Mississippi Sausage

[Dr ROK]

When my father in-law was alive, he would visit down south and bring back "pork smoked sausage" from Wilson's Meat House in Crystal Springs, Mississippi. The ingredients list is as follows: Pork, salt, black pepper, red pepper, sage, sugar, msg, sodium nitrite. The sausage was in a casing and smoked, but it was still raw so it had to be cooked and also had to be refrigerated or frozen when purchased. I have tried to replicate this sausage, but can't quite get it to turn out like the real stuff from Wilson's. It's really good, butt not the same.

Here's my recipe I developed using the order of the listed ingredients on the label as a guide:

5 lbs cubed butt roast
3 TBS Salt
2 1/2 TBS black pepper
2 TBS red pepper flakes
1 1/2 tbs Sage
1 TBS sugar
2 1/2 tsp msg
1 tsp prague #1
1/2 pint water mixed with 1 tsp liquid smoke

I grind the pork and then mix all spice with the water mixture. I don't smoke it as I'm not sure how they smoke it without cooking it.

Any ideas/suggestions would be appreciated.

[HC in SC]

Check out this sausage thread started by beefchop - a certified CoonAss I believe.

http://pitmaster.amazingribs.com/forum/the-pit-mastery-program/hot-dogs-and-sausages/35498-homemade-sausage

[Dr ROK]

Thanks HC, I have posted in that thread, but thought I'd post my question to the entire group since there doesn't seem to be a lot of activity on the sausage thread.

[livespive]

They would be cold smoking it, kind of like how they do cheese. IF you google cold smoking there are sever ways you can do it. The key is keeping the cooking chamber's temp low while introducing the smoke. I have seen them do it with ice to offset the temp, and other things. YOu got me in the mood for Mississippi sausage now... Is this type red? We always get some from around Inverness that has a red casing to it. I looked up Wilson's, might have to see if they ship to try some of their's.

[Dr ROK]

No, the casings are not red, just regular sausage casings. They have a slight brown tint due to the smoking. How long can you cold smoke something before you have to worry about bacteria?

[livespive]

I would say it depends on your set up. IF you are using a cure you can go longer. I have seen anywhere from 2 to 6 hours. The main thing is to watch the tem of you meat. Also if it is just for you, you can hot smoke it to complete doneness then food save them. I have done that with success, as I don't have the setup to cold smoke yet. I have been wanting to do some bacon.

[livespive]

Here is a conversation from another site that I am on:

Deleted

[livespive]

Along with a site:

Deleted

[Huskee]

Thanks for sharing your thoughts on the subject. However, at AmazingRibs we're firm believers in safety first and simply put cold smoking meats is not safe unless you have precision equipment and know what you're doing. Please check out Meathead's cautionary article on cold smoking. Look at the supporting research cited in his article. This is not something to be taken lightly or simply tried if you get the hankering.

[W.A.]

Living is not safe

[Strat50]

I don't blame Meathead(or anyone associated with this site, for that matter) for his position, as the legal liabilities ,in our litigious society, could be potentially enormous.

[W.A.]

You are right Strat50. I just smelled food police and had to do it. W.A. Stands for Wise A$!.

There are even people out there who eat raw chicken. You don't really want to be thought of as condoning that potentially dangerous idea to those not knowing likely consequences.

[livespive]

These are the ones I get:

http://thinksitetest.com/portfolio_page/magnolia-smoked-sausage-2lb/

WOuld love to try Wilson's though.

[livespive]

Agreed,

I have done some reading on it and want to build me a nice little set up. I myself have only done hotsmoking on raw sausage as I don't like to add nitrates to my meat.

Got food poisoning once from a resturant..... Don't want to do it to myself lol.

Thanks for sharing your thoughts on the subject. However, at AmazingRibs we're firm believers in safety first and simply put cold smoking meats is not safe unless you have precision equipment and know what you're doing. Please check out Meathead's cautionary article on cold smoking. Look at the supporting research cited in his article. This is not something to be taken lightly or simply tried if you get the hankering.

[David Parrish]

Livespive I deleted the cold smoking links above. We just don't do cold smoking around here. No hard feelings intended.

[livespive]

None taken,

Livespive I deleted the cold smoking links above. We just don't do cold smoking around here. No hard feelings intended.

[Strat50]

Meathead is right about the average cold smoke. However, there are ways of doing it without your stuff being in the danger zone for longer than 20 minutes. I won't get into it here, obviously. The problem is, your bbq is the worst possible vessel for cold smoking, even with some kind of smoke generator. The other problem, is that most folks believe that smoking is a long process. With regular bbq methods, this is true. No one I know would ever cold smoke for hours, for obvious reasons.

Having said the above, just about any sausage can be converted to a cooked sausage recipe with ease. I make fresh sausage all the time, both smoked and not. I just don't go into it with the idea that I'm preserving in any way, and I use proper food handling techniques. For example, my smoked salami is cooked using regular "q" technique, until I get to at least 160. It doesn't take long, and tastes great.The same with linguica and andouille(if I chose to cook and not just freeze like fresh brats). You just use a lot of smoke to take the place of a long smoke, BUT you still must cook through. It's just a "smokier" way of grilling, really. This way, I don't have to use nitrate/nitrite, as I don't need to. Preserving is what freezers are for, after all. In other words, the sausage goes into the freezer after it is stuffed, or after its cooked.

Dr ROK's recipe would make a superb fresh sausage, no cold smoking needed. It's not too far from my andouille recipe.
A charcuterist has refrigerated, humidity controlled equipment to pursue their craft. The average person does not. Yes, there are many amateur charcuterists, however even they spend a lot of money to set up their rigs, just like we do with "q." Being a budding part of that community(I do have the book Meathead mentions, as well as others), I won't even attempt the majority of the needed methods without the necessary gear, as the consequences of mistakes are horrifying.

[Dr ROK]

I appreciate all the advice you guys have provided. I didn't realize cold smoking was taboo on the site, so I'll look for that info on other sites. Plenty of other good stuff to look at here