Washing Sausage

[slider]

Good morning to all...Can someone please tell me how to wash my sausage when I tak it out of the smoker and please explain why washing is done. Thank You !

[Fair-chase]

  Never heard of washing sausage before. Many including myself shock them by either spraying them down with cold water or by placing them in a container of ice water till the IT drops to under 100 deg. F.. This stops any farther cooking reducing shrinkage.

[slider]

I picked it up from one of Napas videos. Maybe your explaination was what he was refering to as washing...Thanks

[Rich_91360]

Place smoked sausage in an ice bath of water to cool down to 120 degrees.  This avoids shrinkage and stops the cooking process.  You can also just turn on a hose and "wash" them down.  That also is perfectly acceptable

[slider]

I put the batch that I made today in the ice water bath. I was really pleased . It was my first sausage in 30 years. I did get them a little to salty.

[Rich_91360]

A good practice is to cook a small piece of sausage meat prior to putting into the casings.  Good way to tell if seasonings are right.  Can always add more of anything, more difficult to reduce

[Habanero Smoker]

If your sausage is too salty, sometimes adding a little sugar, not too much, will help tame that salt taste.

[slider]

Thanks for the tips.