Online Workshop: Project B2 (October 2013)

[ursula]

It's 103 degrees out so I thought I'd finally post my day of Project B2 sausagemaking.
Firstly, here is my new mixer. It did a great job!



My first task was to do a batch of Italian in hog casings. That is something I do frequently so I did not photograph them.

Next I did some breakfast sausages in 22mm sheep casings. I was surprised at how easily I was able to stuff them without any breaks, although it was hard getting the casings over the tube. (The eyesight doesn't get better with age!)



Finally, the kabanosy. A first attempt with both this sausage and the collagen casings.

I didn't like the casings at all. It was hard, as you can see by the photos, to stuff them evenly (I really needed three hands), and I had a few tears.That's rips, not the wet stuff!
I was surprised that they were more fragile than the sheep casings. Also they tended to run away on me.

I minced the fat separately to the pork, but was not happy with the fat dispersal in the finished product. I am not a big fan of globs of fat - I prefer it to be less visible.





Then came the smoking.
My smoker temperature way overshot the set temperature, and even when set to 100, exceeded 200 before it switched down. As a result the sausages were greasy and dry.
On top of this I gave them a waterbath to cool them, and read later that you don't do that with collagen. A litany of mistakes.



It took awhile to motivate myself to have another go.
Ursula

[ursula]

So a few weeks later, when my memory had dimmed, I decided to give Kabanosy another try.
This time I changed a few things.
Because the fat was so unevenly dispersed the first time, I decided to grind the pork and
the fat together.

This resulted in a much finer texture. It probably doesn't really meet the brief of a true
Kabanosy by doing this, but I liked the look of it much better.



Last time I loaded too much collagen casing on my stuffer tube, and ended up throwing a
piece of it away, so I measured what I had filled in length and made a note of it. Of course
I could also have cut smaller pieces.

Then came the smoking. After drying at room temperature I put them in the hot smoker at a setting of about 90 degrees(the lowest setting), and watched the smoker like a hawk. I
decided to let it smoke for 1 1/2 hours,and if the temperature overrun was too great again,
I would pull it and finish in the oven.

Well, the temperature inside the smoker went way too high, and I tried to maintain smoking
by opening the door to cool it and then resume smoking when the temperature went down. Even so, it shot up at the 90 degree setting to over 200, and there was starting to form a grease trail down the Kabanosy.
I stuck it in the oven at about 200, and the IT was reached in just a few minutes.
Even so there was a pile of fat on the tray below.



However after blooming for a few days, it was really tasty, and it's all gone now!




What I have decided to do next time, is to give up on my hot smoker, and cold smoke it
instead, and finish it off in the oven.
Somewhere I read that you should stick it in the oven at 250 to finish it, but that would, I
suspect still result in a loss of fat. Has anyone found this?
It has been quite a learning curve.
Ursula

[el Ducko]

...similar thoughts on giving up on hot smoking. I do brisket smoking Texas-style in my propane-powered hot smoker, but that's entirely different. For a large hunk of meat, it works (melts out the fat & collagen), but you don't want to do that for sausages,

For sausages, I stick a hot plate in the smoker with a temperature controller sensing air temperature, and increase temperature only 2 or 3 degrees every 30 minutes or so. In the case of the kabanosy, after the desired amount of smoking, I finish it in the oven at 190°F = 88°C, which is about as low as it will go.

...glad that you tried again. Kabanosy is worth it! Now, about those baguettes...!!
Duk

[Shuswap]

First batch of CW`s beer brats. When eating the test patty DW said it is a keeper. This is the most complex recipe I have tried including using spices, etc not pre-mixed by a 3rd party.

I`m still trying to get the stuffing more uniform but am making progress with that.
I`m using the LEM 5 lb stuffer. I would like to toss the handle when returning the cap to the top so I can use my power drill but the boss at the end of the shaft is >1/2 inch. I do that with the stabilizers on the RV. When stuffing I would also like to replace the handle with a ratchet so I would be driving the meat through the tube only on the down stroke for better speed control of the meat entering the casing. Hopefully with more experience I will be able to forget that idea.

[Chuckwagon]

Wow! I am taken aback... Ursula wrote:

It has been quite a learning curve.

There's certainly nothing like experience. Your second batch looks sooooo much better. Don't stop now kid! Keep the temp low. In the oven, keep an eye peeled... these things are so narrow, they don't require much time at all.
Shuswap, your brats look incredible. I'm glad you like the recipe. Don't worry about the shape so much... a little experience will have them just perfect! Nice goin' pal.

Best Wishes,
Chuckwagon

[Cabonaia]

For sausages, I stick a hot plate in the smoker with a temperature controller sensing air temperature, and increase temperature only 2 or 3 degrees every 30 minutes or so.

Pato - what temp controller do you use? This is exactly what I want to do in my smoker.

Ursula - Nice looking results! I cold smoke the kabanosy using an A-maze-n smoker and then finish it in the oven exactly as El Ducko describes, starting with a cold oven. Once I heated them too high too fast, and they lost a lot of fat. They were still edible and got et, but were on the dry side. They are sensitive little things.

I've also wasted collagen casing the same way. Now, I keep the casing far back on the tube as I stuff, and if I run of meat, I cut a length of casing off the middle of the tube, clean the tube, then pull the clean casing off.

Cheers,
Jeff

[el Ducko]

Mine is a Control Products TC-9102D, which it seems like sold for around 60 bucks a year or so back. (It's gone up. Imagine that!) http://www.controlproductsonline.com/91 ... -l-en.html The single-relay model should do fine. "Some assembly required," but nothing exotic- - an outlet to plug your hot plate into, a power cord to supply the controller + hotplate. (I added some cool-looking toggle switches and lights, just in case NASA comes calling.)

I agree with the comment on the Amazin' smoke generator. Top notch results! Aptly named.
Duk

[ursula]

Thanks Jeff and Ducko for your tips.
I am going to a big Christmas party on Wednesday, so I thought I'd make some Polish smoked sausage and Kabanosy again and bring some nice goodies to the hosts.
So this morning I made a double batch of each (that's 2kg each, and try out the cold smoke/IT in oven at a lower temp idea.
They are just drying ready to smoke.
I am hopeful these will be my best efforts to date, so I've kept careful notes.I've increased the black pepper in both and upped the garlic too, which comes fresh from the garden.
Ursula

[Cabonaia]

Thanks El Ducko. I am seriously considering buying one. I'd like to use a hot plate to heat my smoker, while at the same time burning pellets in the A-maze-n.

Ursula - sounds like your party guests are in for a treat!

[Shuswap]

The controller Duk has is available on Amazon for $101 (list is $119)

[el Ducko]

Thanks El Ducko. I am seriously considering buying one. I'd like to use a hot plate to heat my smoker, while at the same time burning pellets in the A-maze-n.

My set-up exactly! (Great minds...???) I use an 1800 watt hot plate which, if electrical memory serves, draws 15 amps. This will blow your breaker unless you have a 20-amp circuit available, so you may want to use a smaller hotplate than mine.

[Thewitt]

1800w / 110v = 16.4a

[Cabonaia]

El Ducko you have inspired confidence. Ordered a controller and hot plate from Amazon a couple days ago. Now for the long and painful wait! I made sure the controller was rated for the hot plate.

[grasshopper]

My 2 cents! if you go with a 20 amp breaker. A person should be using 12-2 wire to the unit. That is code in most places. My extension cord I made with 12-2 and ground. I actually use it on my masterbuilt smoker, with no worries.

[el Ducko]

...excellent point about the 12-gauge wiring. Otherwise, the smoke occurs OUTSIDE the smoker! (Hint: You don't want this!)

Good luck, and stay safe.
Duk