kielbasa

trout · April 05, 2004, 12:41:15 AM

I am planning on smoking some kielbasa this week. I am going to make a couple rings and then link the rest into polish sausage links. I will probably use hog casing, but has anyone made ring sausage out of collagen? Can you hang a collagen casing over a smoke stick, or will it tear and fall off of the stick?[?] If nobody has tried this, I will be the guinnepig and post my results.[;)]

Let your trout go and smoke a salmon instead.

Oldman · April 05, 2004, 06:40:24 AM

Trout,
After no longer being able to find sheep casings in the 28-30mm I just order collagen. I've read that you can hang it; just don't over stuff it as can split. So we are both kind of in the same boat.

I'm going to do mine this time in the Bradley. While the amount being smoked will be limited as compaired to the past I have high hopes that the Bradley will do just fine. I did test 5 store purchased kiebasa links and they came out just fine. (They were hog casing.)

I'm going to do mine @190 F. On the racks--two to the rack. Rotate every hour or so top to bottom. They will be covered both sides one layer of cotton T-shirt and the last hour with no T-shirt so they will color up a little more. I'm lucky that in my area the Bradley regains it cooking heat in about 5 mins after closing the door.

Please advise as to your plans for smoking. Will you be using the Bradley? Do you have a ole-family recipe for the meat? We bone our Boston butts. Single medium grind. Add our spices. Boil the bones in spices. Once cooled we add the broth to the sauage meat and then allow it 24 hours in the refrig before we stuff. If you like the next time we do this I will take pictures.

Today I did 4 racks of ribs, and two chickens. Smoke the ribs maybe 90 minutes. Then finished them off over a wood grill. Below is a picture of one of the chickens. The missing areas were taste test~~LOL! This had to be some of the most moist chicken I ever done~~Thank you Mr. Bradley.

Fuzzybear · April 06, 2004, 01:19:07 AM

That is one beautiful bird Olds....how'd you get the skin to turn out like that???

"A mans got to know his limitations"
Glendora, CA - USA!

Chez Bubba · April 06, 2004, 04:11:45 AM

If that tasted 1/2 as good as it looks, you've got a winner![:p]
Kirk

http://www.chezbubba.com
Ya think next time I check into a hotel & they ask "Smoking or Non?" they would mind?

Oldman · April 06, 2004, 10:21:51 AM

FuzzyBear,

Take another look and you can see where this bird has face down on the rack at one point during the smoking. I cook my birds 1/2 the time facing downward and then upward. I smoked these two birds wrapped in a single layer of a white cotton T-shirt. The last 45-60 minutes I remove the T-shirt.

See this thread for more information on how I do this:

http://www.bradleysmoker.com/forum/topic.asp?TOPIC_ID=218

Olds

Fuzzybear · April 06, 2004, 10:51:54 PM

Ahhhhhhhhhh...the infamous T-shirt phenomenom with a 1/2 twist/rotate!

Makes sense...thanks! I shall have to give the t-shirt thing a whirl!

"A mans got to know his limitations"
Glendora, CA - USA!

trout · April 07, 2004, 01:54:32 AM

Made kielbasa today. Don't have my 36mm collagen casings yet so I just used hog casings. Came out well although I will not hang as much on one smoke stick next time. Some sausages were a little too close together and didn't get that nice mohagany color in spots. Next time I may also just try to lay them out on the racks and space them well.[8)]

Let your trout go and smoke a salmon instead.

Bassman · April 07, 2004, 05:09:50 PM

Trout, using racks has worked really well for me.
http://img.villagephotos.com/p/2004-2/645127/DSCF0012.JPG

Jack

Cold Smoke · April 07, 2004, 11:10:46 PM

Bassman, those look GRREEAATT- like Tony the tiger would say. I hope one day to be able to put such a masterpiece together myself. These pictures give me hope.... and hunger! Any left? I'd be mopping those up like a python in a bunny cage![:D][;)]

Ever notice that there aren't many vegetarians on this forum?

Thanks for the pics.

Cold Smoke

Fuzzybear · April 07, 2004, 11:43:06 PM

Those look really good!

I'm thinking I must really like smoke by eyeballing the insides of some of these smokers - mines all dark brown inside - can hardly tell it's metal behind the color!!

Smoke/eat/smoke/eat what's left to do???

"A mans got to know his limitations"
Glendora, CA - USA!

Richard Pearce · April 08, 2004, 01:04:24 AM

Good! You're like me. I was beginning to wonder if I was the only one with a BS that was blacker on the inside than the outside!
btw do you think that we should clean off some of the inside or just let it get smokey?

Stouffville, Ontario, Canada.

Chez Bubba · April 08, 2004, 02:08:53 AM

I wipe mine with a paper towel. If it comes off, fine, but don't scrub. The way I see it, if you build up enough seasoning on the inside, one of these days you could probably smoke a batch without bisquettes![:D]

I know I've said it before, but one area ivery important to clean. The face of the smoker box & the magnetic doorseal. That lovely seasoning is a very effective glue and at some point it will permanently attach the doorseal to the face if you don't clean it.

Kirk

http://www.chezbubba.com
Ya think next time I check into a hotel & they ask "Smoking or Non?" they would mind?

whitetailfan · April 08, 2004, 05:21:21 AM

I agree with Bassman,
I was hell bent on setting up a smoke stick system, and ran all over trying to find some stainless rods I could use or I was going to try wood dowel. Well as it turned out I just used the racks and it did a fabulous job - no complaints at all[;)]

whitetailfan
"Nice Rack"
Lethbridge, AB

Bassman · April 08, 2004, 02:03:03 PM

Cold Smoke,
I have quite a bit left in the freezer.The smoker full you see on my last post was the first of 2 batches. each had 24 1pound rings.half of the goods went to a friend who bought half the meat.My thinking is if we're going to get the grinder & stuffer out and make a mess let's make it worth our while.It's nice to be able to go to the freezer and take a couple of rings out when folks are visiting,or when I get hungery for it.Goes great with cheese,crackers,potato chips, and of coarse a cold one!or two, or three......

Jack

Fuzzybear · April 08, 2004, 09:28:01 PM

When I'm done smoking, I always:
1) wait for it to cool down
2) wet sponge/cloth wipe down the door seal and where it sticks to the door.
3) soap/water/scrub the racks/bowl/drip pan and that "V" plate
4) wet sponge/cloth under the drip pan
5) wet sponge/cloth the Bradley Thermo part that juts out into the smoker
6) remove the generator and wipe down around the hole where it contacts the oven
7) remove the screw on the vent, remove the vent cap and clean that up as mine seems to accumulate all that sticky stuff from smoking making it stick to the oven
8) clean up anything that may have gotten on the bulb

All the rest, I've been leaving as is - I guess if it gets bad enough inside to where it starts to flake, I'll clean the walls and the door and then reseason at that time.

"A mans got to know his limitations"
Glendora, CA - USA!