How am I doing so far?

[bocephus]

PaPaSmokes One thing you might want to do is keep the water in for the whole process after drying period.

[Dave in AZ]

PaPaSmokes
Too Long, Didn’t Read (TLDR):
Your smoked sausage looks totally fine.

I feel like you have a false expectation of what a smoked sausage looks like, making you less happy with end product than you should be! A few things you said lead me to conclude your expectations may be off. Those SMOKED SAUSAGES look fine!

Here is what you’re saying that makes me think you’re possibly confused on expected results.

1. You keep saying BRATS. THESE ARE NOT BRATS!! Bratwurst is a FRESH UNCOOKED sausage, that is then FAST COOKED. In Germany, it is usually cooked in 170f water by poaching. You can then put brown marks on it in a pan or grill.
   –Alternative cooking is just raw then straight to a pan, or grill, cooked high like 300f and up, done in 20 minutes. However, this does not produce as good results as poaching (or sous vide) first, as the high heat on raw un-denatured proteins will cause fat to melt out, lising juiciness. Also the casings tend to pop due to steam produced before meat is denatured i.e. cooked.

2. SMOKED sausages, cooked at 130 to 180f external smoker temps usually, look just like yours. They only achieve color from smoke, they do not exhibit the browning from Maillard reaction, very much. Maillard takes place at 250f and above really. If you are looking to get a smoked sausage that looks like a BRATWURST OFF GRILL OR PAN, then you will be dissappointed.

3. Maybe you got led to this expectation by false claims and incorrect use of terminology on some popular YouTube channels… I watch Chudds and Smokin Joes Pit BBQ, and I don’t think I have ever seen a video where they use correct terminology! They constantly say they are “cold smoking” stuff when really it is 150 to 170f, not below 75f that Cold Smoking refers to. Both those guys, and tons more, are BBQ guys, cooking on grills at 225 and up, not smoking! All the nice reddish brown sausages they show are fast cooked usually in a 225f and hotter grill.

4. The recipe and seasoning you used, BB Mango Tango BRATURST seasoning… isn’t for a smoked sausage, it is for a bratwurst. Being confused about what a bratwurst is and how it is cooked, led you to think there might be Cure1 in the mix, I think. It has mango, jalapeno, and maple sugar, that’s about it!! Barely any salt, though some is listed in their maple sugar flavoring pack…but no nutritional labeling, so you can’t determine how much. I would never use a product like that, where the salt content is a complete guess. If you can’t ensure 1.5 to 1.7% salt, normal saltiness for sausage, I’d add my own.
   –Why do I care about salt? Salt is the #1 thing that locks up water, lowers Aw, and inhibits bacterial growth while you are heating up meat through the danger zone! With little or no salt, bacteria are much faster to grow. Since the crux of your concern here is “Did my sausage get to lethality temps fast enough to keep bacteria or botulism from growing?”, I am adding this note on salt so you know how it helps, for future cooks.

Ok, I need to go get another Mai Tai, hope that helps!

[processhead]

Dave in AZ Great reply, Dave.
There is a lot of misunderstanding about the basic terminology that describes sausage types and their preparation.

[Dave in AZ]

processhead thx Paul!
Thank God for PaPaSmokes and his questions this week! My kid is surfing every day, and I’m on Guard Duty, sitting on beach or pool bar table watching his stuff. So like, 4 to 6 hrs to read and kill time every day lol… So I am having a great time reading meatgistics, and making long posts. So glad PapaSmokes has questions, or I wouldn’t last the time lol!

[PaPaSmokes]

bocephus that’s weird as all the videos I’ve watched show the same procedure. I wonder if the dried mango which was rather large pieces could have had an effect. Who knows. I’m almost thinking of just freezing these cheddar brats I made and not smoking them, but I can’t let one mishap scare me away!

[processhead]

PaPaSmokes We all have made mistakes and the best thing to do is just learn from them and move on.

[PaPaSmokes]

I’m still a little confused on whether or not to give the go ahead to the family on eating these, won’t affect me as I do not like mangos but I don’t want them getting sick either. No one has commented on the looks of the sausage either…

[processhead]

PaPaSmokes
You may not get any definite recommendations on this batch because of uncertainty around the cooking conditions and no cure used.
They may be ok or they may not. I don’t think others want to make that call under the circumstances. If you discard the batch then you can sleep easy knowing no one will get hurt eating them and you are only out a few bucks and your time.

[PaPaSmokes]

processhead maybe some of you guys can comment on the look and texture of the sausage as best as you can see in pics.

[Denny O]

PaPaSmokes said in How am I doing so far?:

double grinder and kept at 31/32° during the whole process, used top notch hog casing. Frig overnite. Dries at 120° for an hour with dampers open, 130° smoke/water pans dampers at 1/3 for an hour. 140° same for 1 hour, 150° same for 1 hour, 160° same, 175° no smoke no water close dampers until sausage hit 160°, ice bath for 30 min then into frig. Figured since they were not cured I’d better not leave them on counter to bloom. Not sure how I got from such a great looking raw brat to this…

The information I’m missing here is what are the internal temps of the sausage during this time period of the cooking process that is in question.
If it is stated then I missed it, my eyes are tired tonight.

[cdavis]

PaPaSmokes your cooked sausages look good to me.

[processhead]

PaPaSmokes said in How am I doing so far?:

processhead maybe some of you guys can comment on the look and texture of the sausage as best as you can see in pics.

I think you have to get past the visual appearance of the mango pieces in the sausage. IMO it looks unappetizing but that is just me and personally I am not a big fan of fruit in sausage, but a lot of people really like it.
There are a lot of foods that look unappetizing but taste great.

[PaPaSmokes]

processhead it has that gray dirty look to it. I’m not sure with no cure I want anyone eating it but would hate to throw away 12 lbs of sausage. Def a learning experience as to what not to do in the future. Thx for your input.

[PaPaSmokes]

Denny O it went in the smoker at 35° and didn’t get above 140° for nearly 3 hours or more.

[twilliams]

PaPaSmokes I suggest you ask Austin, me personally I would throw them in the disposal but I’m an a**l perfectionist. They look close to the same as what would be just boiling them. I do not put a water pan in for humidity, smoke does not stick to meat that is wet. I will have to reread your post on your process. The inside looks good, the outside looks like it was deep fried. Looks like you had a bit of fat out.

[PaPaSmokes]

Here is the other half of the run in a cheddar Brat. I opted to let these bloom, frig, freeze and package even though they had cure. I’ll post some pics of the ones I grill up tonight for dinner and show a cross section for your review as well. I think they look great. My labeling should be completed in a few weeks.

[WVTim]

PaPaSmokes they look great

[PaPaSmokes]

Here is the grilled finish product. Mouth feel was great consistency was great and moistness was there!, My question is, this is a mix from PS seasoning for Brats and we added high temp cheese. It’s a bit salty for my taste but the family ate them up. My question is…is there anything you csn add to counteract the saltiness besides developing your own ingredients?

[bocephus]

PaPaSmokes They Look very good. The only way I know to counteract the salt is use less package seasoning or look and see if you can find low sodium. If you use less, you can add your own seasonings to enhance the package seasoning.

[processhead]

PaPaSmokes said in How am I doing so far?:

It’s a bit salty for my taste but the family ate them up. My question is…is there anything you can add to counteract the saltiness besides developing your own ingredients? !

Add more meat or less seasoning. Those are about your only options.
They look great.