Breakfast sausage -- first timer

[kfin]

I love both this forum and my bradley smoker! I have smoked several items in it and we love them all, now I am moving into the breakfst sausage, snack stick, summer sausage and bratwurst mode.  I have a couple of questions on breakfast sausage.

Some friends of mine make breakfast sausage every year in rolls that are about 2 foot long and it is awesome. Unfortunately it seems to be some family guarded secret. I have helped them stuff it after the ingredients are already mixed and hang it in the smoke house.

My questions are after it is mixed and stuffed, we hang it in the smoke house right then and they smoke it. It doesn't sit around to "dry", they light the charcoal right away to smoke it. If I am doing this in a bradley would I "cold smoke it"? How long would you smoke it for? And then just vacuum seal it / freeze it / thaw and cook for breakfast? I don't think they use a cure in it, would there have to be one in there?

Sorry for the lack of knowledge here but I want to try and make some of this over christmas break. I believe they just used ground cloves, pepper and something called Morton Crushed Topper Salt.

Thanks for any advice.

[Fuzzybear]

Good luck on that - I've used deer meat; pork and High Mountain spices for mine.

[marauder11]

If it is smoked i would put cure in it.

[NePaSmoKer]

Most of the time breakfast sausage is referred to as fresh sausage made into patties or small links. I'm sure that they had to use some sort of cure or Prague powder. Not too wise to smoke sausage without any cure.

It sounds like they were making more of a summer sausage or along those lines being 2 ft and using charcoal. This would not be a very good form of cold smoke.

If you want to make breakfast sausage and smoke it, use some cure #1 and put around 2 to 3 wood pucks for the smoke. Vac seal or freezer paper the patties or links.


nepas

[NePaSmoKer]

I love both this forum and my bradley smoker! I have smoked several items in it and we love them all, now I am moving into the breakfst sausage, snack stick, summer sausage and bratwurst mode.  I have a couple of questions on breakfast sausage.

Some friends of mine make breakfast sausage every year in rolls that are about 2 foot long and it is awesome. Unfortunately it seems to be some family guarded secret. I have helped them stuff it after the ingredients are already mixed and hang it in the smoke house.

My questions are after it is mixed and stuffed, we hang it in the smoke house right then and they smoke it. It doesn't sit around to "dry", they light the charcoal right away to smoke it. If I am doing this in a bradley would I "cold smoke it"? How long would you smoke it for? And then just vacuum seal it / freeze it / thaw and cook for breakfast? I don't think they use a cure in it, would there have to be one in there?

Sorry for the lack of knowledge here but I want to try and make some of this over christmas break. I believe they just used ground cloves, pepper and something called Morton Crushed Topper Salt.

Thanks for any advice.

pens just posted a recipe for breakfast sausage.  http://forum.bradleysmoker.com/index.php?topic=13223.msg154506;boardseen#new

[pensrock]

If its a big secret, maybe they will put the spices together for you and you can mix it into your own meat. They should be ok telling you how to smoke it.

[kfin]

Thanks for the responses. I will check with them and see if they used a cure in it. Smoke room is just a 10 x 10 cinder block room with hooks on the top to hang the meat. Half a barrell in the middle that just has enough charcoal to get the wood started to burn/smoke.
I'll report back tomorrow. :)

[kfin]

Is the "cure" just mixed in with the spices? Or is it done separately?