Thread: Sausage and Smoke Cooking

Some chicken thigh and pork fat sausage with jalapenos, garlic, and onions.

I tried making the linguica like sausage again, this time I hand cut it. I have some air pockets I think I need to mix it and get it stickier before stuffing it into casings.

Looks great! How's the taste and texture?

Originally Posted by cudarunner

Looks great! How's the taste and texture?

I love the taste and texture, I wish it was a little drier. I left that one uncovered in the fridge to dry out some. The air pockets bug me though. Pork butts were on sale so I have been playing some.

Usually the air pockets are from the meat not being pressed together really tight in the stuffer. If you look at your sausage after stuffing and can see any air gaps just use a pin or needle to poke them to let the air escape.

I presume that you are using a prague cure in the mix for food safety (it also changes the color, taste and texture of the meat) so you could hang the sausage in a cold place overnight before putting it in the smoker to dry out a bit OR you could just hang it in the smoker to dry for a few hours.

Anyway, sounds like taste and texture is where you want it.

I too like to play when major ingredients are on sale.

Originally Posted by 32t

I have some stainless and it wouldn't be hard to drill a few holes...

What is the average diameter of a jalapeno pepper?

I wanted to do some outdoor smoking/cooking this weekend but did the cooking in the house to keep the heat in here!

Originally Posted by 32t

What is the average diameter of a jalapeno pepper?

I wanted to do some outdoor smoking/cooking this weekend but did the cooking in the house to keep the heat in here!

They vary a lot , I tend to get the smaller ones, when choosing at the market. If I made one of those holders I think I would use 1" holes. I am just going from memory, and guessing.

At least this weather is good for something, I am cold smoking this morning.

Plain old sharp cheddar from the grocery store.

A simple cured pork sausage, cure, salt, pepper, garlic, and a touch of sugar. I will poach or finish cooking in the oven after the smoking.

Ohhh that stuff is SO good, Charlie!

This sucks, we would have been cooking up some meat right now if not for this damn pandemic