In order to obtain this result it is necessary to have plenty of hanging room so that the proper temperature and ventilation is available for the entire lot of sausage which is being prepared for smoke. If the sausage is too closely hung it should be moved about from the center to the sides of the room occasionally so that all the sausage receives the same ventilation.
The manufacturer should have sufficient space to allow the sausage to hang after it is stuffed and before it is smoked, for from two to three days, and sometimes longer. In the winter season, which is the proper time for manufacturing high grade summer sausage, it is a good practice to allow it to hang as long as possible before smoking, but it must be watched to prevent sliming or becoming too dry.
Smoke Houses.
—The smoke houses should be built of brick, sheet iron houses which have been experimented with, especially for summer sausage, have proved to be complete failures. The brick not only protect the house from the varying outside temperatures, but retain the heat, which is desirable and necessary in the successful smoking of this kind of sausage.
Smoke houses are preferably equipped with rails and trolleys. The houses are usually built like ham houses, viz: 12 × 12 feet, or some size convenient to the trolleys to be used.
The distance from the fire should be in any case, whether the track system or the ordinary smoke house with the beam system is used, twelve feet, and in some cases, such as in smoking summer sausage in bladders, or Braunschweiger in hog casings, the distance from the fire should be twenty feet or more. This, however, will be explained in the formulas for making the different kinds of sausage.
The main point to be considered in the construction of a smoke house for summer sausage is to have it so arranged that the heat can be regulated to different temperatures, also the amount of smoking, as each kind of sausage requires a different temperature. The ventilation of the smoke house should be perfect and absolutely controllable, as the weather conditions have a great deal to do with the successful smoking of sausage and the houses should be arranged so that they can be kept at a uniform temperature and humidity during any kind of weather.
As in the case of domestic sausage, no smoke house should be used for summer sausage unless the temperature can be maintained uniform and the walls in proper condition.
Since, summer sausage is not cooked before it goes to smoke, a cold or damp smoke house will “ring” the sausage even quicker than a cold smoke house will “ring” Bologna, therefore extreme caution should be used in this particular.
Hardwood and hardwood sawdust are used exclusively in smoking summer sausage, and both wood and sawdust should be absolutely dry when the fire is started. In some cases, however, after the sausage is very nearly smoked, it is advisable to use a little damp sawdust before completing the operation.