Italian Sausage Question Now With Pictures

[Rainmaker]

I plan to cook some Italian Sausage tomorrow that I picked up at Costco.  I will be following the recipe from the Time Tested and Proven recipe site (http://www.susanminor.org/forums/showthread.php?551-Quick-Easy-Smoked-Sausage).

The recipe says two hours.  Will the sausage come out browned or should I leave some time to brown in a fry pan just before serving?

[Habanero Smoker]

I haven't made this recipe, but I have often roasted sausage in the oven and they come out evenly browned. Though in the oven I use a higher temperature, I think that if they are fully cooked in the smoker they should have an overall brown color. I would also use an instant read themometer to check the final internal temperature.

[Rainmaker]

I have a dual probe Auber.  I think the recipe says I should aim for an IT of 152 to 160.

[beefmann]

id just  smoke the sausage and they  will come out brown

[Habanero Smoker]

I have a dual probe Auber.  I think the recipe says I should aim for an IT of 152 to 160.

Yes! That is the target temperatures you want to get to.

[ArnieM]

The target temp sounds good.  I'd go for 150-155.  Any nasty things in there should be dead at 138-139.  Anything higher than 160 and it gets dried out.

[Rainmaker]

Finished up smoking/cooking my suasages.  While I have been really plesed with everything else that has come out of the OBS, I think I like my sausages better when done on the grill.  I didn't detect a lot of smoke - maybe it was hidden under the spices.  Anyhow, here are some pictures:

Italian sausages

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Top Tomato Basil, bottom Jamaican rum

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[Rainmaker]

Pictures didn't seem to appear the first time

Italian


Top - Tomato and Basil  Bottom - Jamaican Rum

[ArnieM]

This is just my opinion.  I do fresh sausage on the grill, in a fry pan or in the oven.  I don't think the smoke adds much of anything due to the casing.  I like to get them golden brown.  IT for pork about 155, beef, veal or lamb to about 135-140.  Chicken, maybe 165.  My goal is to get them golden, not blackened and cooked through.

If you really want to smoke them, do it quick to get through the 'danger' zone and then transfer to a grill to finish them.  Fresh sausage doesn't have a cure.  Get them out of the 40-140 degree range quick.

[Habanero Smoker]

I may have to try this recipe out; by cooking half a batch fully in the smoker, and transfer half a batch to the grill after the smoke has been applied. It looks like they did not cook evenly, so when I do my test run I will rotate half way through the cooking cycle.

As the two internal meat temperature guidelines indicate in the recipe, with ground meat I would not go below 152°F for beef; pork or lamb. Chicken I will go to 160°. But that recipe also includes the USDA recommended temperature.

Other than lack of smoke flavor how was the texture? What was your final internal temperature? What flavor wood did you use? What was your cabinet temperature during cooking, and was it at you set cabinet temperature most of the cooking time?

[Rainmaker]

I vacuum packed most of the sausages last night but left a few out and tried one this morning in my omelet.  I could definitely taste more smoke this morning.  Actually, this was the flavour I was looking for.  I had done the sausage mainly to add to soups that I will be making over the winter so maybe this experiment will turn out alright after all.  I would say the texture is a bit drier than I can get on the grill, but that doesn't matter when it is part of a soup.

Overall timing was 2 hours (as indicated in the recipe).  I used Alder to smoke with.  After one hour I rotated the top two racks (top to bottom and back to front).  I did not turn the sausages over after one hour and noticed they browned more on the bottom than on the top.  I had the cabinet temp set for 250 but most of the time it was around 200.

[Habanero Smoker]

Thanks for the feed back. When I get around to trying this recipe, I'll use hickory or pecan.