sausage came out a bit too smoky and dont know why

king kabanos · Post by **king kabanos** » Mon Jan 13, 2014 21:55

i made a hot smoked kielbasa using cherry and oak wood and my mom says it came out too smoky and dont know why. i smoked it for 4 hours the color of the sausage was red. but after a few days the intense smoke flavor goes away. is this normal?? . when i go to a polish deli that sells kielbasa non of them has any smoke flavor. i use only wood logs when smoking in my fire pit.

Also i want to make juniper polish hot smoked sausage and in the instructions it says to add a few branches of juniper at the end of the smoking process to give it that flavor. i bought shaggy juniper logs from where i buy firewood and wanted to know if this would work the same. or if i need the twigs from common juniper that grows in poland. does it matter what juniper you use

ssorllih · Post by **ssorllih** » Mon Jan 13, 2014 22:02

There are many species of tree/shrub/bush that are commonly called juniper. Some of them are botanically juniper and many are near cousins. Finding an arborist in your area would likely be your most reliable source.

Post by **Butterbean** » Wed Jan 15, 2014 00:14

Some people just don't like smoked foods.

Was it too smoky for you? If so, did you dry the sausages real good before you put them in the smokehouse? If not, they will sweat and the moisture on the casing will catch a lot more smoke than they normally will. I'm thinking this could be the case if you are smoking and heating with wood. Best way it to put the sausages in the smoker with no smoke till they become tacky and dry then lay the smoke on them once they bloom good.

Carpster · Post by **Carpster** » Wed Jan 15, 2014 01:14

I was woundering if it could be the oak making it seem to strong. Some of the southern boys can't handle it.

Chuckwagon · Post by **Chuckwagon** » Wed Jan 15, 2014 03:39

Hey Carp-el-tunnel,
Smoking meat is just like my banjo playing! A little goes a longggg way

Most beginners smoke too long. A couple of hours with light smoke really makes a difference. Remember that the surface must be dry to take on any smoke flavor. Also, be aware that pork is more "forgiving" than beef when it comes to over-smoking. Keep at it pal.

Best Wishes,
Chuckwagon

king kabanos · Post by **king kabanos** » Thu Jan 16, 2014 19:15

thank you everyone i wil have to check if shaggy juniper is a arborist plant and i do dry my sausage at room temp for a hour but i will make shure it is dry to touch before i put it in my smoke house maybe have a fan on the kielbasa while they are drying at room temprature maybe that will help with the drying process. the kielbasa was not to smokey for me but i can smell a lot of the smoke when i smelt it the next day. but after a few days the smoke was nearly gone. and also i think i dried it preety good there was no moisture on the casing when smoking it

Post by **redzed** » Sun Jan 19, 2014 03:05

Hi King,
Since no answered your question about using juniper wood for smoking, let me have a go. First take a look at a discussion we had earlier about juniper berries and different juniper varieties.
http://wedlinydomowe.pl/en/viewtopic.ph ... ht=juniper

Do not use juniper wood to smoke your Kielbasa Jałowcowa. You will have sausage that will be bitter and probably be blackened like Schwarzwälder Schinken! I think you would be wise to follow the recipe and throw a few, and here we are talking about a few, like 2 or 3 small branches to the smoke pan during the last stage of smoking. If you want a more authentic Polish taste use alder or oak. Any juniper branches you have will do the trick, but if you don't have the branches, don't worry about it. Also be careful not to put too many berries into the sausage. Jałowcowa is a mild sausage with only a hint of juniper in it. In fact most people do not even taste it in the sausage.

Chuckwagon · Post by **Chuckwagon** » Sun Jan 19, 2014 04:02

Hi King,
I guess we thought you had already read this post about smoke: http://wedlinydomowe.pl/en/viewtopic.php?t=5154

I live smack dab in the largest juniperus osteosperma forest in the world. Not braggin' - not complaining.

I grew up in the stuff. I rode a horse through the stuff and even snow-shoed through it. I cooked with the stuff and even tripped over the stuff! I even smoked the bark of the danged stuff! When you cut into the wood, it smells exactly like cedar, so most people in this part of the west refer to the juniperus as "cedar". The little gray berries are worthless to us. They are bitter and we don`t use them for anything at all. Building campfires on Utah`s deserts, many times we don`t have much choice but to use juniper (or mesquite) and the stuff burns fast and the smoke is strong - too strong for smoking although fresh meat cooked over the hot coals of a "cedar" fire isn`t bad at all. Our plateaus are full of cottonwoods, our mountain valleys are full of quaken aspen (Populus Tremuloides), and fir and all the relatives of the firs. None are good for smoking meat.
So to answer your question directly, I would say no - juniper is too strong for smoking and it leaves soot. Use one of the eastern hardwoods instead.

Best Wishes,
Chuckwagon

ssorllih · Post by **ssorllih** » Sun Jan 19, 2014 05:12

Is aspen not suitable for smoking?

Chuckwagon · Post by **Chuckwagon** » Sun Jan 19, 2014 19:47

No. Out here we call the Quaken Aspen "quakies". It is actually the Populus Tremuloides and is one of the most beautiful trees around. We use them for everything but they are not particulary good for campfires or smoking. It burns quickly and not particularly hot. This is the tree famous for people's initials carved into the bark. If you just scratch the bark, in about six years it will be blackened and widened. It's fun to walk through a quakie forest and see initials and dates from fifty or more years ago.

Best Wishes,
Chuckwagon