Sausage Curing

[timberbeast7]

I've been reading up on making smoked sausages and I see that all recipes call for hanging the sausages (pre-smoking) until dry, or for 1-2 hours, or refrigerate overnight.  Is this so the cure has time to react with the meat? I understand you want the cases to be dry before smoking.  What is the purpose for hanging/refrigerating before smoking (other than to dry the cases)?

[Kevin A]

Two reasons I can think of: drying time (to allow better smoke adhesion in the smoker), and to give the cure a thorough 'head-start' for good cure distribution.

Kevin

[watchdog56]

What Kevin said.

[Sailor]

I've been reading up on making smoked sausages and I see that all recipes call for hanging the sausages (pre-smoking) until dry, or for 1-2 hours, or refrigerate overnight.  Is this so the cure has time to react with the meat? I understand you want the cases to be dry before smoking.  What is the purpose for hanging/refrigerating before smoking (other than to dry the cases)?

Just making sure that you are not confused when you say dry for 1-2 hrs OR refrigerate overnight.  Drying and refrigerating have nothing to do with each other.  Smoke does not stick very well to wet casings.  Drying in the smoker prepares the casing to receive smoke.

Some recipes call for refrigerating over night and up to several days.  This is to let the spices do there work or to ferment depending on the sausage.  Refrigerating does nothing for the cure.  When you use cure #1 you can stuff and smoke and the cure will do its thing.  Many will stuff and refrigerate because we ran out of time to do the smoke.  Many will mix and refrigerate overnight because they don't have the time to stuff.  Many will refrigerate to let the spices marry up. 

Normally I will mix, stuff and smoke.  This is true for my snack stix and Kielbasa.  When I do ground beef jerky I will mix up and then let it rest in the fridge overnight.  I want a firmer mix when I shoot the jerky onto the trays.

Bottom line is .....nothing wrong with stuffing and then smoking as long as you allow time to let the casings dry.  Nothing wrong with stuffing and putting in the fridge.  Nothing wrong with mixing and putting in the fridge to stuff the next day except that you may have to add more water to the mix because it has firmed up.

That's my story and I'm sticking to it  ;D

[NePaSmoKer]

I've been reading up on making smoked sausages and I see that all recipes call for hanging the sausages (pre-smoking) until dry, or for 1-2 hours, or refrigerate overnight.  Is this so the cure has time to react with the meat? I understand you want the cases to be dry before smoking.  What is the purpose for hanging/refrigerating before smoking (other than to dry the cases)?

Hanging is just a term in books. It dont matter if you hang or rack the sausage will still come out the same. I prefer to hang it just looks good. Others rack and its whatever you like.

Putting the sausage in the fridge is also your preference. Cure 1 needs to actual start time, Its works fast. Notice the color of the mix before and after mixing.

Drying the casing is done for better smoke adhesion to the casing. However i have stuffed and right into the smoker with smoke with great results.

However you do it is up to you.