Venison sausage, how long on the smoker?


 
D

DavidD

TVWBB Super Fan
I have a 16-18 inch length of venison sausage, diameter appx 1.5 inches and total wt about 2 lbs. At 250 on the smoker, any idea how long before it is done?

I am smoking ribs and remembered i defrosted the venison for the grill but never ate it, so i decided to put it on the smoker with the ribs, but have not idea how long to leave it on.
 
What matters is internal temp. At typical smoking temps for ribs, pull the sausaghe when 160 internal.
 
based on your comment about internal temp, I pulled the sausage after 3 hrs with an internal temp of 136. Remember, this is venison sausage, not pork and like most game, if it is over cooked, it's ruined. I wasn't sure how long it would take, but got lucky when i checked it at 3 hrs, it was perfect. Terrific oak smoke.

The ribs on the other hand, needed another hour or two. I had a hard time with temps so the cook ran 5 hrs and still needed more time to tenderize. oh well, next time they'll be perfect.
 
I'm aware it is venison sausage since that is what you stated. If you cooked your ribs at typical temps then 136 is too low, imo, for food safety. If you want to take sausage to low inrernals then it is better to smoke at lower temps for longer, cheating temps up every couple hours. You want at least a 113 min with an internal of >130 in the center.

Properly made venison sausage should not be at all overcooked at 160.
 
I probably confused the point with the comment on ribs. They were on there for almost 5 hrs and the venison sausage for 3. My temps ran on the low end, so the ribs cooked more slowly than normal and probably needed another hr or two to fully tenderize but it was time to eat.

Regarding the sausage, I'm surprised it would be worth eating at 160 degrees. I've never tried it so I dont' have personal experience, other than most wild game, due to low fat content, becomes very dry and awful to eat if cooked much beyond medium rare, or medium at the most.

Anyway, this was my first smoked sausage and it turned out great. Nice smoke ring, juicy, great flavor, etc.
 
I "think" what Kevin is saying is that the internal temp. of the sausage needs to be at or above 130 for 113 min. Your total cook time was 180 min. but I doubt much of that was at or above the 113 min. Kevin, I'm I understanding this correctly?
 
You are. The time decreases as temps increase, e.g., at 135 one wants to hold 35 min, at 140, 12 min. Had Davidd smoked at, say 275, the internal rise would be quicker and the sausage would need to be taken to a higher internal to insure safety. If one smokes at lower temps or, as is common, starts with lower cooktemps for a couple hours then raises a bit from there, the internal upticks come slower but one can pull at lower internals as long as the appropriate time has elapsed. Both methods work. Venison sausage, properly made, should have substantial fat (20-30%) so be able to take higher internals if necessary. Still, one doesn't want to go overboard. Keeping track of elapsed time once 130 is achieved avoids this.

Davidd, you can always bump up the rib cooktemps to shorten the cook and/or foil after they've taken on smoke. Tenderizing comes quicker at higher temps or when cooking is more efficient, as is the case in foil.
 
As Kevin stated, the sausage should have 20-30% fat. That fat typically is pork fat which is another reason to take it up to 160. A venison sausage with no added fat would be very dry. The grinding process of the venison meat will also 'tenderize' the meat which should counter act the the higher temps.

Paul
 
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