Curing


 
J

jkoehler

New member
Not sure this is the right forum for this but here's my concern:
I want to make some andouille and tasso. I want to smoke them very slowly so they don't dry out too much, especially the andouille. I don't have a cold smoke house so I'm going to use my WSM with very low temperatre with Tenderquick as a cure. Does the application of cure eliminate the need for reaching a certain temperature during smoking? Thanks for any help.
 
Some cooks cold smoke andouille, others do not. I am in the latter camp as I do not see the point. Regardless, 'drying out' comes from overdoing it, not a particular temp (though, of course, one would not want to go too high as to overcook the exterior before the interior has a chance to finish; nor would one want to shorten the time in the smoke). I smoke andouille at ~175 - but start at lower temps and don't bump till after a few hours.

The application of curing salt is mainly for color, flavor and control of the C. bot. organism. Certain others can be affected by curing salt but it is more salt, specifically, which affects other pathogens. Smoke affects pathogens too as it is both a bacteriostat and a bactricide.

Temp minimums for cured items depend on the item being cured and whether it will be further cooked after smoking, like bacon. Much depends on the finished texture one is seeking. I target ~150 for andouille.
 
Thanks for your reply. Do you have any suggestions for temp for tasso? Also, what sort of amount of charcoal and vent setting do you start out with to keep the temp low starting out?
 
I smoke tasso the same way but take it to a higher internal - ~165.

I start with 7-10, depending on the time of year, lit atop wood atop unlit. Tepid to cool to cold water, depending on the time of year as well. Vents all open at the outset but I watch things and evenly restrict the vents not too long after start-up - but not by all that much. I find that the cooler water and fewer lit handles much of the initially desired lower temp/slower come-up just fine.
 
Since you're sharing all your secrets
icon_wink.gif
, want to keep it going and post your recipes for andouille and tasso? I'd like to see how yours compare to mine. Thanks again.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

 

Back
Top