I just made some Andouille, Louisiana hot links and Texas smoky links. They need to be smoked to be authentic and taste "right". I "hot smoke" all the time so this is not an issue. But I have made a bunch and want to freeze most of it and use it as needed. I see two options:
1) Just freeze as is and then "hot smoke" it when I need it. The problem with this is I have to setup my smoker which is not great when it is a week night and I want something to feed the family quickly.
2) I thought about cold smoking them for 1-2 hours to get the smoke flavor in. Then I will freeze them. Then I will grill them and make sure they get hot enough. I see no issues with this?
Folks warn about "cold smoking" without nitrates or salts but I think that is only relevant if it is a long "cold smoke" or if you are curing them and will then eat them without cooking them?
Thoughts?
Thanks for any help and advice you can provide...I want to hear what the experts out there think. Thanks!
DZ in the UK
1) Just freeze as is and then "hot smoke" it when I need it. The problem with this is I have to setup my smoker which is not great when it is a week night and I want something to feed the family quickly.
2) I thought about cold smoking them for 1-2 hours to get the smoke flavor in. Then I will freeze them. Then I will grill them and make sure they get hot enough. I see no issues with this?
Folks warn about "cold smoking" without nitrates or salts but I think that is only relevant if it is a long "cold smoke" or if you are curing them and will then eat them without cooking them?
Thoughts?
Thanks for any help and advice you can provide...I want to hear what the experts out there think. Thanks!
DZ in the UK