Vertical Water Smokers and Sausages

Post Reply
Eagleaye22
Newbie
Newbie
Posts: 3
Joined: Sun Dec 27, 2015 05:01
Location: MA

Vertical Water Smokers and Sausages

Post by Eagleaye22 » Sun Dec 27, 2015 05:23

I've just plowed through the Marianski "Home Production . . ." book, and I have a very basic question. At the moment, I'm not looking to cold smoke any sausages, but I do intend to hot smoke sausages. I use a wood fired vertical water smoker that gives me excellent control over temps. What if any issues will I have using this type of smoker? The book (do we call it "The Bible" here) frequently refers to the drying process of smoking, but then seems to say that humidity is important. Will I benefit from having the water pan filled with water during smoking? Would it be better to run it without!

This newbie would greatly appreciate any thoughts you all may have!

Thanks in advance!
User avatar
Butterbean
Moderator
Moderator
Posts: 1955
Joined: Mon Mar 05, 2012 04:10
Location: South Georgia

Post by Butterbean » Sun Dec 27, 2015 05:44

I have a wood fired vertical hot smoker and it does fine for hot smoking sausages. I've never found the need for a water pan since in this case I am cooking and smoking at the same time and I want the sausages to be nice and juicy at the finish.

To actually dry sausages this is a totally different thing. Here you will most likely want little to no heat, cold smoke and higher humidity. It all depends on what you are making.
Eagleaye22
Newbie
Newbie
Posts: 3
Joined: Sun Dec 27, 2015 05:01
Location: MA

Post by Eagleaye22 » Sun Dec 27, 2015 14:31

Thanks, Butterbean. So are you smoking at less than 170?
User avatar
Butterbean
Moderator
Moderator
Posts: 1955
Joined: Mon Mar 05, 2012 04:10
Location: South Georgia

Post by Butterbean » Sun Dec 27, 2015 22:28

Yes, when I'm using hot smoking I rarely ever go over 175F because I don't want the fat to render but I only reach the higher temps near the end of the process. I also work my heat and smoke in stages depending on what I'm trying to do. Typically, I will hang the sausages at 100F with no smoke to dry and once dry I'll lay smoke on them and work it from there.
Eagleaye22
Newbie
Newbie
Posts: 3
Joined: Sun Dec 27, 2015 05:01
Location: MA

Post by Eagleaye22 » Sun Dec 27, 2015 23:29

Thanks, again, Butterbean. I really appreciate the info.!
ped
User
User
Posts: 67
Joined: Wed Feb 06, 2013 12:35
Location: Kent

Post by ped » Mon Dec 28, 2015 10:45

Butterbean, how do you control the heat at such a low temp, surely you get spikes and troughs with the type of smoker that you have?
User avatar
Butterbean
Moderator
Moderator
Posts: 1955
Joined: Mon Mar 05, 2012 04:10
Location: South Georgia

Post by Butterbean » Mon Dec 28, 2015 12:21

I've built several smokers over the years depending on need and use but the one I use the most for sausage and cold smoking I have no problems with heat spikes whatsoever. I burn firewood sized chunks of wood in a firebox outside the house and use log trailer bolsters to pipe the smoke into the house through a "drain" in the floor. This heavy metal piping serves as a heat sink so the smoke is cold and the temperature in the house is only affected by the ambient temp. The wood box will generate smoke for 26 hours with one filling so all I need do is stoke the box once a day and it will stay steady without any monitoring. I've smoked hams for seven days with no issues. To generate heat, I built a gas burner and put that inside the house and it is supplied with air from a snorkel that comes out the house because without it the fire can go out if I'm applying a heavy smoke.

Here is a picture of the drain and the smoke. In the background you can see my heat generator and the snorkel. Note too the floor has been poured in concrete to hold heat and steady the temps.

Image

I have another smoker I don't use so much anymore that works on the same principle only the smoke and heat all come from the fire box. The heat and smoke are controlled by a series of dampers and metal is again used as a heat sink when cold smoking is done. This setup burns through the wood though and you have to monitor it every hour so I don't use it much anymore.
ped
User
User
Posts: 67
Joined: Wed Feb 06, 2013 12:35
Location: Kent

Post by ped » Tue Dec 29, 2015 11:15

Thank you
Post Reply