Well, the andouille is stuffed. Working with hog casings for the first time was an experience with a learning curve. By about half way through I had figured out a couple things to get the casings to open up easier and go on the stuffer tube easier. Only had 2 blowouts and they both came from the same piece of casing so I'm blaming the blowouts on that pig! ;D
Thanks to NePaSmoker for his guidance. I have been bugging the heck out him for the last 2 days, especially today.
For my first time I am ok with the way these look although as you can see there are some wrinkles. Those were the first ones I stuffed as I was concerned about over stuffing.
(http://i497.photobucket.com/albums/rr340/lnjrudolph/006_zpsa55255a5.jpg)
Looks good Larry.
Off and running!
Nothing wrong with them
Looks good and you ask the right guy for advice!
So, what's your secret for getting the casings to open up easier?
Good job
Nuttin wrong with that stuffing job. As you get more practice it becomes like 2nd nature. You will be a pro in no time at all. Now we are waiting for the smokin pics and of course the $ shtos. Nice job Larry.
HECK YEAH
Them looks perfect.
(http://i868.photobucket.com/albums/ab242/nepas1/icons/sausage.gif)
Looks good Larry, I can almost taste the jambalaya now.
They look great Larry
Look good to me,bet the taste great too?
Looking good Larry!!
Loks great Larry!! I had some blow outs yesterday too. Soaked my hog casings for about six hours and not sure if that contributed or if I overstuffed.
Looks like Andouille to me :D. Let us know how it tastes. Like Keymaster I have found that soaking the casings too long can make them weaker and lead to blowouts but hog casings are usually pretty resilient and take a bit of rough handling.
The andouille is in the smoker. DigiQ w/ Power Raptor handling the temp control and doing an awesome job. Super simple and accurate. Already had one mishap. Sausage is hanging from the Bradley sausage hooks at the highest point in my tower. I had added slides for 4 additional racks so my highest point is about an inch and a half higher than the standard and I have the rack turned upside down for about another 1/2 inch of height. About 5 minutes after hanging I remembered I had failed to put a rack in the bottom to act as a safety net. Go out to put the safety rack in and OOPS! Too late. One of the tail end of the sausage had already slipped the knot we tied with string. ;D Retied, rehung, placed the safety rack and all is well again.
Pics to follow later.
Very well done my friend, I really don't know why you took so long to try it... but for what ever reason it sure looks like you did a wonderful job for your first time making andouille...atta boy...will be waiting for the final taste results...
Thanks to NepaSmoker and Tenpoint5 for all of their coaching today.
Here is the finished product.
(http://i497.photobucket.com/albums/rr340/lnjrudolph/001_zps872319e7.jpg)
Here is the money shot.
(http://i497.photobucket.com/albums/rr340/lnjrudolph/004_zpsd0360074.jpg)
And here is the taste test.
(http://i497.photobucket.com/albums/rr340/lnjrudolph/005_zps1615f604.jpg)
It definitely has the smoke and the heat I was looking for. One spice is a little strong so I will cut it back next time but all in all I am more than happy with it.
Thank you for everyone's encouragement along the way.
Very nice Larry
I see some good NOLA eats coming up.
Oh yeah that looks great
Awesome!!
Them sliced shots got me hankerin for some Andouille
Home Run Larry. We'll Stop through in May on our way to the KOA smokeout for some Jambalaya!
Lookin' Good, U R Hooked for sure now!!
Larry
I am having a hard time believing this is the first sausage that you have made. They look great. I have been watching your post for a long time but I never noticed that you had no sausage post. It looks like that is going to change. Nice job and we will be looking forward to some more.
KC
Nice Job Larry, I've never had or made Andouille. Is it more of a Sausage you put in Soups and stuff or is it good by itself just to snack on?
Nice job Larry! The Andouille looks awesome!!
Fry me up some of that and 2 eggs, please!
Hog Dang! Larry you just plumb out did yourself. The money shot is fantastic. I would hammer that in a heart beat.
Looks great for sure!
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Quote from: Keymaster on February 12, 2013, 03:57:09 AM
Nice Job Larry, I've never had or made Andouille. Is it more of a Sausage you put in Soups and stuff or is it good by itself just to snack on?
Traditionally it is used in things like gumbo, jambalaya, red beans and rice, etc. Now.....having said that, I have eaten a ton of it that was placed on the grill to heat up, sliced into chunks and eaten as a snack.
Thanks for the kind words everyone. I was nervous as a new Dad waiting for the baby to be born. I had made one attempt a couple of years ago that went straight from the smoker to the trashcan so yesterday I just kept thinking "please don't fat out, please don't fat out". ;D
So i closed my eyes and licked my screen hoping the Andouille god would let the goodness on my tongue.....Didnt happen :o
You did good Grasshopper ;D
You did Wayne Jacobs proud with that batch!
I'd hammer that!
Those look wonderful. Nice job
Great looking Andouille! I knew you could do it. Now you're hooked! I'll keep my promise and post some pics of my own efforts as soon as I figure out how!
Joe