Problem with Summer Sausage

[ragweed]

Made a batch of deer sausage and everything was going great until I poached them to finish.  Ground, seasoned and stuffed yesterday.  Today hung in 130 F smoker 1 hr, bumped to 150 F with 3 hrs pecan.  Finished in 164 F water in my turkey roaster until the temp just hit 160 F.  Then to an ice bath until the temp was 77 F.  Then hung in the refrig.  IT was 118 when I moved to the "poacher".  When I moved them to the ice bath I noticed the meat had shrunk away from the casings and there was a jelly-like liquid in the space.  About 1/16 inch.  Have done it this way lots and lots of times but never this problem.  Haven't sliced into them yet as I usually wait a day or two.  Did I have a fat out despite my temps being below 170?

[Tenpoint5]

I am going to guess that while in the fridge. The meat lost moisture thus leaving a small airspace between the meat and the casing. That space then filled in with the fats that normally sweat out during the cooking process. I am just guessing at this. I would also suggest pulling at an IT of 152-153 and putting it in the ice bath

[NePaSmoKer]

The jelly like is a fat-out.

[KyNola]

The jelly like is a fat-out.

Yep, at an IT of 160 the fat has melted and liquefied.  When it was chilled and cooled down, the liquefied fat congealed.

[ragweed]

Thanks for confirming my worst suspicion.  Somewhere I got the idea I needed to take them to 160.  Guess I've been lucky up to now as the last 6 batches were taken to 160 as well.  It's 152 from now on.  At least I still have a week to make another batch to be ready for our fishing trip.  Anybody want some de-fatted deer sausage?

[Tenpoint5]

Take it with you. I have yet to go on a fishing trip where beer was not involved. After one or two they wont know that you encountered a small technical difficulty

[Sailor]

Not sure if the 150 smoke temp has anything to do with the fat out.  Smoking meats is a fine art to keep things from fatting out.  With that said.....I find that I have good luck with drying the casings at 130 and then bumping 10 degrees to 140 to add the smoke.  The sausage IT is normally below 115 when I finish the smoking.  Personally I like to finish the chubs in the smoker bumping the temps 10 degrees every 2 hrs and never getting above 170 but that is my preference.  I have used the hot water bath but I am very careful not to let the water temp get above 160.  When poaching the IT will rise very fast and one has to watch it very close.  When the IT of a chub gets to the 149 to 150 area I am ready to pull them and plunge them in ice water.  A good indicator that you did a good job on a chub is look at the outer ring and if you see small flakes of fat next to the rind you done good.  Globs of fat between the rind and the casing means something went wrong. 

Your SS will still be good.  Just peel the casings off and stick the chub under some warm water and melt the fat off it.  Cut it up and give it to your hunting buddies.   ;D

[ragweed]

You're right, Chris.  After a few beers these guys won't know the difference.  Just me.

And thanks, Sailor for the tips.  Coincidently, this batch had the highest IT coming out of the smoker.  Usually 95 - 105.  I thought it was a plus with it at 118.  Less poaching time but it still took the usual 1 1/2 hrs to reach 160.  I'll be more careful next time.  IT = 152!!  water <160

I did cut off the casings and wash off the fat.  Tasted fine.  I'm the only one that noticed a difference.  My Grandson, who helped me make it, said it was great!

[pikeman_95]

I bet it is fine. I have found that the poaching process is the one that you just want to stay there and keep an eye on everything. I set a digital thermometer with the alarm set at 161. When I have made sausage with friends I have had problems keeping them attentive enough to not overrun the temp. I would think that most of the fat out took place on the outer surface. The flavor is probably fine.
KC

[RHOUSER]

I apologize in advance for not seeing why this is a bad idea.

Is there any reason why sausage could not be poached covered in the Bradley where the air temp (convection heat) can be controlled to +/- 1 degree with the pid and use the meat probe to watch the actual immersed sausage temp?   

If you preheated the water bath on the stove, and the Bradley was at temp, the ramp up would not be too long. I can't see where the electric costs would be too high if you used a preheat for the water bath.

Again, ignorance is bliss, so please realize I have no idea if this is really a dumb idea.
 

[KyNola]

As soon as you open the door to put the water in the pan and then the sausages into the water bath, the temp in the Bradley is going to drop like a rock.  The pid won't help the Bradley to recover temp quickly.  By poaching in a water bath on top of your stove or in an electric roasting pan you can maintain the temp of the water much easier.

[RHOUSER]

I knew there was a reason.  Thanks rch

[cobra6223]

Also to maintain the temp in your smoker one of the pros on here told me about putting a couple of fire bricks in the bottom of the smoker, the bricks hold the heat and help recovery time. Another tip I use is I start with hot water in the pan.