It's time to talk about The Art of Smoking Sausage. The best part about it..so many people do it so many different ways so you aren't limited to just one method. I personally think the way I do it is one if not the best ways to do it. So let's talk about how I smoke sausage and how it's gotten me almost 50,000 followers and over 1,000,000 likes on TikTok!
Just a quick background for those who don't know me, I'm Joe or better known as "The Sausage Boss" on all of my socials. Totally just a joke-ish name at first and then once I took off with it I obviously couldn't change it so here you are today, reading how to smoke sausage by The Sausage Boss.. I've been making unique sausages since early 2021 and have built a nice customer base in our store, Lapp's Dutch Market in Penns Grove, NJ and now I am taking our sausage store online. Enough about me, let's talk about sausage.
Firstly, let's talk about smokers and my experiences. I've smoked sausages on about 4 different types of smokers so let's quickly run through them and what I learned.
1. Southern Pride Rotating Rack Smoker. This isย the first smoker I've ever smoked sausage on. The way it rotates cooked the sausages so quickly and didn't allow enough smoke flavor to penetrate the meat for my liking and made the skins super wrinkly. I won't dive too deep into this because this is a commercial smoker but I couldn't get the results I wanted here.ย
2. Primo Ceramic Grill.ย This is a Kamado style grill and I've had lots of success smoking sausages on here. These grills/smokers stay nice and hot for so long due to its ceramic base. That makes smoking so much easier, less adding more wood/coals. Just let it ride.ย
๏ปฟ3. Pellet Smokers. ๏ปฟDepending what smoker you have you will get different results and I was pretty happy with the results from the Oklahoma Joes Rider DLX 900. Smoke flavor penetrated the meat and the temperature swings were low which makes a big difference. As long as you have the time to pay attention and make sure you don't overcook, pellet smokers are a great and easy way to smoke sausage.
4. Oklahoma Joes Highland Offset.ย The smoker that started it all. I absolutely love this smoker and wouldn't trade it for the world. It has produced some insane results texture wise and taste wise. The smoke flavor is out of this world and it's so easy to use once you learn how to manage your fire. I can't speak highly enough about this offset smoker. Offset is definitely the way to go when smoking sausage.
My way of smokingย ๏ปฟsausage.ย ๏ปฟNow that we've established what smoker we will be smoking on (offset), let's start from the very beginning.ย
All of the sausages I make are sold fresh. I started smoking sausages as a hobby and a way to promote and display the flavors I create. Of course most things are better when you can add some smoke flavor and the way they look is amazing to say the least.ย
I don't use any cures. I smoke all of my sausages at 200 degrees Fahrenheit or above. Cures are necessary for smoking at temperatures below 180 degrees where harmful bacteria can form through out the meat. Many people have different opinions on this but this is how I do it. It is considered a "hot" smoke. Where as anything below in which you use a cure is considered a "cold" smoke.ย
Choosing Your Wood.ย Finding the right type of wood is important and fun to experiment with. Wood Chunks or splits are my go to for smoking because they last longer than wood chips. Chips are typically used for shorter cooks as they burn up quicker.ย
Apple Wood-ย Mild & Fruity
Cherry Wood-ย Mild/Medium, Sweet & Slightly Fruity
Hickory- Intense & Smokyย
Oak-ย Medium, Less intense than Hickory
These are my top choices when smoking sausage. I almost always go with Hickory and then Oak, Apple and lastly Cherry. That is my personal preference when it comes to smoking sausage.ย
The Process. Now let's get into the meat of it all.ย
Start by filling up your favorite offset smokers firebox about a quarter of the way full with your favorite lump charcoal. Light it up whichever way you like and wait for the coals to start ashing over a bit.ย
Now it's time to throw on your wood chunks/splits of choice. If i'm using splits I will just put in one log for a smaller batch and if i'm using chunks I will grab a handful or so. Once you put in your wood you need to let it burn for alittle bit. When you don't let it burn and immediately close your firebox you will get a thick white smoke which is considered a dirty smoke. Once you let it burn for a bit and close your firebox you should be looking for an almost transparent smoke which is thinner and sometimes is referred to as "blue smoke". When you see this you know you're good to go. This is considered a "clean smoke".ย
When your smoke is right you need to set your firebox damper slightly open to get some airflow but still control the temperature and keep it fairly low. The more your damper is open, the hotter your fire will burn. Once you've achieved a temperature of 200 degrees or slightly above, it's time to load up your smoker with the sausages. Placing them from left to right try not to have them touching as it will give you some "bald" spots on the sausages when the cooking starts happening. Placing them from left to right allows you to get the true temperature of the smoker because as you get closer to the firebox the temperatures will slightly increase which will cause wrinkling of the skin from being over cooked. That is the most common mistake with smoking sausages.ย
Now that your sausages are rolling and getting penetrated by the smoke flavor, let them cook for about an hour and a half until they hit 155 degrees Fahrenheit internal. Once they hit one 155 internal, grab a large sanitary tub or bowl whatever you have access to and fill it with ice and cold water. Take your sausages off of the smoker and put them in the ice water for about 20 minutes. Doing this allows the skin on the sausage to set with the meat and give it that nice snap that we are looking to achieve. After 20 minutes, take the sausages out and ideally you would let these rest for a few hours or overnight to completely dry but if you are on a time crunch or simply don't want to do that, just take a few paper towels and dry them by hand best you can do. Drying them before throwing them back on the smoker is a very important step to getting that snap. While you are drying the sausages, be sure to stoke your fire with more wood or coals to get the temperature back to 200-225 degrees. 225 totally works fine here so that is usually what I run. Throw the sausages back on like before and wait until they reach 155-160 degrees again. Let them rest for a few minutes so they reach around 165 and there you have it. The Art of Smoking Sausage.ย ย
Thank you for reading MY way of smoking sausage. Check out my TikTok videos to see some sausages I've smoked. Happy Smoking!
ย For a special thank you to those who read through this article, use codeย ๏ปฟJLOKJ20ย ๏ปฟfor 20% off your entire order on the Oklahoma Joes Website!
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