Questions about Andouille Smoking.

[cayenneman]

Okay, so I want to make another batch of andouille. Ive done it smoking at 240°ish degrees and it came out good. I low smoked it at 160°ish and didnt know about the whole botulism thing and ended up at Instant Care with a nasty stomach ache! Hard lesson learned. So I know about cure now and what it does and I'm gonna post the recipe below. So are Cure #1, Prague Powder, and Morton Tender Quick all the same (pink salt)? I can get Cure #1 on Amazon but dont want to pay for shipping. I can get Tenderquick at the store but want to make sure it can be substituted. So here's the recipe to follow (minus any embellishments). Let me know what I might need to know that may be omitted in the original. BTW, the author of the recipe took a helluva lotta grief over the "healthy pinch" of prague powder, so I know to measure it per pound of meat (is 1 tsp per 5 lbs of meat right) I know you can kill someone with that stuff so give me any advice you care to share. Thanks.

Andouille Sausage Recipe

5# Pork (I prefer a Boston Butt) Trimmed of tough connective tissue and cut into 2 inch cubes.

Combine the following in a bowl:
2 tsp of Cayenne or to taste (Remember, if you make it too hot, every dish you make with it will be too hot! Start off with a little, you can add more after you taste the finished seasoning)
1 Tbsp Paprika
1/4 Cup Chopped Fresh Garlic
1/8 Cup Fresh Ground Black Pepper
3 Tbsp Kosher Salt
1 Tbsp Fresh Thyme leaves, chopped
1 tsp Crushed Red Pepper
1 healthy pinch Cure #1 (our “abundance of caution” chicken little society of bloggers would like you to know that their healthy pinch, or correct amount is 1 tsp. of “cure” per 5# of meat, which my “healthy pinch” is just a hair shy of….sue me!) (By the way, my upcoming Andouille Recipe contains no cures**stay tuned** posted 03/13/12)
1/2 Cup Ice Water

Toss this mixture with the meat, making sure it is well coated. Cover tightly with plastic wrap and refrigerate for 1-2 days.

**Note – Prague Powder#1 is used for wet curing meats, to retain color and freshness. It is a ratio of 16 oz. salt to 1 ounce sodium nitrate.

Chop half of the meat into 1/4 inch pieces and grind the other half with a coarse grinding plate. Mix the two together with:

1/8 Cup Non-Fat Powdered Milk (this is a binder)

Stuff the sausage into prepared Hog Casings (Beef middle casings if you can find them). Here is my method of Linking Sausage.

Tie each sausage link with kitchen string to make a loop for hanging. Hang uncovered in the refrigerator overnight. This step is to let the casings dry out to allow smoke absorption, very important.

I smoked this in an inexpensive upright barrel smoker, with charcoal as the heat source, and unsoaked Pecan chips for the smoke. The sausage was hung beneath the top rack, no water pan.

I smoked this at 130º F for 2 hours, then increased the heat to 165 º F for another 2 1/2 hours, refreshing the wood chips as needed. The trick here, is to get as much smoke flavor into the sausage before it is actually cooked through, and too hot of a temperature will render the fat out of your sausage. I controlled the temp by the number of coals, and keeping them piled up and pushed to one side. When you spread your coals out the temperature will increase. I added more coals to reach the 165º mark.

The internal temperature of the sausage should read 155º F on an instant read thermometer. Remove at this point and immediately spray with cold water. Hang at room temperature in front of a fan for 1 hour then refrigerate overnight, uncovered.

BTW, here is a pic of the author's andouille.

_________________
Stump's Classic

[Jarhead]

CM, sorry to hear about your run in with the nasties.
Sounds like you made a FRESH sausage and smoked it w/o cure. OUCH. I'm betting you cooked the one at 240.
The IT MUST be 151 or a bit higher.
You can sub TQ for Cure #1 at the ratio of 1.5 TBSP per pound.
Back off on your salt, until you do a test patty. Then adjust to taste. Take notes.
If you have a meat packing place close, check with them about Cure #1, they might sell you some. Sometimes butcher's carry it too. You just have to ask.
One note to add, I never use fresh herbs. Always in dried form, be it, minced, granulated or powdered.
_________________
Gunny 3073/4044/8411

Jarhead's World Blog
KCBS CBJ & HMFIC Debbie's Q Shack

[Kevin P]