Can't get sausage right please help!

[Fair-chase]

 I've pretty well ruined 3 batches of venison summer sausage now. I've got to figure out my problem or give up on this sausage.
   All 3 batches have had the same problem. The temp seems to stall out and takes 12 - 14  hrs to reach 152. By this time the cases and sausage looks and taste like jerky.

The first 2 batches were made in a homemade wooden smoke house using a propane heat source and cast iron smoke box. I laid the blame on the smoke house and temp varations.

I bought a obs and built a pid to hold temps constant. I did a 12.5 lb. batch this time; tired of throwing away big batches of sausage.

Here is the procedure I used in the obs.

80% venison

20% boston butt

Mix seasonings and cure with ice cold water

Mix well into meat

soak hog casings in warm water hor 2 hrs.

flush with 1 cup water and stuff

9 pm  placed coils of sausage using inverted racks on th 2nd and 2rd racks from botom and 1 rack on the top.

set temp at 150 with vent wide open.

placed meat probes for et 73 in meat on top and bottom.

set smoker alarm at 153, and meat alarm at 152.

dried until casings appeared dry , 2 hrs

raised set point to 160

started 3 hrs of hickory smoke.

went to bed.

checked temp twice during night but never opened door.

woke at 6 am expecting sausage to be there , it wasn't.

raised set point to 170.

7:50 am bottom at 146, top at 136

10 am bottom 151 top 149

11 am bottom hits 153  top at 150

Pull bottom racks , move others down.

shock in ice water sausage looks like a prune and is hardly edible.

not wanting to ruin the rest of the sausage I pulled it and boiled for about 2 minutes. This brought the temps right up to 160 or so. I then shocked them. although not the best at least this is edible.

This batch in the obs turned out just like the ones done in my original smoke house.

Whats my problem???

I've checked all my temp probes in boiling ware, and they are all right.


Someone please help me!!

[NePaSmoKer]

After you mix all the dry ingrediants into the meat do you let it sit in the fridge for a couple of days? before stuffing into casings. I use sausage tang or dry powdered milk in my sausages.

Smoked Sausage Recipe

Ingredients:

7 lbs lean meat             
2 lbs. pork butt
1 lb. beef or pork fat
4 tablespoons salt
2 teaspoons curing salt
2 tablespoons paprika
2 tablespoons onion powder
2 tablespoons garlic powder
3 teaspoons white pepper, ground
2  teaspoons cardamom, ground or corriander
2 teaspoons mustard seed powder
2 teaspoons mace (opt)
1/2 cup corn syrup solids
1/4 cup powdered dextrose
1/2 cup ice water
1 cup flavor binder 86 or 2 cups non-fat-dry milk

Directions:
Grind meats and fat together 3 times through fine (1/8-inch) grinder plate..
Combine ground meat mixture with all remaining ingredients; mix/knead well.
Regrind seasoned meat mixture through fine plate (1/8") one additional time.
Stuff seasoned mixture into prepared fibrous casings or hog casings. (Opt before fridge)
Cure stuffed product overnight in refrigerator.
Next day, place product in smoker - open damper - hold  heat source at 130-140 degrees  for one hour - close damper - add smoke - increase heat source to 150-155 degrees for 1 hour - remove smoke - increase heat source to 170 degrees - hold until the internal temperature of sausage reaches 152 at which time sausage is fully cooked.   
Shower product 2 to 3 minutes with cold water.

nepas

[acords]

Nepas, that looks like a good recipe, I'll have to try it.

I do summer sausage the same way that I do snack sticks:

Stuff casings and let cure at least overnight.  Preheat smoker to 120 and let them dry for an hour or so.  Apply smoke for desired length of time (4 hours for me works well).  Take the temp up 10 degrees at a time until IT is 152.

When sausage IT temp reaches 120, turn up temp to 130.  and so on and so on.  I never take the temp of the smoker up past 160. If different shelves are reaching different temps, rotate.  I have also changed out the water to slow cooking. When 152 is reached, shock in cold water.  Aloha guy (sorry forgot name) posted a technique using steam inside the bradley to take product up to 152.  I am going to try it next time. 

[Fair-chase]

 I only grind once using a medium plate. Anytime I've tried to griend venison through a fine plate even 1 time it has turned the meat to pulp.

I didn't let the sausage mixture age in the frig.. I have not heard of this , and my recipe didn't call for it. But since my recipe didn't work maybe it's something I should try.

[Habanero Smoker]

I have never smoked that much sausage at one time. I generally only smoke about 6 to 8 pounds at one time, mostly closer to 6 pounds.

This is what I do.

Dry the sausage at 110-120°F, for 1 - 2 hours, or until casings are dry.

Increase heat to 140°F, and apply smoke. After smoke has been applied rotate racks top to bottom, front to back.

Increase heat to 170°, rotate rack about two more times during this cooking stage, and take sausage out when they reach 152°F. Shock in ice water, then air dry before packaging. The sausage come out alright, but I would like to get softer casings.

I don't use a probe until the final hour or two. I monitor the internal temperatures with an instant read thermometer, and if you want to monitor your sausage this way it is best to purchase a Thermopen. They cost around $90 plus tax/shipping, but it will give you a fast and accurate reading.

Also I only grind once, and use my KitchenAid to mix the sausage. I store in overnight in the refrigerator prior to stuffing, giving the cure and seasonings time to fully meld evenly.

[Fair-chase]

 Thanks for the imput maybe I'll be able to get this figured out.

The thermo pen is a neat Idea. Is there a reason I shouldn't use the ET73 since this is what I've got.

  My next batch will likely be 6 1/2 lbs. since I'm trying to get the process right. After the process is figured out it shouldn't matter if your doing 6 or 20 lbs if you can maintain temps. should it ?

[kiyotei]

I'm surprised you use an instant read thermometor.  I would think the repeated poking of holes in the sausage casing lets out the moisture from the sausages.  The key to any instant read is the "instant" part.  Many of the cheap ones take a long time to give a reading letting all the smoke and heat out.

[Smudge]

With those temperatures that you've studiously monitored and recorded, it's a bit puzzling as to why you're getting "jerky".

My instinct tells me it isn't a temperature problem, but rather an ingredient problem. I would continue using the same technique but substitute 100% pork fat in place of pork butt. Venison is incredibly lean and it probably exacerbates your problem if some leaner pieces of pork find their way into the grind.

IMO, you're right on target with the temps. I think recipes should specify pork fat only when dealing with venison sausages.   

[NePaSmoKer]

I only grind once using a medium plate. Anytime I've tried to griend venison through a fine plate even 1 time it has turned the meat to pulp.

I didn't let the sausage mixture age in the frig.. I have not heard of this , and my recipe didn't call for it. But since my recipe didn't work maybe it's something I should try.

Anytime you grind, mix or whatever, you are creating friction that causes your meat to get oily, stringy or clumpy. I have one of them neoprene sports wrap things with the freezer pack. I freeze it and wrap it around the neck of my grinder to keep the meat cold.....Ahhhhh no more heat from the friction.

Pretty neat ehhh dude  ;D

nepas

[Habanero Smoker]

Fair-chase
I just started using racks instead of hanging, and because I rotate my racks, having a probe in the sausage at the early stages makes it more difficult to do this. During the first two stages, drying and applying smoke, there is no need to monitor the internal temperatures. I wanted to try Kamanodental steaming method, but when I located my single burner hot plate it was to large to fit into the smoker. So I'm now looking for a smaller hot plate.

kiyotei;
I'm not poking holes all over the place, I'm not that compulsive :) At the temperatures I smoke at, I don't have to take any temperature readings until near the end. If you read my post again, you will see that I said if you use this method it is best to use the Thermapen. Again at the temperatures I smoke sausage at, why would I want to take the temperatures during the dry and smoking stages, there is no need to do that until I near the end of the cooking stage. Since I rotate the racks, an occasional additional 2-10 seconds (total) when I check the internal temperature of the sausage on the other 2-3 trays doesn't really make a difference. With only 6-8 pound of sausage in the BS, the temperature recovers quickly.

If you are not familiar with the Thermapen, here is a link.
http://www.thermoworks.com/products/thermapen/tpen_home.html

[kiyotei]

HS, I must be projecting my own compulsive tendencies.  I'll have to talk to my therapist about this ;D

[jaeger]

Hello Fair chase,
I would use a little more fat than pork butt. Try to get a hold of some 50% lean/fat.
I would let the sausage sit at room temp AFTER stuffing for a good hour to let the meat lose some of the chill and this will help dry the casings. I would try using a hotter box temp. What difference does it make if you are taking the sausage out at 155 degrees?
I like to lay the sausage out on racks with the BS. This gives you more control of the hot spots in the box and like Hab mentioned you have a pretty good idea how long this should take, so don't insert the temp pobe until you have rotated for the final time.
Because the BS is so well insulated, you have to use the heat and humidity to finish off the sausage links. If you don't use enough heat and humidity you are in for a long dry production.
I don't use a PID. Basically, once I am done smoking, I crank the heat with the damper just barely opened and finish it off with your type of cooling.
Next time, make and stuff the same size batch, but instead of smoking everything all at once only do half in the BS at a time.
You should be in and out in 5-6 hours max.
If you like to smoke for 3 hours, start cranking the heat before the 3 hour smoke time is up.
You just need to try something different and keep notes until you find what works for you!
Good luck!
Doug

[Consiglieri]

I have got to try some of these sausage recipes.  They look like challenging projects and sound delicious too.

I've helped making many types of Italian sausages (go figure) but smoker involvement is optional and only limited (apply heat smoke only to dry/tighten/lightly season casing).  Ive also done some Swiss stuff pronounced "lawn" jaeger, which is tasty but salty, applying smoke for the same purpose.  3Rensh... can probably share some good technique and/or recipes on this one.

I'd appreciate seeing some pictures from you guys, if you're willing to share the experiences.   Thanks in advance.

[Stickbowcrafter]

It's also extremely important to avoid "breaking" your sausage mixture. This will happen if you allow the mixture to get too warm while grinding/stuffing. I put any meat I plan to grin in the freezer for a little while and always place a container of ice under the bowl I'm grinding into. I also place my grinder head, plates, etc in the freezer for a few minutes before grinding. The most delicious ingredients will become dog food if your mixture breaks. Keep it cold!

Also, pick up the books "Great Sausage Recipes And Meat Curing" By Rytek Kutas and "Charcuterie" by  Michael Ruhlman and Brian Polcyn. Everything you need to succeed in sausage is in those books.

-Brian