Drying sausages

Drying stuffed sausages before smoking is an important step that affects casings color. Stuffed sausages that are subject to smoking follow a drying procedure inside the smoker which lasts about 1 hr (no smoke applied) at 40-60° C (104-140° F) until the casings feel dry. Leave draft controls or the top of your smoker fully open. If a natural wood is used for fuel, enough wood must be burned to produce sufficient amounts of hot embers that would be releasing heat without creating smoke to dry out the casings. This is a welcome scenario as preheating a smoker to eliminate humidity inside is a must step for any kind of a smoker.

stuffed sausages drying in preparation for smoking

Setting./Drying. At the first look these seem to be insignificant steps but in reality they are very important. Stuffed sausages may contain meat that was not cured at all or only partially cured. Leaving sausages for 12 hours at 2-6° C (35-42° F) or for 2-3 hours at temperatures below 30° C (86°F) will provide this extra time to fully cure meat.

The products can be placed in the area with some moving air and the moderate use of a fan will definitely be of some help. Air-fan drying should not be used for an extended period of time as it may harden the surface of the smaller meat pieces/sausages. This is a short, hardly noticeable process and when making a lot of sausages, before the last casings are stuffed, the first ones are ready for smoking. It is recommended to follow this setting process with smoking, as we don’t have to worry about refrigeration of the sausages after they are stuffed.


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