Thread: Sausage and Smoke Cooking

Hope you are sending some up north to certify for you..
You have my address..

Looks awesome Roy..
What a gift!

Cuda, you need another kid? Cuz, I’m available for adoption.

I want to be your neighbour. Even if I didn’t get to sample the Smokey goodness coming from your place, I would still be able to inhale it.

Originally Posted by MikeB52

Hope you are sending some up north to certify for you..
You have my address..

Looks awesome Roy..
What a gift!

Well there is a 'Less Common Name' for it---

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Back_bacon

First dry cure went decently well. Some adjustments are necessary. But not bad for my first attempt.

Looks Great!

OCD--

Are these air pockets in the final product??



If they are--I know it took a long time before I figured out that I wasn't getting all of the air out of ground meat when I put it in my stuffer.

While it rarely happens anymore it does raise it's ugly head on occasion.

Originally Posted by cudarunner

OCD--

Are these air pockets in the final product??



If they are--I know it took a long time before I figured out that I wasn't getting all of the air out of ground meat when I put it in my stuffer.

While it rarely happens anymore it does raise it's ugly head on occasion.

That's exactly what that is. Its one of the bugs that I need to work out. With dry sausage, this can be a big problem as it can lead to rot. My first reaction was that I didn't stuff the casings as tight as I need to have. Some of the others that have provided me with some info on how to do this better suggested otherwise. The information I've received about fixing it begins with lots of holes in the casing, compression, and ensuring the valve is opened frequently during stuffing. I've also seen others who do this with great success take portions of the meat mixture and slam it down on a counter top a few times to compress it before adding it to the stuffer. It seems that there isn't just one silver bullet to guard against air pockets. It seems to be a lot of little precautions that need to be taken throughout the process. So now that I know that the curing chamber I rigged will work its time to get started on the next batch and employ a few of these tips. I've also picked up a few books that might help. So I have some reading to do too. While this was curing, I got started on curing a couple Coppas. This weekend they will be added to the curing chamber for a LONG drying process. It'll probably take until June to dry them. So there's a lot of experimenting going on right now.

I saw this site posted in another forum I participate in. I have not tested any of the recipes but there may be a treasure trove of them if someone is 8nterested. There was one that I’m planning on trying at some point, Barese sausage. It was always a staple in Italian delis around here. Problem is, most of them have gone out of business and there is nowhere to get it anymore. I might have to give it a go myself.

Sausage Recipes and Formulations

Select family members will be getting some goodies that I’ve been making. I have a few dried sausages, cooked garlic sausage, bacon, smoked salmon, and preserves. It should make a nice bundle.