# Smoked Summer, Polish, & Slim Jim Suasages



## txbigred (Aug 7, 2007)

Decided to make some sausage today, as I was just about out. Wanted to make some breakfast sausage too, but the box of Butts didn't go that far. 
I did 28 lbs. of summer Sausage, 28 lbs. of Slim Jims and 21 lbs. of Polish, Well got it loaded into the smoker any way. I'll post the finished pictures tomorrow.

Dave

Box of Butts boned out, waiting on the grinder:









Grinder loaded up:









First grind through 1/2" plate:









2nd grind through 1/4" plate:









Ready to be mixed up, Jalapeno $ cheese summer Sausage 50/50 pork & beef:










Summer Sausage stuffed:









Polish is next:









Working on the Slim Jims:









Loaded up in the smoker, I think it's going to be a late night.............


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## trout01 (Apr 4, 2006)

Looks good but what kind of smoker is that.Commercial grade.


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## txbigred (Aug 7, 2007)

trout01 said:


> Looks good but what kind of smoker is that.Commercial grade.


Well, I actually made it, sort of. It was an old Traulsen hot box, you know what they use to keep food warm in. I found it out in a field from a guy that sells restaurant equipment. Got it for $150 delivered to my house!! It's stainless inside and out. I found a blown fuse in it, after I fixed that, the 4 strip heaters work fine. I added a 240 volt stove top type element for the sawdust smoke and added an exaust fan. I have it in my garage, vented to the outside so I can smoke rain or shine!

Dave


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## grandpa cracker (Apr 7, 2006)

Dang man, that`s not a kitchen that`s a processing plant.


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## Charles Helm (Oct 22, 2004)

Looks great. When do we eat?


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## txbigred (Aug 7, 2007)

Charles Helm said:


> Looks great. When do we eat?


Well, by the time you drive down here it ought o be ready!!

dave


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## Team S.A. Blue (Sep 8, 2004)

I really need to learn how to do that. Looks great.


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## Charles Helm (Oct 22, 2004)

txbigred said:


> Well, by the time you drive down here it ought o be ready!!
> 
> dave


I knew there would be a catch!


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## Hop (May 21, 2004)

Lookin great! I need to learn how to make snack stixs.
And I need a stuffer. I used my grinder as one last year. I'm not going to do that again.
--Hop


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## txbigred (Aug 7, 2007)

Hop said:


> Lookin great! I need to learn how to make snack stixs.
> And I need a stuffer. I used my grinder as one last year. I'm not going to do that again.
> --Hop


Yep, I tried to stuff once (and only once) with my first grinder. next time I had a stuffer.

Dave


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## Aggieangler (May 28, 2004)

Wow...that looks like a perfect setup. Man...that is some good looking sausage.


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## wet dreams (May 21, 2004)

Noticed the chunks of cheese in the sausage, from what I can make of it you added the cheese after meat was ground. I've been wanting a recipe for Jal-cheese sausage and Ive been told to add cheese before grinding, also noticed your heat wasn't enough to melt the cheese. Ive made literly tons of smoked sausage when we processed deer, after we quit is when the Jal-cheese became popular and I have to find out the recipe as I'd hate to ruin a cpl of hundred lbs of meat. Thanks in advance...WW


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## txbigred (Aug 7, 2007)

wet dreams said:


> Noticed the chunks of cheese in the sausage, from what I can make of it you added the cheese after meat was ground. I've been wanting a recipe for Jal-cheese sausage and Ive been told to add cheese before grinding, also noticed your heat wasn't enough to melt the cheese. Ive made literly tons of smoked sausage when we processed deer, after we quit is when the Jal-cheese became popular and I have to find out the recipe as I'd hate to ruin a cpl of hundred lbs of meat. Thanks in advance...WW


Well, not really a recipe. I normally use the "Leggs Old Plantation" seasonings and then add on from there, Zach's is another good seasoning brand and is located here in the Houston area. 
As a general rule I use 50/50 pork/Beef, the pork adds a "sweetness" to the sausage and every body seems to prefer it to straight beef. Now, when I make links, I like to use 100% pork. For the cheese, I find that 10-12% by weight is about right. for the summer sausage I cube the cheese to 1/4"-1/2" cubes, for the slim jims, I shred it. I just use cheddar that I get from Sams club, I have never used the high temp cheese, as I have never had a problem with the regular cheddar. Jalapeno's.. add to what ever your taste buds like. I use dehydrated jalapeno's, about 1/4 cup per 10 lbs. of meat. I rehydrate it before I mix with the meat. For the slim jims, I add about 3/4 tsp of cayenne pepper per 10 lbs. of meat to it for some heat, again season to what you like. Not all cayenne is created equall.








Then the normal stuff, 
1 tsp. of cure per 5 lbs. of meat. 
1 cup of ice cold water per 5 lbs. of meat, for the slim jims, I will add a little more water to make it easier to stuff into the 18mm casings.
Hang in smoker at about 110-115 degrees for about 1-1.5 hours to dry, start smoke and bring temp up to about 145-150 for about 2 hours, then raise temp to 165. when the internal meat temp reaches about 142-145 I take the pan of hickory sawdust out, and put in a big pot of boiling water to steam the sausage unitl internal reaches 152. The steam greatly decreases the time in the smoker and improves the bite of the sausage. When removing from the smoker be sure to give them a cold water shower to quickly lower the temp of the sausage, this will help prevent a "wrinkled" looking sausage, specially when doing links. Allow to hang and air dry before putting up in the cooler.

Dave


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## wet dreams (May 21, 2004)

Thanks for the info, you must have missed the part of my history making sausage, I already know how to make sausage just not the Jal-Cheese, we would go thru 500-750lbs of Old Plantation yearly we bought in bulk but had them add more Sage than what they sell over the counter. You mentioned all the normal stuff >>'cure' as in ??? never used it. I talked with the owner of Zummos about the cheese bit failed to ask about the Jal to meat %. Thanks again...WW


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## JohnR (Mar 29, 2006)

Dave,
Your operation is impressive. I just started making summer sausage a week before Christmas and made 4 small batches (10 lbs. each). It went quick during the holidays, but I still have a few sticks in the refrigerator and they are getting dry. I did not put they through a water cooling bath after smoking. I vacuum bag my regular links and freeze. How do you package your summer sausage for freezing? Does the water bath prevent drying out in the refrigerator?
John


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## czechgrubworm (May 17, 2006)

We have the exact grinder, tubs, etc.. note that you use the lid as a back-splash as well. that was fun to see.
when you mix the meat for the meat sticks and then place in the stuffer, did you need to add more water to get it to run smoothly..? we tried our 30 lb stuffer and it really gummed up.. just curious..we did 175 lbs. of slim jims that day.. lots of work..


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## txbigred (Aug 7, 2007)

John Keys said:


> Dave,
> Your operation is impressive. I just started making summer sausage a week before Christmas and made 4 small batches (10 lbs. each). It went quick during the holidays, but I still have a few sticks in the refrigerator and they are getting dry. I did not put they through a water cooling bath after smoking. I vacuum bag my regular links and freeze. How do you package your summer sausage for freezing? Does the water bath prevent drying out in the refrigerator?
> John


John,
The water bath only prevents the sausage from wrinkling, it doesn't prevent them from drying out. I vacuum seal all of my sausage before freezing.



czechgrubworm said:


> We have the exact grinder, tubs, etc.. note that you use the lid as a back-splash as well. that was fun to see.
> when you mix the meat for the meat sticks and then place in the stuffer, did you need to add more water to get it to run smoothly..? we tried our 30 lb stuffer and it really gummed up.. just curious..we did 175 lbs. of slim jims that day.. lots of work..


Czech,

I always add extra water when doing the slim jims, otherwise it is just to hard to stuff them. I normally use 1 cup/5lbs of meat, some times double it when doing slim jims, it just takes a little longer in the smoke house drying them out.

Dave


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