Smoking Sausages?

Hey,Nick.

Log onto SausageMan up here in Melbourne.

When Charlie isn't makin' homebrew,he is usually doing sausage.

Thanks, Tom, I read all of Sausage Man's threads and they were very helpful.

Where'd Sausage Man go? He hasn't posted since he was going to Q-up that fresh ham from the wild hog last October? I'm curious as to how it turned out. Yours, too.

BTW, there was some discussion about grinders/stuffers. If anyone is interested, Krups now has two models which grind 2 1/2 and 5 pounds per minute. They come with all the accessories for sausage stuffing. I paid $99 for the smaller one at Amazon.com.

I am assuming Sausage Man spreads his sausage out on the racks in his Smokette. I'll have to some experimenting.

Maybe I can get some recipes together before Stuart finalizes his new recipe book.

Also, I am looking for comments about cures that use sodium nitrates. I personally try to avoid them due to the nitrosamines which are formed in cooking.

It just occurred to me, if Q-ing is an art, then sausage making is a science.

I've been making the things for thirty years and food safety is critical during the prep stages, especially with the uncured varieties.

When smoking sausage in the smokette try to air dry the sausage for two to three hours before smoking. If you skip this step they tend to get tough.

Nick...

I use TenderQuick when cold smoking or making jerky. I use 1 tablespoon per 5 pounds of meat...which is probably more than needed, but it can't hurt.

Every sausage that is sold, MUST have sodium nitrates according to the USDA. However, I have never used when making sausages and cooking them at temps above 150�.