going to make Chaurice Hot Creole from habernero smoker....need help

[islandgirl]

So I am going to use Haberno Smoker's recipe for Chaurice sausage (with a bullwinkle twist).. TOMORROW !
I am planning on just using the oven for these .
Do I need to add cure?
What I.T. should I wait for?
Should I do the cold water bath after?

thanks for the help ..

[NePaSmoKer]

So I am going to use Haberno Smoker's recipe for Chaurice sausage (with a bullwinkle twist).. TOMORROW !
I am planning on just using the oven for these .
Do I need to add cure?
What I.T. should I wait for?
Should I do the cold water bath after?

thanks for the help ..

No cure if your going to house oven it.

[Habanero Smoker]

What is the "bullwinkle twist"?

As mentioned no cure is needed, and I prefer this sausage without a cure and unsmoked. I don't use a cold water bath when I oven roast my sausage. I use a oven temperature of 300°F and take them out when they hit 150°F, immediately remove them from pan and place on cooling racks. There may be a 3 - 4 degree rise in temperatures.

[3rensho]

What is the "bullwinkle twist"?

I'd guess some moose  ;D

[islandgirl]

thanks for the help and it is mr. moose

[islandgirl]

Hey HS
Could you tell me what size of plate you ground your sausage with..
I like the look of it. Did you add any cure in that, it is very red or is that from the spices ?
thanks

[Habanero Smoker]

What is the "bullwinkle twist"?

I'd guess some moose  ;D

Alright! Now I get it.

I use a KitchenAid grinder and the plate I used has a hole size about 3/8" - 1/4".

[islandgirl]

Great Flavour in this sausage ;D I love the taste
Perfect amount of heat/salt/ spices  for me!

My casings still turned out tough after following all the steps, so maybe just a tough batch or the previous freezing did that.
My sausage was Crumbly though.
I used 4.25 lbs of moose and 1.25 lbs of pork fat, so definately not short of fat.

Anyone know why they would be crumbly?

[Habanero Smoker]

I'm glade you like the flavor. You may be right about your casings.

Since the crumbly texture has happened to you in the past just a few questions:

Are you chilling your equipment, and meat prior to grinding, and making sure everything is cold during grinding?

Are you seeing any smearing at the grinder plate? That is a sign of a dull blade or sinew build up around the blade; that will cause fat to break down.

Are you mixing your sausage until it gets sticky, prior to stuffing?

[OU812]

Cooking to hot to fast will also cause the casings to be tough and the sausage to be dry and crumbly.

[islandgirl]

H. S.
I think you have a good point.. I may have not mixed enough prior to stuffing.
No sinew by the blade I ground my fat separately then added it to the meat when I ground the meat.
The temp on my oven experiment did get a little too high.. it was stalled at 130 and then next time I looked it was 160 and I had some fat leak out. thankfully I only did a few that way. The rest of them I froze raw.

I did buy myself that Weston grinder( meant to say stuffer) that was on sale at Cabelas so guess I am committed to figuring this out now!

[Keymaster]

H. S.
I think you have a good point.. I may have not mixed enough prior to stuffing.
No sinew by the blade I ground my fat separately then added it to the meat when I ground the meat.
The temp on my oven experiment did get a little too high.. it was stalled at 130 and then next time I looked it was 160 and I had some fat leak out. thankfully I only did a few that way. The rest of them I froze raw.

I did buy myself that Weston grinder that was on sale at Cabelas so guess I am committed to figuring this out now!

Congratulations on the Weston stuffer (i think thats what you meant) your gonna love it!! If you can put a round block in a round hole you'll have no problem. I'm so happy for you!!! I played the grinder/stuffer game and realized that was not the ticket  ;D

[Habanero Smoker]

Sometimes it takes a few attempts to dial everything in correctly. I've had my share of dry and crumbly sausage. You may have had a combination of things that happened. Depending on how much grease was on the sheet pan, as OU812 pointed out, your sausage may have fatted out. Roasting in the oven at 300°F works well, and the sausage cooks evenly, but from what you describe it does looks like they cooked too long and they could have fatted out. On the other hand, if you don't get a good primary bind right at the beginning then the meat will not stick together and the sausage will be crumbly.

[pikeman_95]

islandgirl
I looked at the pictures of your attempt to stuff with your grinder. My guess is that you have a grinder that has too much space between the auger and the grinder body. This is common with some sell expensive grinder. With out some rather close tolerances the auger is not able to push the meat into the grinder plate so that the blade can cut it off. The meat just recirculates until it is emulsified. It is even more difficult to stuff with a grinder like this. You will enjoy your new stuffer and should see some improvements. I do not know if you have followed the hot water bath system after a shorter and heavier smoke. You might be supprised with the outcome. Look at the picture of the sausage I made last week. It has no binder except the meat cure and it is not crumbly but very moist and tender.
Kirby