Making 18" long summer sausage - is the drip tray really required?

[hvhunter]

Good morning to all. I am going to make a 20lb batch of summer sausage, which will fill ten 2x18" non edible casings.

I have always done 10lb batches, which made 5 sticks. Due to the length, these 5 were hung from a dowel in the center of the smoker, so they were centered with the deepest part of the V shaped drip tray.

With ten sticks spread out throughout the smoke box, I am concerned there won't be enough room to hang the sticks if they aren't centered; they will touch the drip pan on the sides.

Can I get away with removing the drip pan, as long as the bottom tray is full of water along with the water bowl? Or is 20lbs simply too much sausage to hang at one time?

Thanks in advance for the replies.

[NePaSmoKer]

Good morning to all. I am going to make a 20lb batch of summer sausage, which will fill ten 2x18" non edible casings.

I have always done 10lb batches, which made 5 sticks. Due to the length, these 5 were hung from a dowel in the center of the smoker, so they were centered with the deepest part of the V shaped drip tray.

With ten sticks spread out throughout the smoke box, I am concerned there won't be enough room to hang the sticks if they aren't centered; they will touch the drip pan on the sides.

Can I get away with removing the drip pan, as long as the bottom tray is full of water along with the water bowl? Or is 20lbs simply too much sausage to hang at one time?

Thanks in advance for the replies.

Removing the V tray will be fine, However 20 lbs in the Bradley is a load so your in for a long smoke time.

[hvhunter]

If my 10 lb batches were taking 15 hours, what can I expect for a 20 lb patch? Will it dry out a bit since it will take longer?
Do you recommend that I simply stick with a 10lb batch to be safe?

[rcger]

Nepas, I was always reluctant to remove the drip pan due to the possibility of fire.  Isn't that a concern?

Good morning to all. I am going to make a 20lb batch of summer sausage, which will fill ten 2x18" non edible casings.

I have always done 10lb batches, which made 5 sticks. Due to the length, these 5 were hung from a dowel in the center of the smoker, so they were centered with the deepest part of the V shaped drip tray.

With ten sticks spread out throughout the smoke box, I am concerned there won't be enough room to hang the sticks if they aren't centered; they will touch the drip pan on the sides.

Can I get away with removing the drip pan, as long as the bottom tray is full of water along with the water bowl? Or is 20lbs simply too much sausage to hang at one time?

Thanks in advance for the replies.

Removing the V tray will be fine, However 20 lbs in the Bradley is a load so your in for a long smoke time.

[Sailor]

The drip tray is designed to catch grease drippings and funnel them into the water bowl.  If one does not have the cabinet temp to hot and is not producing any fat out then there is not grease to worry about.  I have done many loads of long sausages with out the v tray.  I would recommend that if you do not use the tray to make sure the sausage is not touching the smoke generator hot plate and not touching the heating element.  The V tray should always be used but there are times that a guy has to do what a guy has to do.  :o

[NePaSmoKer]

Nepas, I was always reluctant to remove the drip pan due to the possibility of fire.  Isn't that a concern?

Good morning to all. I am going to make a 20lb batch of summer sausage, which will fill ten 2x18" non edible casings.

I have always done 10lb batches, which made 5 sticks. Due to the length, these 5 were hung from a dowel in the center of the smoker, so they were centered with the deepest part of the V shaped drip tray.

With ten sticks spread out throughout the smoke box, I am concerned there won't be enough room to hang the sticks if they aren't centered; they will touch the drip pan on the sides.

Can I get away with removing the drip pan, as long as the bottom tray is full of water along with the water bowl? Or is 20lbs simply too much sausage to hang at one time?

Thanks in advance for the replies.

Removing the V tray will be fine, However 20 lbs in the Bradley is a load so your in for a long smoke time.

Not as long as you watch the heat and dont have a fat out

[pensrock]

The problem I always have when trying to do such a large batch of sausage is too much moisture. I had this problem since day one, the moisture builds up and doesn't get out of the vent. I had it running down the sides and the door. My only solution was to cut back to ten pound loads, I still get a little condensation but not bad at all. I think a powered vent would make a big difference but then I'm not sure the 500 watt heat source would keep up. So I only use the Bradley for small batches and if I have a big batch I either do two loads or fire up my old homemade smoker where I can do up to fifty pounds at a time.

[KyNola]

With a length of 18 inches, would there not be a concern of the lower ends of the sausages overcooking, particularly the ones nearest the heating element?

[Sailor]

With a length of 18 inches, would there not be a concern of the lower ends of the sausages overcooking, particularly the ones nearest the heating element?

I make my snack sticks 37 inches long.  I hang on a bell bar that has wood extensions on the top rack.  By using the wood extenders to get the bar to the top of the cabinet I can drape the 37 inch stick over the bar and the 2 equal sides come down to just above the v tray.  Before I had installed the fan mod the bottom temp was about 20 degrees hotter than the top.  I did loads and loads of sticks this way and they always turned out fine.  Just have to remember not to ramp the temp up too fast.  The fan mod has solved the temp swing beautifully.

[pikeman_95]

I agree with sailor the more fans in a smoker the better. I have 4 in my large smoker. I still need to find some with motors that I can extend outside the smoker.

Kirby

[hvhunter]

Everyone that chimed in has a valid point.

I'm going to resort to a 10lb patch as before; just so I don't mess up 20lbs of venison.

Anyone have a link about the fans that I see in the posts? I don't recall coming across
a fan installation.

[smokeNcanuck]

hv,
check this out http://forum.bradleysmoker.com/index.php?topic=26793.0

should find what you are looking for.

sNc