How to Make Smoked Sausage Links
Sausage is a food that is delicious prepared many ways, but smoking your own sausage is a process that can be exhilarating and may produce a flavor that you didn't even know existed. It is time-consuming and requires tools that may be hard to acquire, but the payoff is great, healthy food that can be eaten any time, from holiday time to game time. You may even be able to sell your homemade smoked sausage. Does this Spark an idea?
Things You'll Need
- Sausage links
- Cooking source, such as a gas burner or grill
- Cure
- Cold water
- Desired assorted spices
- Thermometer
- Smokehouse
Instructions
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1
Add the desired seasonings to the sausage links. Also add the specific amount of cure so that the meat does not spoil.
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2
Preheat the smokehouse to about 135 degrees Fahrenheit. Place the sausage links in the smokehouse. This is to dry out the sausages. Once the sausages measure on the thermometer to be 100 degrees Fahrenheit, slowly increase the smokehouse temperature.
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3
Leave the sausage links into the smokehouse as long as your desire, as the longer you leave them in the smokehouse, the more the smoke flavor will be apparent in the meat. Keep it in the smokehouse for at least 2 hours for a slight smokey flavor.
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4
Increase the smokehouse temperature to about 165 degrees Fahrenheit. Gradually the temperature of the sausages will rise to about 145 degrees Fahrenheit, which means the sausage is almost fully cooked on the inside. Raise the smokehouse temperature an additional 20 degrees at this point, and keep the sausage in for another 20 minutes.
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5
Remove the sausage from the smokehouse. With a soaked towel or your hands, sprinkle water along the sides of the sausage. Make sure the water is cool. This is to lower the temperature of the sausage so it can dry out hanging up.
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6
Hang the sausage up from the ceiling in a room that is at room temperature once the sausage temperature drops to about 95 degrees Fahrenheit. Keep it hung up for at least 2 hours before removing it.
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Tips & Warnings
Experiment with different spices and flavors, such as garlic, cayenne pepper, basil or white pepper.
Be very careful when working around or in a smokehouse and high temperatures.
- Photo Credit Courtesy of Photobucket
