The other day I posted that I was going to mix up and smoke a batch of country sausage on the MAK 1 Star for my birthday. Someone asked me to get some pics to post, so here they are!
And what the heck, I'll even give the recipe!
Country Sausage (fairly common around these parts) is a simple mild sausage seasoned primarily with Salt & Pepper. It can be made into patties and fried up, or with the addition of some Cure#1 it can be stuffed and smoked. I like a mix of red & black pepper, and when I stuff it into casings I also like to add a little whole mustard seeds.
What I really like about this sausage is that because the flavor is uncomplicated, when smoked, it allows the smoke to shine as a primary flavor ingredient.
Here's the basic recipe:
Country Sausage(for breakfast Patties)1 lb ground pork (or other meat if preferred)
1 tsp Salt
1/2 tsp Black pepper (or a mix of red pepper flakes & black pepper)
1 fl. oz water
Mix the seasonings with the water until salt is dissolved. Mix with the ground meat. Form into patties and fry as you would normally.
Smoked Country Sausage5 lbs ground pork (or other meat if preferred)
4 tsp Salt
1 tsp Cure #1 (6.25% Sodium Nitrite)
2 1/2 tsp Black Pepper (or 1 1/4 tsp each red Pepper Flakes & Black Pepper)
1 1/4 tsp Mustard Seeds (optional)
5 fl. oz Water
Mix the seasonings & curing salt with the water until salts are dissolved. Thoroughly mix with the ground meat. Stuff into casings and smoke as you normally would to an Internal temp of 150° - 154°.
Here are the natural hog casings soaking, and seasonings gathered and mixed with the water.
The sausage thoroughly mixed and stuffed.
I did a short cold-smoke for about an hour with some Cherry wood pellets (using the smoking wedgie - back right corner), then turned the MAK on and hot-smoked (cherry/oak mix) to an average internal temp of 152° (Smoke mode on the MAK). I always love the color difference of before & after the smoke!
As soon as it comes off the smoker it goes into a cold water bath for a quick cool down to around 100°-110°. This prevents any further fat loss, and keeps the sausages nice and plump! Then remove them from the water to finish cooling to room temperature
(this is really all the blooming that regular smoked sausages need). Once the sausages have cooled to room temp and bloomed (2 - 3 hours), they can be put in the fridge to finish cooling and allow the fat to congeal for good marbling.
YUM!
Thanks for looking!
Cliff
