Homemade Sausage Making

So, with my folk's 50th wedding anniversary coming up, I needed to have some smoked sausage on hand for the party. We're Polaks from Chicago, so the standard is set a bit high.

It's a 75% pork, 25% beef sausage with salt, pepper garlic, mustard seeds and cure #1 since I'm going to be smoking at low temps. After stuffing, I conditioned for a couple hours at room temp.


On to the smoker.


Nice smoke from the GMG Jim Bowie. I'm running Pit Boss comp blend 'cause they're really cheap when on clearance. I use a stack extension to help get the smoke out from under my porch. You should see the ceiling before I did this.


Here comes that color we all know and love. I crammed things a bit tight on the grill, so the smoke isn't as even as I'd like. Should have used a second shelf. Ah well.


And the delicious results chilling in an ice bath after poaching


So yep, turned out great. The ol' JB kept the smoke temps at 150° which made for a nice end result. I think the folks will be well pleased.

Super looking kiełbasa! And how come I wasn't invited to the party? After a few shots of wódka I'd be the loudest in singing STO LAT!

Thanks for that! The first time I did this recipe, it turned out great, this time exceeded even the first. Used 75/25 pork shoulder/chuck, last time I used brisket point for the beef. I continue to fine tune my technique, so it's nice to see improvement when I thought what I had before was great, haha.

Man, if I only had your address, you'd have got an invite.

My dad's b-day was last month, so we had a round of sto lat, he was happy, but I should have had the wódka out, then he would have been happier!

Looks great Sleebus! That's an interesting grill. Does the combustion fan in the firebox also circulate the air in the cooking area? Also can you control the amount of smoke?

Bob K wrote:Looks great Sleebus! That's an interesting grill. Does the combustion fan in the firebox also circulate the air in the cooking area? Also can you control the amount of smoke?

Yes, it does. Keeps the smoke moving through at a reasonable pace. I shot a video of it, will have to post that later. Smoke is mainly controlled by cooking temp; higher temps = less smoke. I've found that it puts down nice smoke at 150, which is as low as it goes. Two hours gives you a nice color and flavor. I've gone as long as 5 hours and the smoke profile is still pleasant. That's 10# on the grates there and it juuuuust barely wedges on the pit. I need to make a second shelf for a bit more room to avoid the crowding issues I had.