I found that leaving the door ajar during the entire smoking process, moisture wicked away and the sausage turned out perfect. The cooking time is extended by an hour or so but its well worth it.
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Doesnt your wood chunks ignite? I tried that once and caught it just in time. Flames were starting to roll out of the wood box.
No I haven't had a problem with flames.. I start with a low temperature of 125 until the enternal temp of the sausage reaches 90, I add the hickory chunks and increase the temp to 145 for two hrs, and increase to 150 for two hrs. By that time most of the wood is gome and I then increase to 175 until the enternal temp reaches 152. The wood never ignites at those temps.
Hmmmmm, it did in mine. It could be because I started with door open, then shut it for a while before second guessing myself and cracking it again. Maybe the heat had a chance to build up while the door was shut and then the sudden availability of fresh air was all it took to combust????
I'm doing 40# of venison trail bologna tomorrow.
I find leaving the door shut except for the first hour of drying works best
I find leaving the door shut except for the first hour of drying works best