Dry summer sausage edge

[watchdog56]

I have made a few batches now of venison summer sausage using pikeman's recipe and love the flavor.
My problem is I am making 9# batches using lean venison and ground pork butt. I use the 1 1/2 in mahogany casings.  The flavor comes out great but there is about a 1/8th inch rim around the sausage that seems dry. The middle is moist but the edge just seems a little dry. Here is what I do;

Feb 1 2013. Made venison summer sausage.Outside temp 5. Made 9 lbs using 6 lb venison
to 3 lb pork. Mixed ingredients with meat and let sit in frig overnight. Stuffed in the morning.Smoked for 2 hours using oak.
Preheated smoker to 150 then turned down to 130 for 1 hour then to 140 with the smoke rolling for 1 hour then to 150 for
1 hour then to 160 for 1 hour and then 170 until IT hit 152.  Had to take out after 11 hours and put in hot water then ice bath 
to finish. Temp only got to 140 in smoker after 11 hours. Took out and let air dry.Recipe was;
Soaked casing for 1/2 hour in warm water with 1 TBsp salt.
6 lbs venison
3 lbs pork
10 ounces of seasoning mix
10.2 grams of cure
1 1/2 tsp liquid smoke
1/3 cup water
1.00 ounces of minced garlic

Any ideas?

[NePaSmoKer]

Fibrous Casings

Problem: Casing splitting
Possible Cause:
1.)Over stuffing
2.)Too dry during entire cook cycle
3.)Burns or nicks
4.)Poor quality meat

Solutions:
1.)Measure stuffed circumference and make sure it matches the circumference recommended for casing.
2.)Casings should be dried until sweat is out, then smoked - If smoked and finished in higher humidity of at least 50%.
3.)Soak casings in 90 to 100 degree's F water for 20 minutes to 30 minutes. Make sure water gets inside the casing.
4.)Burns or nicks can be on the stuffing horn, clipper, stuffing table or racks in smokehouse.
5.)Meat with high loads of bacteria will gas and burst the casing during cooking.

Problem: Casing seperating from meat
Possible Cause:
1.)Casings are not being soaked properly.
2.)Very high humidity is present during the first cycle.
3.)Clip is slipping
4.)Under stuffing.
5.)Need protein coated casing

Solutions:
1.)Soak in 80 to 90 degree F water for 20 to 30 minutes, make sure water gets inside.
2.)Very high humidity and no drying in the first cycle can cause early casing release.
3.)Check Clip tightness on casings.
4.)Stuff casing to recommended stuffing circumference.
5.)For many semi-dry products it is recommended that a casing with an inside protein coat be used.

Problem: Muddy Color
Possible Cause:Humidity is too high during entire smoke cycle

Solution:
Smoke should be started when product is tacky to the touch. Product should be smoked at approximately 25 percent to 30 percent relative humidity, then finish product with at least 50 percent humidity.

Problem: Wrinkling
Possible Cause:
1.)Under stuffing
2.)Improper cooling
3.)Clip slipping

Solution:
1.)Measure stuffed circumference and make sure stuffed circumference matches that recommended to casing.
2.)Product is probably cooling to fast. Shower the product and then hold it at room temperature for 30 to 60 minutes before placing in cooler.
3.)Check to see if clips have moved up on casing during cooking.

Problem: Casing will not peel
Possible cause:
1.)Product is too dry during entire cook cycle
2.)Product is not showering or cooling properly
3.)Need easy-peel casing

Solution:
1.)Dry to set casing and smoke, then finish with at least 50 percent relative humidity.
2.)Ensure a showering step is being taken.
3.)A coating can be added to the inside of the casing to increase "peelability".

Problem: Product does not stuff in to the diameter from end to end
Possible cause:Not soaked porperly

Solution:
Soak in 80°F to 90°F water for 20 to 30 minutes, make sure water gets inside

Problem: Streaking
Possible Cause:Humidity is too high before and during smoking

Solution:
If product is not dry and moisture droplets are running down the product, the smoke will be washed off by the running droplets of water

Problem: Pear or water drop shape
Possible cause:
1.)Product is not soaking properly
2.)Under stuffing
3.)Clip is slipping
4.)Too much weight to hang

Solution:
1.)Soak in 80°F to 90°F water for 20 to 30 minutes, make sure water gets inside.
2.)Stuff casing to recommended stuffing circumference.
3.)Check tightness of clips.
4.)On larger diameter casings, very long casings may contain too much weight for the casing walls to withstand.

[mow_delon]

Nepas, you sure seem to have an answer for everything.  However, my bet here is that the water was very hot and the outside 1/8th inch ended up getting overcooked, thus being somewhat drier than the rest.  I have nothing to prove this, so I guess you will have to make some more to test this theory.

[NePaSmoKer]

Yeah

I dont know if he is doing the hot water thing, thats something i rarely do.

[pikeman_95]

Do you  have any pictures we could see? Do you know how hot the water was and did you make sure that it stayed around 160. My guess is it just dried the outer surface after 11 hours in the smoker. Is the texture of the edge kind of leathery? Of cough cough gag gag dry??LOL. I generally only give my sausages 2-3 hours of heavy smoke then into the hot water bath then it only takes 20-30 minutes to finish the sausage.

[watchdog56]

The temp for the hot water bath was only 160-170. I soaked the casings in warm water with some
salt added.
The casings are not splitting or seperating.

It might be from over stuffing?

[Mr Walleye]

I agree with Kirby's theory. I would think that the 11 hours in the smoker dried out the outer layer of the sausage. My method is very similar to Kirby's. Although I usually apply 3 hours of smoke then keep them in the smoker until I get the nice mahogany coloration I'm looking for. This is usually around 4 or 5 hours, then into the water bath at 160 degrees. I try to keep my water bath at exactly 160 give or take a couple degrees but I never let it get to 165 let alone 170. I usually bloom my sausage at least 2 hours and sometimes longer. It brings back the nice color after the water bath.

This picture is of a recent batch I did. The casings have been peeled off in the photo. You can see at the very outer edge there is a very thin skin that is formed. Certainly not dry by any means.




Mike

[Sailor]

If I read it right you said your cabinet temp never got above 140 for the entire 11 hrs.  I don't live up North in the 5 degree weather but to me it sounds like either your heating element is not working the way it should or the vent was closed or it was just too cold outside.  I would think that the cabinet temp after 11 hrs would have at least gotten up to 160??????  With that said.....I would think that 11 hrs in the smoker at 140 was sucking the moisture out the sausage and you were well on the way to making jerky.  Was the vent full open or closed? 

[watchdog56]

I have a PID and got the temp to 170 for three hours or so before pulling the sausage. I have no problem getting my cabinet temp up as I have added a second element.  The IT of the sausage only got to 140 after 11 hours so that is when I pulled it and finished in the water bath.