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13 replies

Brats in the CS

FM Former Member
Just removed 40 brats. Smoked with a mostly full box of hickory. Cooked at 200 for 2.5 hours. Had a "36" wood dowel cut in half, as per Stuart's suggestion, and hung the links on the rods, about 6 on a string.

Fabulous! No seasoning.Nothing but CS. Not shrunk nor shrivelled to the eye. Very dark brown from smoke. Nice, even coloring. Now there are only 38. Cool

So good that we're wondering whether to put them in fridge and reheat them on grill, or to just keep them warm in a covered pan for a few hours and serve them as is.

Your thoughts?

Regards, Mike
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FM Former Member
quote:
Originally posted by Michael Rochman:
[qb]Just removed 40 brats...So good that we're wondering whether to put them in fridge and reheat them on grill, or to just keep them warm in a covered pan for a few hours and serve them as is.

Your thoughts?

Regards, Mike[/qb]


Better yet, pack 'em in dry ice and FedEx 'em to Vermont Big Grin
FM Former Member
for no particular reason, I wouldn't put them in the fridge. think they might loose a little "smokiness" when the cool off there.

I'd wrap them tightly so they don't loose the smoke. And just keep them warm, they should be fine.

Throw some chips on the grill for a little new smoke when you warm them up.

Too bad we're not closer, they sound great.

And when are you gonna start taking Digital pics of your experiments?
FM Former Member
Thanks for the tips. Got em packed and foil wrapped tight in an overflowing half tray. No fridge. Shall reheat if necessary on the grill as advise.

Pics? You know my middle name is Lazy, but will start taking some and ul to you, cuz I don't have the inclination to learn how to use our website. Maybe we can pic these later today, and a brisket in the fridge when we heat some up. After that, you get fresh meat. Big Grin

Regards, Mike
FM Former Member
A gal I trade food with from Wisconsin sent me some Usingers fresh brats and garlic sausage and I thought I'd died and gone to heaven! Absolutely the best! Usingers is a really great brand.

I've made salmon sausage before, but we cooked and ate them right then. I want to go for fully cooked and smoked in the CS. It's quite easy and I'll post the recipe over on the recipe thread if you'd like. I am thinking of mixing in a little halibut, too. Scallops are killer mixed with the salmon.
FM Former Member
Hey Gang, I grew up in Milwaukee. Love Usinger Brats, my sister sends a gift pack every year for Christmas.

I tried smoking 5 brats (about 2#) in the Smokette in January, set at 225F with a handful (1-2 oz) of mesquite chips (in foil), for 1 hour, then finished on the grill.

Truthfully, they were overly smokey and a little bitter. Definately not my best effort.

Maybe a function of mesquite??

Any suggestions?
S stuartMember
AAHH,

I would think the overly smoky taste is from the mesquite wood. I personally think that for sausage the fruit woods are the best, even though hickory works well also.

One thing you might try if you really like mesquite, is to preburn the wood. Start the smoker without any food in it for about 20 minutes. With mesquite the smoke will start out pretty yellowish, once it turn white it is much better for smoking.
FM Former Member
Interesting phenomenon...the brats took on more smoke flavor after a few hours of being tightly packed together. So much so that we threw them away.

First mistake: using 10 oz of hickory when 2 oz might have done a superior job.

Second mistake: packing them tightly together and then wrapping them as tightly as possible.

Brisket, ribs and butts tend to be able to absorb more smoke gracefully than does chicken or sausage.

Regards, Mike
FM Former Member
Mike,

Did you taste them right out of the smoker, is that how you know they tasted bad?

That's interesting that took on more flavor from each other. Hadn't had that happen to me when I did them as I'd suggested (but I didn't do 40 at once, and didn't use as much wood as you).

I agree 10oz was too much and that beef and pork take well to smoke and all others are very very susceptible to oversmoke.

oh well, live -- smoke -- throwaway... Frowner and usually you can eat your mistakes.

Smokin'Okie
FM Former Member
quote:
Did you taste them right out of the smoker, is that how you know they tasted bad?


We tasted them right out of the smoker and they were fabulous.


quote:
That's interesting that took on more flavor from each other.


Upon unpacking after several hours, the smoke flavor was so predominant that we could not taste the brat flavor. It grew to be simply overpowering. Not sure whether that was from the packing together, or from way too much wood, or both.

quote:
I agree 10oz was too much and that beef and pork take well to smoke and all others are very very susceptible to oversmoke.


Used 2 wood boxes full of mesquite on 2 x 12lb briskets last week. They were not over smoked. Could have used a third box (I think). Chicken and sausage seem to be another matter in the CS.

Regards, Mike

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