Maple fatties on the mini WSM

[IrondeQuer]

My grandson loves smoked Jimmy Dean Maple Sausage. He'd live on them if he could. It was time for another batch so I fired up the mini WSM this morning and cranked out a pair. Temps held pretty steady at 250 even after I accidentally popped the charcoal basket off of the grate trying to rearrange some lit coals.

Two fatties, one with Big-Time BBQ Rub and one with Butt Glitter. I just happened to have them leftover. Memphis Dust is my preference.


The mini warming up...


About 75 minutes in...


And the final. The internal temp went a little high, about 167, because I got distracted by work. Still juicy and very tasty though!!


I at least got a taste of them this time!

[Huskee]

Did you stuff or wrap? I can't really tell, or did you just rub and smoke the whole sausage roll?

[Jerod Broussard]

Pretty sweet. Y'all made enough of those mini's...now Weber wants $200 for one.

[IrondeQuer]

Just put rub on the whole roll right out of the package. I was considering a bacon wrap but surprisingly, he didn't want that.

Yeah, Jerod, crazy on that price, eh?

[Jerod Broussard]

Well, it is a Weber and I believe they are definitely worth it (just not in my budget). I have a Smokey Joe Gold, and that dude grills way too good with grill grates to convert to a smoker.

[_John_]

I've heard of those mini's but never seen them, what size pot do you need?

[Huskee]

Check this link out if you're interested in transforming your Weber Smokey Joe into a smoker. This has you written all over it Jerod. Although you have a PBC so why would you do this.. but you know....

[Jerod Broussard]

I want a jumbo joe so I can make an 18.5

[IrondeQuer]

They travel well. I have a colleague who camps and he doesn't leave home without it. It holds a lot more than one would expect and works really well for reverse searing.

[_John_]

I would love one for tailgating.

[IrondeQuer]

Perfect for tailgating, John!

Hey, if you were going to stuff a maple fatty, what would you stuff it with? I'm not seeing anything obvious.

[_John_]

I just tried these, well one yesterday and one today. My coals were still going on the PBC so I ran to the store to pick up a hot and a maple. What temp should we cook these to? I see 167 in your post which is the number I remember and cooked to, but now that I look you say you over cooked them. These were really good, but quite dry at 165.

[IrondeQuer]

Meathead's guides indicates 160 is the goal for ground meat. In the 165+ range, I agree with you, they start to dry out. Still good though!

[_John_]

I always have leftover coals on a weekend smoke, gonna do a couple of these and oh man are they good on a biscuit!

[Huskee]

I think later this week when I finally have a couple days off I will get up early and do this for breakfast for the family. My wife and boys love sausage, whereas I'm merely a casual fan- I can easily live without it. I hope that a smoked one will be a whole new world.

[_John_]

It's very different from most anything else I've had, would be very good on a biscuit. When I cook sausage patties they are normally very greasy, these have very little grease, the kids loved em.

[_John_]

UPDATE: The first couple of these came out dry, but last night I tried wrapping at 145. I wrapped it with some maple syrup until 160.
These things have a lot of fat so it really puts some flavor on the coals. I didn't use any other liquid in the wrap but when I took off the foil I was amazed at how much liquid was in there, but the outside had gotten just a bit soft so I put it on the heat for a few more minutes. Very good and very juicy, crust on the outside was really sweet, just a great balance.
I have made almost a dozen already, when people taste them they make me cook one up for them.
I put them in a ziploc and put in the fridge, then just slice off a piece and eat it or heat it up and toss it on a biscuit. This is the only thing I have made that everyone in my family loves.