Looking for some help from the pros on suggested Internal Temps/Cooking Temps

[NDKoze]

I have made snack stix and jerky for many years, but have always gone by site and guessing. So I am looking for some more definitive recommendations from the pros on smoking times and Internal Temps. With the new #3 and Maverick et 733, I am hoping to get a little more consistency then my typical guestimation tactic.

Snack Stix

1. What smoker temperature do you smoke your snack stix at? Do you stick with one temp or use a stepped process?

2. What Internal temperature should I be looking for for snack sticks? I have seen ranges from 150-165. In the past I have just gone by feel and guess.


Jerky

What smoker temperature do you smoke your jerky at? Do you stick with one temp or use a stepped process?

Summer Sausage

1. What smoker temperature do you smoke your Summer Sausage at? Do you stick with one temp or use a stepped process?

2. What Internal temperature should I be looking for for Summer Sausage? I have seen ranges from 150-165. In the past I have just gone by feel and guess.

Country Style / Fry Sausage / Ring Sausage (everyone calls this different things)

1. What smoker temperature do you smoke your Country Style Sausage at? Do you stick with one temp or use a stepped process?

2. What Internal temperature should I be looking for for Country Style Sausage? This type of sausage Internal Temp would not be eating temp. But the IT that you apply before you package and freeze.

I currently have a small town meat market that smokes our SS and Country Style Sausage primarily because of the large quantity that we usually smoke (SS typically 50-150lbs / CS 100-200lbs). But the guy that does it is getting older and not sure how much longer he will be doing this for us.

Thanks for any tips you can provide.

 

[Walt]

Greg,

I cant be much help to you WRT the sausages but recently made jerky useing the James Jerky Dryer.  Due to the low airflow inherently designed in this unit, you will need a dryer or home made setup to pull more air through the unit to be able to make dehydrating possible.  Tony made Jerky it own topic, so look over there for what process to go through.  Basically, you start between 160 - 180 for 2 hrs to get the smoke then reduce to 140-160 & start the dryer fan.  Let it roll until its @ the texture you like (around 6 hrs more).

 

[Pork Belly]

I have left this same information on a few different sausage topics tonight. These things work for me:

You need at least a five pound sausage stuffer, stuffing off a grinder makes a mush consistency of your meat.
Vary the texture and size of your grind for a better mouth feel.
Adding High Temp cheese is never a bad idea, its tasty and increase your yield.
Run the smoker at 250, most sausage is not that thick, it takes smoke quickly, a hot smoker keeps them from sweating and getting greasy. You want them to cook not sweat.
Don't believe the nitrate hype, use the pink salt so you don't die, or kill your friends.
Use a probe thermometer to tell when your sausage hits 150, yes I know the bag of mix says 165, however they don't want to get sued. 150 makes a moister more consistent sausage. If a slab of bacon is fully cooked at 150, why would you torture your sausage all the way to 165?
At 150, IMMEDIATELY remove the sausage from the smoker and PLUNGE them into a large cooler of ice water, don't be stingy with the ice. This ice bath stops the cooking process, it cools the sausage so meat and fat do not separate. It also prevents them from being withered and the casing slipping off.
larger sausage I hang or leave on a rack for 24 hours before rapping in Cling wrap twice and freezer paper once, they will keep excellent in the freezer for several months or until your teenage children find them.
Enjoy

 

[GeeBee]

Greg,
I make jerky on a fairly regular basis. I use an Auber with my #2. I put the James Jerky Dryer in place right from the beginning. 2 ounces of your favorite wood (I use hickory). I set the temp at 145 degrees in the Auber for 2 hours. Then I have it stay at 145 degrees for another 6 hours, but I may not let it go that long, depending on how dry the meat gets. The reason I do this 2 step process at the same temp? I'm able to program the Jerky dryer to come on at the beginning of the second step. The jerky dryer is plugged into the back of the Auber. Once I close 'er up and turn on the power, I walk away and do something else until a few hours later when I come back to see how dry the meat is. Lazy mans jerky.

 

[Smokster]

He Gregg,

I posted my first attempt using the jerky dryer with great success.  The method used and temps are posted in the attached link, however near the end of the smoke, I did have t keep an eye on the jerky and pull them off at different intervals.

1 tip that someone mentioned if you have dry jerky would be to rehydrate by marinating again, the put back in the smoker (without wood).

http://smokinitforums.com/index.php?topic=896.0

 

[DivotMaker]

Gregg, I know you've seen this post, but thought I'd include it for those who haven't.  It's my cured jerky method that makes really tasty jerky!

http://smokinitforums.com/index.php?topic=1561.0

 

[NDKoze]

I did try a batch of pepper stix back in April, but found that without a James Jerky Dryer is just steamed the stix.

I will be getting a Jerky Dryer before I attempt anymore sausage or jerky.

Brian, we definitely have all the equipment (Grinder, 50lb Mixer, 15lb Stuffer, Slicer, etc) and have been successfully smoking our meats in a propane smoker for a long time. But the Smokin-It is definitely a different beast. I have learned that I don't need as much wood and I definitely need a Jerky Dryer.

Thanks for the tips everyone. I think my next batch will be a lot better after some learning that I did on the first batch. We still have two more 25lb batches of stix to make (probably not until October) before we start hunting again in November.