Yeti GOBOX Collection

Sausage Basics

Jmnhunter

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Baxter, MN
finally got a grinder last year, stuffer this year, have a 30" propane smoker, recipes, I just need to get the casings and ingredients.

in some of the recipes I've read, it mentions to dry in a fridge for a day or so, but under the "advanced" section it also mentions to dry in a controlled climate with a certain humidity for a few days--is this necessary? I'll have a backup fridge soon as soon as we upgrade fridges in the house and kick the old one into the garage for beer and such...
 
re: "controlled climate with a certain humidity" I would say this is a goal to work towards, not necessary.

Allowing the casing's to dry, or form a pellicle to help retain more smoke is important - as well as letting the sausage cure overnight. Depending on your climate (at the time of sausage making) - using a fridge to accomplish this is just fine.

I wouldn't let the lack of a controlled climate w/ humidity stop you from trying a batch of sausage.
 
some sausage recipes add lactic acid (a lot of commercial mixes too) and they need time to kickstart some funk flavor so you'll see that too.

As HSi said it's mostly about the pellicle. I would also let the sausage at room temp while your smoker heats up for more even cooking.
 
There are different goals involved there. Drying for a day or so in the refrigerator is to get the surface fully dry and form a pellicle, which improves the penetration of smoke. If the surface of your sausage is wet, the smoke dissolves into the surface water, forming a nasty version of liquid smoke. The controlled temperature and humidity is generally for fermented and/or dried sausages like salami or some summer sausages. These generally call for Cure #2 rather than Cure #1, and usually include a starter culture. If your sausage recipe includes Cure #1, you should be okay with a refrigerator. You may need more elaborate equipment for fermented sausages. It is a bit counterintuitive, but dry sausages need higher humidity, otherwise they form a "rind" on the outside and no moisture can escape from the center. So the full setup for salami and such includes a controller for temperature and humidity that can be fitted to an old refrigerator, a small heat element and a humidifier/dehumidifier, depending on your ambient conditions. The difference between fermented sausage and toxic goo is control of conditions. You can make hundreds of different sausages without ever worrying about fermentation.
 
Ollin Magnetic Digiscoping Systems

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