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[Free Mr. Tony]

With celery, rice and shrimp I guess it could have gone that way.  Another dish I have had but not made, not sure what seasonings go in it.  I am more of a Gumbo guy!

Gumbo is amazing too. I love just about all creole/new orleans dishes. Still can't come to terms with raw oysters though. I make jambalaya stuffed peppers out of an old Ray lampe book fairly regularly. They are always a hit, especially with my dad. I make them most years for Father's Day. He usually forgets that he had them the year before, and I get the exact same compliments every year. I just go along with it.

[Bentley]

Big Atta Boy then!  Most cant seem to handle okra, I love it.  Of course deep fried is best, but it works well in that gumbo with that filé!

[Ralphie]

Can somebody provide advice on smoking sausage?  I smoked sausage over the weekend but didn’t get the results I hoped for.
I had polish kielbasa and andouille. Both were store made from the meat counter and raw. My intent was to smoke them and then eat them immediately. The flavor, meat texture, and juiciness  were excellent, but the casing was very chewy.

Does anybody have a good method for smoking store-bought sausage so that it picks up enough smoke flavor but also has a casing texture that’s either crispy or otherwise does not get in the way with excessive chewiness?

[Bentley]

Need to know a few things.   When you smoke them, are you fully cooking them or taking them to a certain temperature like me?  Fats begin to melt and render between 130-140°F. Are you grilling them at the end?

[bregent]

Can somebody provide advice on smoking sausage?  I smoked sausage over the weekend but didn’t get the results I hoped for.
I had polish kielbasa and andouille. Both were store made from the meat counter and raw. My intent was to smoke them and then eat them immediately. The flavor, meat texture, and juiciness  were excellent, but the casing was very chewy.

Does anybody have a good method for smoking store-bought sausage so that it picks up enough smoke flavor but also has a casing texture that’s either crispy or otherwise does not get in the way with excessive chewiness?

A few questions:

Did you let them warm up slowly when smoking, or go directly from fridge to a hot smoker?
Did you shower them after smoking to cool them and tenderize the casings?

[Bar-B-Lew]

Can somebody provide advice on smoking sausage?  I smoked sausage over the weekend but didn’t get the results I hoped for.
I had polish kielbasa and andouille. Both were store made from the meat counter and raw. My intent was to smoke them and then eat them immediately. The flavor, meat texture, and juiciness  were excellent, but the casing was very chewy.

Does anybody have a good method for smoking store-bought sausage so that it picks up enough smoke flavor but also has a casing texture that’s either crispy or otherwise does not get in the way with excessive chewiness?

I smoke at 250° for an hour and you need to let them cool.  The skin has a snap and the juices will burn your mouth if you don't cool them off a bit.

[Ralphie]

I was winging it really. They may have been on the counter for 5-10 minutes so basically from fridge to pellet grill. I cooked them at 225 until the skin broke on one of them. I pretty much just eyeballed them for doneness.
Then I ate them right off the grill. It made me realize immediately that there has to be method to this and that I wasn’t doing it right.

[bregent]

I was winging it really. They may have been on the counter for 5-10 minutes so basically from fridge to pellet grill. I cooked them at 225 until the skin broke on one of them. I pretty much just eyeballed them for doneness.
Then I ate them right off the grill. It made me realize immediately that there has to be method to this and that I wasn’t doing it right.

That's kind of an in between temp - higher than sausage is typically smoked, but a bit lower than I usually cook them. It's possible that the fan airflow dried them out. Next time, use higher heat so they don't take as long, or separate the smoking and cooking steps. Smoked sausages are usually first smoked, cooled, packaged, then heated later. It's best to bring them up to temp slowly by starting the smoker as low as it will go and then gradually increasing till they reach your target IT. The recommended starting temp is usually 130, which is hard to achieve in a pellet grill, so just go as low as you can. Once the target IT is reached, remove them and give them a shower under cold water. That stops the cooking process and prevents the casing from shriveling, and also tenderizes them.

[Bar-B-Lew]

I have no problem with casing cracking or shriveling at 250° for about an hour on my Memphis for fresh sausage bought at the store or market.  I have not made any of my own yet to try with the same method.

[Ralphie]

Would a plunge into cold or ice water be sufficient or is there a technique in play with the "cold water shower"?

[bregent]

Would a plunge into cold or ice water be sufficient or is there a technique in play with the "cold water shower"?

I've heard of folks doing that, so it's probably fine. I use a garden hose and spray them till they are cool to the touch.

[Bentley]

So I tried my hand at what was called a Neapolitan sausage.  My twist on it is to add the roasted fennel, anise and star anise to get me to that "Italian" sausage flavor.  All I will say is I AM BACK BABY!

The key for me is 60/40 on the meat to fat and the fine grind of the small plates, then blend with Kitchen-aid at end!  This is sausage the way I use to remember making sausage.  Great texture and very nice taste.  No more mealy, horrible, lean sausage!  I made a very small batch, only 1lb.  I have to get some more pork fat before I can get to the 60/40%.  It was a picnic that was on sale for .99 cents and after trimming off fat and de-boning, I find myself about 150 grams shy of where I need to be on fat!

Really looking forward to getting it piped and making some sausage and peppers again!

[Bar-B-Lew]

So I tried my hand at what was called a Neapolitan sausage.  My twist on it is to add the roasted fennel, anise and star anise to get me to that "Italian" sausage flavor.  All I will say is I AM BACK BABY!

The key for me is 60/40 on the meat to fat and the fine grind of the small plates, then blend with Kitchen-aid at end!  This is sausage the way I use to remember making sausage.  Great texture and very nice taste.  No more mealy, horrible, lean sausage!  I made a very small batch, only 1lb.  I have to get some more pork fat before I can get to the 60/40%.  It was a picnic that was on sale for .99 cents and after trimming off fat and de-boning, I find myself about 150 grams shy of where I need to be on fat!

Really looking forward to getting it piped and making some sausage and peppers again!

I would like to see a view of this sausage sliced after it is cooked to see the texture and grind.

[Bentley]

Why certainly!  Oh, and I am gonna grill it, then put it in the sauce.  No more smoking fresh sausage!

[Bentley]

This is some of the best Sausage I have ever made Italian or not!