So you've mixed your meat with your Backwoods Seasonings and stuffed your casings, here is everything you need to start smoking your own sausages!
Drying the Sausage
You can achieve the drying by placing the sausage in your smokehouse with the damper open at about 140-150° for one hour
Top 5 Reasons for Drying Sausage:
- Drying the sausage brings all the sausages to about the same temperature for an even smoke color.
- Drying conditions the surface of the sausage to ready it to accept smoke
- Drying causes a "skin" to form on the outside surface of the sausage.
- Drying gives the collagen casing strength to hold up during cooking.
- Drying also attaches the casing to the sausage so as to avoid forming a fat layer between the sausage and the casing.
Smoking the Sausage
Smoking can be achieved by placing a pan of sawdust/chips in the smoker on the burner. The sawdust/chips must be soaked in water at least one hour. Soak in half the volume of water that you have sawdust/chips. (4 cups sawdust/2 cups water) Heat the smoker to approximately 170⁰ to ignite the sawdust/chips to achieve smoke. Close the damper to half open at this point.
Cooking the Sausage
As the sawdust/chips burn, the water will evaporate and a dry heat will set in. The dry smoke will set the smoke in the sausage. After most of the sawdust/chips have burned, remove the pan from the smoker and let the pan cool for 5-10 minutes. After this time, fill the pan half full of water and return to the burner. Close the damper and turn the temperature to approximately 180-190⁰, this will cause a high humidity to cook the sausage. High humidity will cook the sausage very quickly as well as tenderize the casings; especially natural casings. High humidity also helps to cook the sausage without drying it out too much. Cook sausage until the internal temperature of 165⁰ is reached.
Cooling After Smoking
Proper cooling is important for the safety of the product as well as the desired look of the finished product. Remove the sausage from the smoker and place in cold water to stop the cooking process. The cold water will start the sausage cooling and keep the casing tender. After cooling in the water bath place the sausage in the refrigerator. If the product will not be consumed within 2 weeks, properly wrap and put in the freezer.
A little time and patience can give excellent results.
Need More Information About Sausage Making?
Still deciding which Casings to use for your sausage? Download our handy chart on Choosing the Perfect Casing .
Need more information on Casings and why to use them? Learn more about Sausage Casings here.
Make Homemade Sausage Learn How to Make Your Own Sausage
Need help troubleshooting problems with Casings? View Troubleshooting Casings here.
FAQs
Heat wood pellet smoker to 225 degrees. Place sausages on the grill grates about an inch or so apart. Smoke for 2-3 hours or until the internal temperature reaches 165 degrees.
Should you poke holes in sausage before smoking? ›
When you leave the casings on your links, you might be quick to poke holes or score them before cooking to prevent an explosion — but all you're doing is damaging the sausage's structure, causing it to turn out dry.
How long to cook sausage at 200 degrees? ›
SAUSAGE HEATING INSTRUCTIONS
Maintain a cooking temperature of 200-250°F, and turn sausage several times to ensure even smoking. Heat the Fully Smoked sausage 30-45 minutes until 165°F. Smoke the Fresh (Raw) sausage for 1½ -2 hours until 165°F.
How long to smoke sausage at 140? ›
Stuff prepared sausage into 3-inch diameter fibrous casings. Smoke at 140 F for 1 hour, then at 160 F for one hour and then 180 F until internal temperature reaches 152 F (insert a food thermometer in the thickest part of the sausage to check internal temperature).
Do you flip sausage in a smoker? ›
We recommend flipping the sausages mid-way through cooking to ensure they are evenly cooked through, and that the smoke doesn't affect the flavors. Use a cooking thermometer to monitor the temperatures while smoking.
How do you smoke sausage without drying it out? ›
Close the damper and turn the temperature to approximately 180-190⁰, this will cause a high humidity to cook the sausage. High humidity will cook the sausage very quickly as well as tenderize the casings; especially natural casings. High humidity also helps to cook the sausage without drying it out too much.
Can you smoke sausage without curing salt? ›
Curing is Important
Salt curing can draw moisture from the sausages to prevent microbial growth during cold smoking. Besides imparting flavor to the food and enhancing its color, salt has the potential to kill deadly bacteria.
Do you use water when smoking sausage? ›
SMOKING THE SAUSAGE
The sawdust/chips must be soaked in water at least one hour. Soak in half the volume of water that you have sawdust/chips. (4 cups sawdust/2 cups water) Heat the smoker to approximately 170⁰ to ignite the sawdust/chips to achieve smoke. Close the damper to half open at this point.
Do you eat the casing on smoked sausage? ›
Sausage casings hold and shape the meat and spices inside to keep it all contained. Johnsonville casings come in natural and synthetic varieties, all of which are edible. Basically, decasing a sausage gives you access to the meaty goodness inside, allowing you to use the ground meat for other recipe ideas.
How to know when smoked sausage is done? ›
You need to closely monitor the sausage's internal temperature, aiming for 160°F (71°C). This makes it clear that smoking sausage is never a matter of how long you cook, but rather the internal temperature. You will also want to take note of the cooking time to help ensure you don't overcook it.
Use a meat thermometer to make sure your sausage is between 160 and 165 °F (71 and 74 °C). If you don't have a meat thermometer, check that the sausage is firm and has clear, runny juices. Cut it open and make sure the inside is brown, not pink.
Can you smoke summer sausage at 180 degrees? ›
Once all casings are filled let sausage sit at room temp while you get your smoker ready. You want to set your smoker to 180-220 degrees. I smoke my sausage till they hit 165 degrees.
Can you smoke sausage too long? ›
With the stronger flavored smoke generated by hickory and mesquite, I find I'm better off stopping the smoke after 3 hours. Too much smoke flavor is far worse than not enough. Over smoking will cause your sausage to taste acrid and bitter.
How long to smoke fully cooked sausage at 225? ›
Homemade sausage should be smoked at 225 degrees Fahrenheit for 1 to 2 hours, until the internal temperature reaches 155 degrees Fahrenheit.
What meat can you smoke in 2 hours? ›
Smoke Times & Temperatures Chart
| Type of Meat | Smoking Temp | Time to Complete * |
|---|
| Breakfast Sausage | 250°F | 2 hrs |
| Fatties | 250°F | 2 hrs |
| Meat Loaf | 250 -300°F | 3 hrs |
| Meatballs (2 inch) | 250°F | 1 hr |
18 more rowsForm into 2-inch diameter rolls and place in smoker at 225°F for 8-9 hours. Time may vary. Be sure to cook to the internal temp of 160°F before removing.
How long to smoke brats at 225? ›
However, for the best results, set it to around 225°F. Once your pellets are smoking, smoke your brats for about 1.5 to 2 hours, ensuring they absorb that epic wood-fired flavor (without drying out). Once your brats reach an internal temperature of 160°F you're good to serve them up.
How long to smoke hot dogs at 225? ›
Whatever type of smoker you are using needs to be set up to cook at 225-240 degrees for about an hour. If you using an electric, charcoal or gas smoker then I recommend keeping the smoke going the entire time.
