🔥 Smoking cured sausage to IT 152F within 4h without rendering fat (?)

[dikkiedik]

Hi there BBQ enthusiasts.

I would like to ask some clarification regarding a few issues that popped up in my quest to learn how to ‘warm’ smoke, i.e. not ‘cold’ or ‘hot’, cured sausage. I am aware there’s a lot that has been asked already and I have diligently written notes and experimented, I however still seem to miss a few simple pieces of the puzzle.

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These months I have started smoking cured sausage (various meats like beef/pork/duck/venison/turkey) using prague powder #1 on a medium-ish 60 gallon offset smoker.

My question is: How do I get the heat needed to get to 152F internal WITHOUT having to go so hot that I render the fat?

My current proces:

I cure two days before, grind and case one day before, the links take a nap in the fridge overnight, the next day 30min before going on the smoker I take them out and fan them to get them a bit drier.

The smoker is set at 140F-150F initially, on they go! I need to get to 140F internal within 4 hours if I understand correctly. That means within 3.5 hours on the smoker when you substract the time they were drying before.

I normally get to the 140F internal within time, all good! BUT getting to 152F internal off course requires more heat. I read that the internal temperature of the meat trails the smoker by around 15F AND that I should not really cross 170F smoker temperature to not render the fat. If my internal temperature trails 170F by 15F that should theoretically (over time) get my internal to 170 -15 = 155F. Sounds doable, but ….

My links almost stall around 140F-ish even if I smoke an extra 2 hours or so. I have read people that say you just have to ‘dig in and give it lots of time’, but I have seen several recipes and watched a lot of videos (some of them from Leroy ad Lewis BBQ, chuds BBQ, etc) where they smoke to completion WITHIN 4 hours.

How is this achieved??? I would like a link that is safe, can be stored, later heated up without people having to reach a ‘minimal temperature’ before being eaten, as I can’t control that variable if I am not the one cooking.

Am I missing something obvious here?

What would the alternatives be? Smoke at 150-160F till you hit 140F internal, pull them while they are still plump, cool them rapidly, rest and bag them, and rely on heating to a minimal temperature when cooking with them in the future? That also means they can’t bloom at room temperature after the smoking session as I understand it.

I hope I expressed myself clearly here. Any questions please let me know .

EDIT: I just bumped into the concept of pasteurization tables, which seems to add a whole dimension to thinks. It states that if you stay at 140F for at least 9 minutes you are still going to be safe with ‘non-intact’ i.e ground meats. Is that correct? That would solve the issue immediately.

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One last thought. Prior to smoking I fan the links at room temperature for half an our but don’t dare to do it for too long as is eats away from my ‘4-hour to 140F’ window. Is this correct or am I overthinking this? Resting in the fridge they stay a tad softish.

Like I said, questions of someone who is really eager to learn but who seems to miss a little part of the puzzle.

Any suggestions, advice or remarks would be really appreciated.

Thanks a million!

Keep that up

Dikkie

 

[Oldskewl]

I smoke mine at 160F or 165F until I hit 152F. These are the instructions I always follow.

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

 

[dikkiedik]

I smoke mine at 160F or 165F until I hit 152F. These are the instructions I always follow.

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

I suppose that the times differ per batch and type of sausage, but wat is the ballpark time for you to hit internal 152F with these settings? The thing that I am confused about is people apparently hitting 152F internal in the 3 to 4 hour range, which I can't manage at all.

Thanks for the reply!

 

[Oldskewl]

Yes the size of the sausage and how much sausage is in the smoker will effect the time. The last batch of kielbasa I did, I smoked at 160F for 5.5 hours. casings were 32mm in diamaeter and smoked about 5-6 pounds

 

[dikkiedik]

Yes the size of the sausage and how much sausage is in the smoker will effect the time. The last batch of kielbasa I did, I smoked at 160F for 5.5 hours. casings were 32mm in diamaeter and smoked about 5-6 pounds

Thanks for the reference! I am firing up the pit this Monday and will see how it turns out if I try and keep her at 160F. I am also prepping a small DIY sous vide bath to see how it works out if I finish a few in warm water. It will be good to compare them.

 

[betarhoalphadelta]

EDIT: I just bumped into the concept of pasteurization tables, which seems to add a whole dimension to thinks. It states that if you stay at 140F for at least 9 minutes you are still going to be safe with ‘non-intact’ i.e ground meats. Is that correct? That would solve the issue immediately.

Yes, that is correct. That's one way that sous vide enthusiasts can cook meats that you "shouldn't" serve med-rare and make them safe.

The whole idea of cooking certain things "to 160 degrees" is because that is the temp at which pathogens are killed basically instantly. But lower temps for longer duration works as well.

 

[beren]

Thanks for the reference! I am firing up the pit this Monday and will see how it turns out if I try and keep her at 160F. I am also prepping a small DIY sous vide bath to see how it works out if I finish a few in warm water. It will be good to compare them.

No. Sous vide them first then chill to fridge temps then smoke to whatever you want. If you sous vide after you’ll lose smoke flavor.

 

[beren]

How was it btw?