Post
by Chuckwagon » Sat Jan 12, 2013 20:41
Hi Tom,
The temperature is increased slowly to avoid losing moisture. With sausage, the word "gradually" most importantly applies. If you are using a smokehouse to cook and smoke simultaneously, the heat is raised only two degrees or so, at twenty or thirty minute intervals. Whenever cooking whole-muscle meats, this rule is not quite as critical but nevertheless, it should be cooked slowly.
At 142°F the heat has surpassed the 138°F target where any possible trichinella spiralis is destroyed. This is called "prep cooking" in many circles. If the temperature is increased to a point much more than 150° (cooking temperature), the meat will simply cook too quickly, and in sausage, the fat will "break" - ruining your product. The texture will be dry and crumbly because the binding and lubricating power of the fat has been broken.
On the other hand, if the cooking temperature is much lower than 150°F, the slower cooking allows too much time at just the right temperature to lose moisture in the meat. In a whole-muscle meat, It will change the texture of the final product by slowly drying it out and will toughen it a little. It simply isn`t enough heat to "cook" the meat thoroughly.
So, somewhere in between these two extremes, there is an ideal temperature for prep-cooking. In other words, the rate of cooking has been figured out by someone with experience, to retain and maintain the highest amount of moisture, while achieving a temperature increase to 142°F. inside a cooking medium of 150°F.
In other words, if the cooking medium (oven) is 150°F., it will take a "calculated" amount of time to reach 142°F. This is part of the recipe - a critical part, if moisture is to be retained.
To answer your question directly, it will take a few hours to reach 142°F if the cooking medium is only 150°F, however... it is important not to rush this process by adding more heat. Many novices try to rush the process by cranking up the oven heat. When this happens, the fat breaks and the texture of the meat will turn out to be exactly like sawdust. Be patient. In some cases, the prep-cook time can even stretch into as much as 8 hours!
Cooking sausage is a balance of not too low and not to high temperatures. When just the right balance is achieved, you`ll become a sausage maker!
As far as the butt-bacon goes, yes remove the bone with as few strokes of the knife as you can. If you`re careful, you can really make a nice looking thick strip.
Don`t be afraid to ask questions. We`re here to help. I sure don`t know it all, but I make a hellofa good sourdough biscuit!
Best Wishes,
Chuckwagon
Last edited by
Chuckwagon on Sat Jan 12, 2013 22:15, edited 1 time in total.
If it looks like a duck, walks like a duck, and quacks like a duck, it probably needs more time on the grill! 
Two butts. This is the smoked result about eight to ten hours.
And a sliced sample.
