Should I use a water pan when smoking sausages ?

[Old Frenchie]

Should I be removing the water pan when "drying" sausages?

How about during the "smoking" stage ?

How about the "cooking" stage (after the active smoking is done)?

The water pan seems to work against the goal of "drying" out the sausages for the first hour.

Thanks,
Roger

[NePaSmoKer]

Should I be removing the water pan when "drying" sausages?

How about during the "smoking" stage ?

How about the "cooking" stage (after the active smoking is done)?

The water pan seems to work against the goal of "drying" out the sausages for the first hour.

Thanks,
Roger

All depends on how you like it. I use water pan when smoking sticks so the collagen casings dont get dry and brittle....but thats me.

[Tenpoint5]

I run a water pan all the time for the same reason as Nepas

[Old Frenchie]

Thanks Rick and Chris ...

I have been using the water pan all the time too but just got to thinking TOO MUCH!  ::)

Wanted to make sure I wasn't causing a problem with the drying phase.

Thanks again,
Roger

[Tenpoint5]

I look at it as your drying the sausage. Not so much the cabinet but the sweat off the sausage as it comes up to temp inside the cabinet. If that makes sense

[rajzer]

My preferred way of drying the sausage is to let it hang in a cool place overnight, and I do that all the time in my garage, but in the winter time only.  I think that it also improves the flavour as the spices have an opportunity to marry each other.  In the summer, I hang it for about an hour or two at room temp. 18C.   And I do remove the water pan from the Bradley for the first hour when I dry the sausage without smoke, damper wide open, for one hour at 130F.  It's seems just reasonable that if you are trying to remove moisture from something, then you also want to remove sources of humidity as well.  Further to this, I often don't put water into the pan during the first hour of smoke if I want to apply a heavy smoke since the dumped pucks also continue to smoulder for quite a while.  I guess the best way to determine what is the best way is to experiment, takes notes and hone your personal methods.

[Tenpoint5]

My preferred way of drying the sausage is to let it hang in a cool place overnight, and I do that all the time in my garage, but in the winter time only.  I think that it also improves the flavour as the spices have an opportunity to marry each other.  In the summer, I hang it for about an hour or two at room temp. 18C.   And I do remove the water pan from the Bradley for the first hour when I dry the sausage without smoke, damper wide open, for one hour at 130F.  It's seems just reasonable that if you are trying to remove moisture from something, then you also want to remove sources of humidity as well.  Further to this, I often don't put water into the pan during the first hour of smoke if I want to apply a heavy smoke since the dumped pucks also continue to smoulder for quite a while.  I guess the best way to determine what is the best way is to experiment, takes notes and hone your personal methods.

Just to make a note this is not recommended, nor is it the way the Bradley Bisquettes are designed to work. By allowing the bisquettes to continue to burn after they have been ejected from the burner plate. They burn to complete ash and do not provide the optimum amount or quality of smoke that they should.

[Old Frenchie]

Thanks Rajzer and Chris ....

I appreciate the comments ...   ;)

Roger

[bundy]

I agree with 10 point, not to have the water pan in and letting the pucks burn, give a bad taste.