Looking for advice on a sausage smoker!
 

Hello all, I am looking for a vertical smoker to do sausage and do not know which brands to buy as there are a lot of them on the market. I would appreciate any advice on the matter also is it worth it to get a used one from somebody.

Thanks in advance for the help!


Goose :sHa_shakeshout:

I got one of these just recently https://www.cabelas.ca/product/12434...lectric-smoker


it replaced a Big Chief I have not done sausage on it it yet but it should be fine.

I went this route VS a Bradly because there was no way I would pay for those wood chip pucks.

Smoker
 

I use a Bradley but I put liquid smoke in my sausage and cure it at a low temp of 160f until internal temp of sausage is about 130 f. My smoker is in an untested shed so it takes about 3 to 4 hrs.

I replaced my Bradley with a Pit boss digital 3
Pros
1600 watt burner
well built
movable racks
excellent customer service
Cons
Temperature controller is not accurate
to get the chips burning you have to heat up to 250*

https://www.walmart.ca/en/ip/pit-bos...E&gclsrc=aw.ds

I ordered a new sensor from China the plan is to install it farther away from the heat element should solve the heat problem. I use a A-mazen smoke tube for the lower temperatures

Suggest you contact CTR refrigeration on Calgary. They are an excellent source of supplies and information on sausage making including smokers.

You are right there are lots of options for a purchasing home smoker & before recommending would need to know more about your plans for level of sausage to be smoked, your budget, if you are winter smoking.

Most of smokers sold by box stores are designed for and work very well for smoking at 250 F + temperature, which is ok for brisket, pork shoulder, ribs etc, but not so good for sausage.

Personally I would research on the internet home built smokers with a 1500 watt electric heat source & run by a controller. Lots of satisfaction in building your own.

The ”amazin smoker” device is highly recommended for smoke production in whatever you smoker body you get.

Just make sure that the cabinet temp heat source and smoke generation heat source are separate and individually controlled.
I also prefer to be able to hang sausage on rods and not have to stack on racks

I’m about to start a project on a old fridge. My plan is to use the burner and controller off my pit boss pellet grill. I have a Bradley but if it’s below zero it won’t get up to temperature. I don’t like cooking on the pit boss and got it cheap so I’ll sacrifice it for this fridge smoker project.

If you don't want to sacrifice it, you can just buy a oven style burner with a plug already wired, then use a PID controller. I wired up an inkbird from amazon and it works well for the price. I then use a tube smoker which is basically a round tube with a pile of holes that I got from aliexpress.

I'd say really consider the volume of meat you want to do and think you will want to do going forward for your smoker size selection. I started with a bradley 4 rack digital, which is fine for 4 lb of Jerky and a few racks of ribs etc. We got into sausage making, and really like it so now we do big batches! We now make 25-50lb batches and the bradley is not adequate (even though we use 5). If its something you feel you want to do often, you could probably get away with more, smaller batches but if you are going a decent amount it in 1 go it would be worth considering a bigger unit. If you start making a good product, it has a funny way of disappearing out of the freezer very quickly.

I was looking for the same thing as the OP. I am signed up for a sausage making class at CTR and I will be asking many questions about the smokers. I have a smoker, but its not a vertical smoker which I would prefer for sausage/pepperoni sticks. Mine also only goes down to 180 deg and many recipes say to start at 140ish...

A friend has a commercial fridge with a glass door like you see in stores with pop. He just uses a 120 V hot plate with a controller he bought on Ebay for $120 keeps the temp at 140* within 10* +/- A pellet smoke maze provides the smoke.
Holds 50 Lbs. easily, sausages hang on 1 1/4" dowels

https://www.ebay.ca/itm/DIY-Plug-Pla...72.m2749.l2649

The controller works very well for 1/2 price of an Auber unit

I had a Bradley, made some sausage with it but didn't like how the heat was distributed, and it took all day to get through 25lbs of sausage, built this thing and haven't looked back, if you plan on doing any sizable amount of anything I would look into something bigger than the Bradley, this one is 3 feet wide and 2 feet deep, rods across the top for hanging stuff (50 lbs at a time is doable but a little tight) and the racks are big enough that you can pretty well jerky a whole deer at once, runs off gas or coals https://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/202...f797bd4c63.jpghttps://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/202...1783cbf51c.jpg

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And I think it was around 700 all in for materials if that helps at all

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Lots of great ideas have been given in these threads on home built smokers for sausage. Pick the idea you like and go with it.

I have a remodeled fridge with masterbilt replacement heating element ( 1 burner hot plate also works), Auber plug n play controller, and Amazin Smoker. Have it in unseated shed,

Made lots of sausage, bacon, smoked turkey etc & smoker works very predictably & almost trouble free. Auber is great to deal with. But it did take a few attempts & remodels over the years before getting what I felt worked for me.

Effective Smoker is best described as a box(which will not burn down) to hang meat products within a controlled heat & smoke environment.

If you want to buy a smoker, suggest you talk to CTR refrigeration about it and get their recommendation based on your needs and budget.

Wow, that thing is amazing! How’s it generate smoke?


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For sausage and jerky I run propane, there is a tiger torch mounted under the ash catch pan, and there are some holes drilled in the catch pan, so for smoke I just add wood chips on the catch pan, for other cooking I burn coals in the basket above the catch pan and throw in the odd stick if I feel like it

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For a smoker body, something insulated is really good. Something with a recirculating fan is really good. I got a smoker built from an old bread rising/warming oven. For large batches, I think it's the way to go.