Smoking sausage

I have tried a few times with just so so results. I over smoked the heck out of the first few attempts. Wrinkly dry skin and tasted like an ashtray. Next time was a bit under done and I finished them off on a grill when I ate them. That is not a bad plan.

Never had them come out perfect like a few I've had before. At least practice is delicious.

My local butcher makes sausage links about the size of a brat. I smoke them about 2 hrs and cut them in bite size pieces. They are awesome rolled in Carolina mustard sauce. Doing about 20 lbs for the game tomorrow.

Smoked sausage is great. And lots of cured sausage is smoked.

And smoked sausage with eggs and some fried potatoes are what I eat! Not sure how the wild hog would be that you have, but I'm sure it's good eats smoked.

You will not be disappointed.

I smoke sausage in a smoke house. It is an old water tank that is about 8 feet in diameter. Any old structure that is pretty air tight will work.
I welded racks on the sides to put wood sticks across to hang sausage from. I have learned through the years to have a small fire so as not to spike the temp too high in the smoke house. I have a firebox about 14 inches in diameter that I put maybe 15 charcoal in and light. When I get ready to smoke I put a chunk or two of wood about the size of your fist then choke it at the top with a disc that I slide over and leave a little space for smoke to come out. Every hour I put another chunk of wood and a few charcoal briquets in the fire box and replace the disc on top to choke the fire.
I like to smoke for 4 hours and keep the temp below 90 degrees. When you are finished vacum seal and freeze.
That said, the wild hog is too lean to make good sausage. You might talk to a local butcher and see if he has any pork fat to mix with it. My butcher keeps pork fat and sells a lot to people who make deer sausage. If you can't find pork fat mix it 50/50 with pork that is not lean(fatty!)
Good luck! There is no right or wrong way to do it, just the way you like it is all that matters.
After you have seasoned it fry a piece of it and see if you like it before you stuff it in caseings.
Kevin

Post up some pics when you get it going..

I just use whatever I have. Lately it has been hickory or oak.

Is this sausage cured? Also - is this sausage you stuffed yourself or did you get it already made? Some sausage is already smoked or cured and smoked and you're just heating it up to eating temp. Other sausage is fresh and uncooked and needs to be taken to a safe temp before eating.

If your sausage is uncooked, whether or not it's cured can make a big difference in how you cook it. With cured sausage, you can cook at a lower temp for longer in order to get more of a smoke flavor. With uncured, it's best to cook at a higher heat so that it'll spend less time in the unsafe temp range.

After I stuff sausage, I'll hang it in my cooker and keep the temp at around 130 (maybe a little lower) until the casings dry out. I'll cook for a while at 150 and let 'em take on a little smoke, and then go to 180-200 to finish off once the sausage looks right to me (i.e. color). I let it get to at least 150, the throw 'em in an ice bath for 10 minutes to stop the cooking, then dunk quickly in boiling water to tighten up the skins if need be.

Like GTR said, it depends on what type of sausage you have. There types:

1) uncooked fresh sausage - you get this at the store or make yourself. Smoke indirect at ~250* for 1.5 hrs or until 165* temp (I don't take it to this, but USDA). About 1.5 to 2 hours on my smoker.

2) fully pre-cooked sausage - you can get this anywhere, hotdogs, summer sausage and such. Smoke at ~250* until warm. This is technically double smoke.

3) uncured sausage needing to be smoked. This you typically have to make yourself, because I doubt anyone sells it. This has nitrates in it to allow the meat to be in the danger zone for long periods without killing you. Smoke at ~120* - 150* for 3 to 5 hours and then bring smoker upto 185* and smoke until 155* internal and then into water bath to cool.


The sausage you get at a restaurant is typically done similar to #1. I smoke itialian and polish all summer long this way. it's fantastic.