Thought I would share my first smoking attempt at sausage. up until now all mine have been fresh.
I think these turned out well. I used the cabelas spicy andoille pack
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That looks great, vesteroid. Andouille is absolutely my favorite sausage. I definitely will make some in my AQ when it gets here. I grew up in South Louisiana, and I've tried a lot of Andouillie (note that sometimes we spell it that way, with the extra i toward the end). One of my favorites is Martin's Andouillie. If I can make one with that kind of texture and flavor, I'll be happy.
Now you need to make some red beans, jambalaya, gumbo, or some pizza to properly use that andouille sausage.
Now you need to make some red beans, jambalaya, gumbo, or some pizza to properly use that andouille sausage.
looks really nice. was this a cold smoke or hot smoke?
Wait until Tom comes on here and sees those. He will be drooling on the keyboard!!!
Like Ribdog says,we do crave andouille.Martin's has a good one.
Each trip to LA we go to LaPlace and load up with Jacob's and Bailey's.
In Ribdog's cooking classes we like to use it in Gumbo Ya Ya,as an opening course.
At the couple cookoffs we consider home,we also make large kettles of Red beans,andouille ,tasso and pickled pork ,white rice on the side for all the teams on Friday.
Ribdog compliments it with a great french bread and imported butter.
We usally have a cooler of Abita,although one cookoff has an open beer tap[Bud] for the cooks.
We have also served this one by Chef John Folse
5 pounds pork butt
1/2 pound pork fat
1/2 cup chopped garlic
1/4 cup cracked black pepper
2 tablespoons cayenne pepper
1 tablespoon dry thyme
4 tablespoons salt
6 feet beef middle casing (see butcher or specialty shop)
Cube pork butt into one and a half inch cubes. Using a meat grinder with four one quarter inch holes in the grinding plate, grind pork and pork fat. If you do not have a grinding plate this size, I suggest hand cutting pork butt into one quarter inch square pieces.
Place ground pork in large mixing bowl and blend in all remaining ingredients. Once well blended, stuff meat into casings in one foot links, using the sausage attachment on your meat grinder. Tie both ends of the sausage securely using a heavy gauge twine.
In your homestyle smoker, smoke andouille at 175-200°F for approximately four to five hours using pecan or hickory wood. The andouille may then be frozen and used for seasoning gumbos, white or red beans, pastas or grilling as an hors d'oeuvre.
Recipe by:
Chef John Folse
Each trip to LA we go to LaPlace and load up with Jacob's and Bailey's.
In Ribdog's cooking classes we like to use it in Gumbo Ya Ya,as an opening course.
At the couple cookoffs we consider home,we also make large kettles of Red beans,andouille ,tasso and pickled pork ,white rice on the side for all the teams on Friday.
Ribdog compliments it with a great french bread and imported butter.
We usally have a cooler of Abita,although one cookoff has an open beer tap[Bud] for the cooks.
We have also served this one by Chef John Folse
5 pounds pork butt
1/2 pound pork fat
1/2 cup chopped garlic
1/4 cup cracked black pepper
2 tablespoons cayenne pepper
1 tablespoon dry thyme
4 tablespoons salt
6 feet beef middle casing (see butcher or specialty shop)
Cube pork butt into one and a half inch cubes. Using a meat grinder with four one quarter inch holes in the grinding plate, grind pork and pork fat. If you do not have a grinding plate this size, I suggest hand cutting pork butt into one quarter inch square pieces.
Place ground pork in large mixing bowl and blend in all remaining ingredients. Once well blended, stuff meat into casings in one foot links, using the sausage attachment on your meat grinder. Tie both ends of the sausage securely using a heavy gauge twine.
In your homestyle smoker, smoke andouille at 175-200°F for approximately four to five hours using pecan or hickory wood. The andouille may then be frozen and used for seasoning gumbos, white or red beans, pastas or grilling as an hors d'oeuvre.
Recipe by:
Chef John Folse
what I did was
grind and put in fridge overnight (helped dry it and season the meat a bit)
set up fec to 140 ran it til I got the temp to about 120 then turned it off.
I put in the sausage for an hour with switch off (no heat)
then I turned her back on at 140 for an hour..
raised it to 150
then 160 where i left it till internal temp of 140 or so
then raised it to 180 and cooked till 152 internal.
I pulled it, rinsed it in my sink to bring down them and hung it to dry for a few hours...then I vac packed it and froze 10 lbs.
I smoked this all using cs hickory pellets.
grind and put in fridge overnight (helped dry it and season the meat a bit)
set up fec to 140 ran it til I got the temp to about 120 then turned it off.
I put in the sausage for an hour with switch off (no heat)
then I turned her back on at 140 for an hour..
raised it to 150
then 160 where i left it till internal temp of 140 or so
then raised it to 180 and cooked till 152 internal.
I pulled it, rinsed it in my sink to bring down them and hung it to dry for a few hours...then I vac packed it and froze 10 lbs.
I smoked this all using cs hickory pellets.
I like John Folse's recipe. I'm going to try it.
He says "Using a meat grinder with four one quarter inch holes in the grinding plate..." I've never seen a plate with only four holes only of 1/4 inch. Seems like grinding would take forever.
Did I misunderstand? I've got a plate for my #32 grinder that has 1/4 inch holes (6 mm), but it has a couple dozen holes in it. Does anyone know what sort of plate JF is referring to?
He says "Using a meat grinder with four one quarter inch holes in the grinding plate..." I've never seen a plate with only four holes only of 1/4 inch. Seems like grinding would take forever.
Did I misunderstand? I've got a plate for my #32 grinder that has 1/4 inch holes (6 mm), but it has a couple dozen holes in it. Does anyone know what sort of plate JF is referring to?
I buy the butts from my friend the meat mngr at a Winn-Dixie.I have him run it thru the 1/2 in plate,when he is finishing a grinding day.
He takes it right out of the 28* walkin,chunks and grinds cold.
He puts it in five lb bags for me and back in the 28* keeper.
That way,I just mix and go back in to season overnight.
Take him a finished butt and a little sauce to share with the guys in the dept.
Goes a long way.
We cook on the lower side for about 8 hrs on pecan pellets.Gives more color and the right smoke IMO.
He takes it right out of the 28* walkin,chunks and grinds cold.
He puts it in five lb bags for me and back in the 28* keeper.
That way,I just mix and go back in to season overnight.
Take him a finished butt and a little sauce to share with the guys in the dept.
Goes a long way.
We cook on the lower side for about 8 hrs on pecan pellets.Gives more color and the right smoke IMO.
I just got my grinder plates from Allied Kenco, one with 1/2 inch and the other with 3/8 inch holes. Plus I got casings, pink salt, etc.
I'm geared up for making some Andouille, but I may wait until the fall. The outside temps are around 100 right now. I don't think that's a problem for smoking them, but I might run into problems keeping the meat cold while I'm grinding it since I can't get my house cooler than the low '80s this time of year. I don't want the fat to smear.
Maybe if I chill my grinder in the freezer, partially freeze the meat and extra fat, and grind into a pan that is sitting on ice, it'll be alright. Has anyone tried something like this when your indoor temps are in the '80s? Or is it best to wait for cooler weather?
I'm geared up for making some Andouille, but I may wait until the fall. The outside temps are around 100 right now. I don't think that's a problem for smoking them, but I might run into problems keeping the meat cold while I'm grinding it since I can't get my house cooler than the low '80s this time of year. I don't want the fat to smear.
Maybe if I chill my grinder in the freezer, partially freeze the meat and extra fat, and grind into a pan that is sitting on ice, it'll be alright. Has anyone tried something like this when your indoor temps are in the '80s? Or is it best to wait for cooler weather?
Everything you talk about, plus mix crushed ice in with the meat as you grind it should make it possible. We used to make it in restaurant kitchens that were well over 100*.
Thanks Todd. That gives me greater confidence.
Seems like putting ice in the meat will add a lot of moisture to the meat.
Seems like putting ice in the meat will add a lot of moisture to the meat.
It never occurred to me that the moisture wasn't supposed to be there. The recipe we used called for the ice so in it went. I've also seen people do it on TV, but you may have to adjust your recipe accordingly.
I put water in my Andouille and other sausages. To me it helps blend the seasoning into the meat better. The water cooks away during smoking.
quote:Thanks Todd. That gives me greater confidence.
Seems like putting ice in the meat will add a lot of moisture to the meat.
Almost all commercial sausage recipes call for adding water. Why? Water helps disperse water-soluble proteins in the ground meat. Take a typical hamburger recipe - mix it as little as possible right? Sausage is a different deal. Adding water to ground sausage disperses the protein and the meat mixture gets "sticky". That's the texture you want for stuffing casings to displace air pockets and it's not the same without adding ice water.
For you naysayers please try it before offering different opinions!
David