I'm making summer sausage today. I've done it before, but I'm still learning and trying to perfect my process. I read lots of things about the "post smoking" process. Various things I've read:
- just hang it to air dry (per Ruhlmans book "Charcuterie"...although he was talking about the smaller link summer sausages)
- put it in an ice bath for anywhere from a few minutes or til the internal temp drops to some pre-determined level
- don't use an ice bath...just hose them down then let them air dry
I'm sure that if I keep reading I'll find even more variations on the process. I thought I'd ask y'all what you do. I have several hours before I have to do anything...they are still cold smoking right now.
My practice is to use an ice bath to bring the temp down below 100, then blot off excess water and let dry and bloom for a couple of hours.
They're going in the ice now. thx.
Summer sausage is a semi-dry product. Standard practice is to air cool not water cool.
I'll try that next time. :)
I too always use the ice water bath to "stop" the cooking process. I use the hot water bath to get it to my desired temp after the smoking process, then cold water bath to cool it down. It has always turned out great, and I will continue to do mine this way.