease in water. Think it comes from the holes from my temperature probes.

[smokinbubba]

Im my experience, if you take the sticks to 130 in the smokehouse you achieve the proper drying

[ButcherBrown]

I used my Anova with the 2.4x12 pre shrunk casings last weekend and sous vide them when they hit 120 degrees. I added them straight to the meat lug water bath that was set at 175 degrees. The water started to yellow a bit and I saw some oil particles in the water. The Anova shut down and started beeping about 20 minutes in and then shut off. I had to take the cover off and there was a piece of meat that was wrapped around the temp probe (I believe) and once I removed it I was back up and running.

Next batch I will do the 2.9X20 pre shrunk casings and I will use my 6"x50’ rolls just to size and vac seal them before adding them to the water bath.

[shoprat53]

I just buy these 2 gallon zip lock bags at dollar tree think you get 5 in A box. Just was them out and reuse the bag A couple of times…

[Jonathon]

blackjac as you said, it matters what type of sous vide circulator you are using. if it has a propeller and a heating element like the Weston one you really don’t need to (in my opinion) but like you said, you don’t want to clog the intake filter.

I have not noticed any difference in bagging or not bagging as far as taste or texture goes.

[lkrfletcher]

I dont bag mine at all, and have had zero issues.

[PapaSop]

No bag! No issues!

[JoeB]

I know that when i poached 25lbs of Bockwurst in the past in the 24qt pot, there was always some fat loss, and strings fm the natural casings in the water. I just poach 20lbs in the sous vide tank “bagged” water was clean. I since used the same water for other cooks… Still clean. That’s a plus+

[GWG8541]

After some great advice and coaching from the great people on this site. I used sous vide to do sticks and summer sausage directly in the water. I had no issues with either and they turned out awesome. As mentioned before, the type and brand of sous vide heating element and filter may play a part in it. I had no visible particles in the water, but some discoloration of the water.

[PapaSop]

GWG8541
Glad this worked out for you as well. I’ve probably said it before but I think this will become the new “norm”. So much easier.

All I’ve seen is a little discoloration in the water and very few, if any particles floating around.

[JoeB]

When you see floating particles and discoloration, that is an indicator of water and equipment contamination. Clean, and redirect fire. MOP-4 protocol

[blackjac]

So I pulled 15 chubs off of my WSM at 140 and put them in a turkey fryer pot without bagging . Everything worked great , fast and the casings stayed perfect, bottom line I guess is no need to bag. Thanks for all the info

[rich_green]

Jonathon when i tried some in a roaster last year the casings split and didn’t seem to have adhesion with the meat, have you experienced this with sous vide?

[processhead]

rich_green said in sous vide:

Jonathon when i tried some in a roaster last year the casings split and didn’t seem to have adhesion with the meat, have you experienced this with sous vide?

Did you monitor the temperature of the water in the roaster with a thermometer? Most of the temperature settings on a typical roaster are pretty inaccurate and unfortunately it is too easy to get the temperature too high if you are just relying on that.
That is why it is important to monitor it with an accurate thermometer.