Polish Kielbasa...in a rush!

[NorCal Kid]

My mother-in-law celebrated her 80th birthday and so a party in her honor was thrown this past weekend. One of the requests I received was to bring enough kielbasa for 20...-the unfortunate part was I didnt get this request until a few days prior to the event.
So between work & other commitments, I gotta crank out some kielbasa. So due to time constraints I wound up taking fewer photos than usual of the process.

Got 10+ pounds of pork shoulder & prepped about half of it in the manner I did in a previous thread where I cut up small lean pieces & cured them overnight before grinding & mixing the balance. I used pretty much the same recipe I used last time, but added a bit more salt and garlic.
My previous kielbasa thread:
http://www.wedlinydomowe.pl/en/viewtopic.php?t=5100

I used larger casings this time (32mm last time) and went with the 38-42mm size.
Meats with spices & rest of the cure mixed & stuffed. You can see the cubes of the 'cured' pork within the sausages:


Decided to do a couple of hours of heavy smoke. I used apple wood this time instead of hickory.
I hung the kielbasa @115-120° for an hour to dry before applying the smoke.
Smoke just starting & the sun is starting to set...


I bumped up the temp to 130-140° over the next two hours with good smoke.
They look ready to pull...


NIGHT POACHER:
Next I dropped the load into my roaster full of 175° water. Held the temp at around 165-170°


Time for a break while waiting for the kielbasa's IT to hit the magic mark...


After ONLY about 25-30 minutes, IT hit 157° so I pulled the kielbasa, plunged them into an ice bath & hung 'em up to bloom for 90 minutes or so:


FINALLY: Ten pounds of smoked kielbasa ready for the weekend!
Of course we had to sample some beforehand...


-Kevin

...and for you discriminating fine-art aficionados, I present a "Kielbasa Still Life"...

[uwanna61]

Norcal
As my girl friend "Rachael Ray" would say, looks yummmoo!

[Chuckwagon]

Hey Kevin, when are you going to go "full time"? You're having way too much fun! I really like your smoker and can see evidence of some modifications. Nicely done. What kind of wood smoke are you using?

Best Wishes,
Chuckwagon

[NorCal Kid]

Hey Kevin, when are you going to go "full time"? You're having way too much fun! I really like your smoker and can see evidence of some modifications. Nicely done. What kind of wood smoke are you using?

Best Wishes,
Chuckwagon

CW, I've discovered it's not just FUN, but this stuff is addicting......

The smoker I used here was an 'Extra-Wide' propane smoker by Masterbuilt. It tends to run hot (200°+) so I'm still fiddling with it to get lower, steadier temps. I add 4 oak dowel racks to allow meat-hanging in place of the 5 shelves the unit came with. For smoke production, I use that metal box shown in the photo-the "A-maze-N smoker" which gives me 2+ hours of steady smoke. It takes either pellets or fine-ground wood dust. I used apple wood this time instead of hickory as I felt the hickory was a bit too overpowering in my last kielbasa batch.

-Kevin

[ssorllih]

On the gas orifice there is usually a 2 digit number. That is the drill size used to drill the hole. You can solder the hole and drill it with a smaller size drill to reduce the flame size. The drills are number drills instead of the usual fractional sizes.
You can get them here:http://www.mcmaster.com/#=drd11s They call them wire size drills.

[Chuckwagon]

You might also try using a heat diffuser if you're getting hot spots. For short periods, I've found that adding a drip-tray full of ice works well. It also adds moisture to the product. Ross has got the ideal solution but if you have one of the old time cast burners, you may have to braze it. No biggy if you're sure to heat "the work" then use an acid flux to clean it before attempting to braze-weld it.
Hey "dad"... try making some great semi-dry cured (cooked) pepperoni for your boys. They'll think you are a genius!

Best Wishes,
Chuckwagon