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Gas grill boys

Tips for SMOKING SAUSAGE

Making and smoking sausage is a process that if followed in the correct steps will turn out great every
time. Before starting the process NEVER SMOKE SAUSAGE WITHOUT USING A CURE!

1. The only way to get a nice, brown smoked sausage whether home-made or store bought is to
make sure the links have been properly dried to touch before you begin applying the smoke.
The easiest way is just to let them dry at room temperature for a few hours prior to smoking. If
you choose to dry them in the smoker, just make sure the temperature is below 100 with the
damper open and the door ajar so the moisture can escape. If you aren’t able to control the
temperature in this manner, you should choose to let the sausages air dry. This is a very
important step because if the sausage is not dry to touch, the smoke will not permeate the
casing well and you will not get that Smokey flavor you want. For a lighter smoke, simmer
the links in a large pot of water (about 180) for 20-30 minutes or until the sausages have set
then finish in the smoker at 165-180 for 2-3 hours, especially if you are using a binder.

2. Once the sausage is dry it is time to begin the smoking process, unless you are going to
simmer the links till they set first. TEMPERATURE IS VERY IMPORTANT during the
smoking phase of sausage smoking, if you can get it right, you can produce some great
sausage. Load your smoker and keep the starting temperature between 160 and 165 MAX. If
your temperature is any higher the fat content will melt out of the casing.

3. Apply the smoke for about 3 hours. Too much smoke flavor is far worse than not enough.
Once you have attained the nice brown color you want (2-3 hours) stop the smoke and
continue to cook the sausage in the smoker until it reaches 152-155 degree internal
temperature. This could take several more hours. To shorten up the remaining cooking time it
is ok to increase the temperature 5-10 degrees to bring the meat up to 152-155 degrees.

4. Once the sausage has reached the correct internal temperature (152-155 degrees) it needs to be
cooled quickly and thoroughly or the casings will shrink and shrivel. The easiest way to cool
down the links is just to immerse them in a sink of cool or ice water as soon as possible. If for
some reason the casings still shrivel on you, plump them up again by reheating them in a pan
of hot water (160-170 degrees)

5. The sausage should now be nice and plump and will have taken on a nice brown color. To
assure an even deeper and more uniform color you now need to “BLOOM” your sausage
links. Blooming is nothing more than letting them dry and “age” at room temperature for at
least 2-3 hours before packaging and refrigerating

MORTEN TENDERQUICK CURE

U.S. Measurements
Amount of ground Meat/Fat Amount of Cure
allow to cure for 8-12 hours (replaces regular salt in recipe)

Vol. Wt.
1 lb. 1.5 tsp .23 oz.
5 lbs. 7.5 tsp 1.15 oz.
10 lbs. 1/4 C + 1 Tbsp 2.30 oz.
15 lbs. 1/4C + 3.5 Tbsp 3.45 oz.
25 lbs. 3/4 C + 1.5 tsp 5.55 oz.

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