Good stuff!!

[drahthaar]

Its just after midnight, and I just pulled them out of the smoker.

One fine smoker it is too.LOL!! Watched the dump for a long time to find this baby!!

Finished product. Cow elk, summer sausage seasoning, garlic, black pepper added, chedder cheese, hickory smoke this time. Usually go with apple.

 

[1_pointer]

That is a kick A smoker! It'd probably also double as protection from a nuclear blast...

Sausage looks good, do you need my address?

 

[cornfed]

Looks great,way to go making your own.

 

[Ovis]

Nice...Made 10 lbs of pepper sticks over the holiday break and they are already gone. Have not made summer sausage before, so might be knocking on your door for pointers.

 

[JoseCuervo]

That reminds me, I need to order a new latch for my Frigidaire Dishwasher. I don't think it is the same vintage as yours.

Those look good.

You or Ovis want to share the technique and "generic" recipe (don't need to give your secrets away, too much.)

 

[BigHornRam]

"That is a kick A smoker! It'd probably also double as protection from a nuclear blast..." I was thinking the same thing Pointer! Ringer's going to be eyeing that baby up. You do fish in that thing, drahthaar?

 

[drahthaar]

Never done a fish--ever. I am just not a fisherman, I think, because I suck at fishing, I couldn't catch a fish in a hatchery.

Jose, Ovis, not much of any secrets, except IMO, the main seasoning. I get mine from Nassau Foods, I think its the best. I do 25 pound batches, 18-20 pounds of elk or deer to 5-7 pounds of pork TRIM. This old german guy that taught me how to do all this meat making insists on pork trim. I don't know, but I have never had a problem with dryness. 1/3 cup black pepper, and garlic until it smells "right" to me. 3 Tsp of cure, don't forget that! 1/4 cup mustard seed.
I am sure you southern boys like things spicey, you can also add red pepper or Jalapenos in juice, or whatever else you guys have down there to burn the hell out of someone's mouth and guts.

I throw the meat chunks and the pork trim in a rubbermaid tub, spices, then run it through the course plate, then through the fine plate, then add the HIGH TEMP cheese from LEM products. Grinding it twice makes it a little sticky, add some water and stuff it in the casing. 2 1/2 inch fibrous casings. Hang'em in the smoker, I heat them to 180 for about 2.5-3 hours, then run it up to 200-210-215 for 2 more hours, seems to cook it well. You can get one of the metal turkey thermometers inside the smoker, and shove it in one of the tubes to make sure you reach 165 in the center.

I use apple, hickory, or whatever you like. Apple is great smoking wood.

Some say to dunk them in cold water upon removal, either way, its all good.

I like them for gifts and such. Plus I derive a certain amount of satisfaction out of doing stuff like this for myself. Great winter project, grind meat, watch football and smoke meat.

 

[Big Fin]

I will take four pounds, heavy on the cheddar. PM for address and payment info.

Damn, I have a fridge just like that out in my shop, but wife makes me use it for her leeches and nightcrawlers. Could be one hell of a smoker.

 

[mdcrossbow]

Drathaar, what are you using as a heat source ? Is you heat source direct or funneled. I made one similar and funneled the heat from a small tent stove to the lower side. I like the size of that.

 

[drahthaar]

I bought some cheap azz burner from walmart or somewhere with a temp control on it. Cut a hole in the bottom of the fridge, mounted the burner inside the fridge and the bottom of the burner with the temp control knob underneath. Its a pain to reach under there and change the temp, but it was an easy way to do it.

I have some old pan from a camping kit that I just fill with wood and some water and set it right on the burner,you can see in the pic. I put aluminum foil over the burner to keep some of the juices and water off, it rusts pretty bad, but it has lasted some years.

You actually got me thinking, now where I got that burner. I should probably buy another and replace it before it craps out on me.

I can take some pics tonight if you want.

 

[drahthaar]

I will take four pounds, heavy on the cheddar. PM for address and payment info.

Damn, I have a fridge just like that out in my shop, but wife makes me use it for her leeches and nightcrawlers. Could be one hell of a smoker.

Fin, does yours have plastic in the door? This one still had plastic in the door, I had to take that off, found a metal lid to some other freezer and cut out a door panel, to make sure I didn't have any plastic inside. Next to impossible to find an old fridge that is all metal on the inside.

The look on my wife's face was priceless when we were at the dumpsters and I spotted this fridge, and said honey, come help me load this thing. LOL
Out there with the other two or three usual dumpster divers at the "green box mall". OMG, it was funny.

 

[Big Fin]

Fin, does yours have plastic in the door?

Actually, it is metal the whole way around. Maybe mine is a few years early vintage. Funny part is that I paid $20 for it. It still runs great, and the little lady I bought it from had the original owners manual.

 

[Whiskers]

Looks great, I wish I had the time, and talent to do that stuff.

Damn, I have a fridge just like that out in my shop,

I also have one like that in the shop its for bait, and storing deer while butchering. Then my wife decided it would come in handy for storing wines, and other things that we didn't have room for in the house. I moved it to the shed to make it inconvient for her....didn't stop her. Now she sends me to the shed to get her a bottle of wine, or the defrosted turkey, or a sheet cake for a birthday party |oo|oo so I am back to keeping bait in a cooler.