Going to smoke Mike's Kielbasa tomorrow.

[devo]

Made up ten lbs. of Mike's Kielbasa recipe from old recipe site.
Used 3lbs. of Elk 2lbs. of 90/10 Ground Beef & 5 lbs. of 90/10 Ground pork.
Changed up a few spices. Use 28-32MM hog casings, and this was the first time using natural casings. It was a big learning curve for sure. Had a couple of blow outs  :o  but like I said it was a learning experience.
More pics after the smoke out tomorrow.
There is actually 4 racks but only room in the pic for three.

[Mr Walleye]

They certainly look good Devo!  ;)

I'll be interested to hear how it turns out with the blend of meats you used. I'll bet it will be great. You might be a little on the lean side. Keep us posted.

Mike

[devo]

You might be a little on the lean side

Ya that was what I was thinking to but that's all my butcher had today for pork and ground beef. I would rather be lean than have to much fat.

[Mr Walleye]

You might be a little on the lean side

Ya that was what I was thinking to but that's all my butcher had today for pork and ground beef. I would rather be lean than have to much fat.

It's not like it will be bad Devo. I've made lots of sausage, some was just a little better than others. I'm sure it will be fine, plus you'll know for next time.

Mike

[Keymaster]

Last time I used natural casings I took the stuffing tube and ran water through it while pulling the casing on at the same time in the sink in a big bowl. It worked pretty slick ;D

[devo]

Thanks for the tip. I had sprayed the stuffer tube with Pam but I think I had pushed the casings back to far on the tube. After I moved the casings closer to the end of the tube things seemed to work better.

[Tenpoint5]

They look pretty good

[Kevin A]

Good looking sausages......lean or not!!  ;)

[OU812]

Thats gonna be gooood.

[devo]

Well they have been in the smoker for 5 BEERS now, should be ready for the hot water bath in about another 3 or 4 BEERS  ;D

[Kevin A]

Well they have been in the smoker for 5 BEERS now, should be ready for the hot water bath in about another 3 or 4 BEERS  ;D

And here I was thinking about getting a timer to keep an eye on things!

You learn so much on these forums!.... ;D

Results of a long smoke....

[devo]

Well I was going with the hot water bath but by the time I got back home the IT was almost where it should be so I went with the smoke and done in the smoker..... not my fault as a friend took me to the bar down the road.  ;D
I was very happy with the results.

[ghost9mm]

Dang !! devo that is some really good lookin kielbasa, you going vac pack it and freeze some of it ?

[devo]

I got to tell you that is the best dam kielbasa I ever tasted. It might be because I made it from scratch but because of all the help on this forum I think I got a winner. Maybe next time I will drop a few beers so I know what I did right  ;D but hey it turned out great. Thanks to all that helped. And yes I will seal some up for later.

[OU812]

That there bunch of Kielbasa looks GREAT!