Sausage

[JaxHiker]

I'm heading out next week and wanted to try some new dishes. One I have my eyes on is sausage with red beans/rice. I picked up some smoked sausage yesterday and it's been dehydrating but I'm a little nervous. I wasn't expecting the amount of grease I'm getting.

I've been blotting it dry with a paper towel every few hours but I worry that it may pose a risk of going rancid on the trail. Should I ditch the meal or will I be ok?

[mister krabs]

I don't think it will go, but if it goes rancid, you'll taste it. Just keep it refrigerated till you go and remember to taste it before you put it in your beans. I'd think about smoking it low and slow in a smoker over some hickory. That would dry it, preserve it and give it more flavor too.

[BlueTang]

You might want to consider trying Jimmy Dean Turkey Sausage instead. It tastes like pork breakfast sausage and has much lower fat. They are pre-cooked and e have managed to keep them in the pack without refrigeration for about 3 days.

Admittedly, we have never tried dehydrating them, but we have dried pork sausage mixed in with a meal (Spaghetti Sauce). We cooked, drained and rinsed the sausage before including in the sauce.

[Father Dragon]

Summer Sausage with red beans in rice is good. Summer Sausage is heavy ... but it's good.

[BobTheBuilder]

Smoked sausage does have a lot of fat in it. I tried dehydrating cooked italian sausage, but abandoned it because it still felt greasy. I have a couple of suggestions, for what they are worth. The first would be to chop up the smoked sausage into small pieces and saute them over a low heat to remove as much fat as possible before dehydrating. The second would be to substitute ham for the sausage. Ham is good in red beans, although I have never tried to dehydrate it. Finally, consider omitting the meat altogether and flavor the red beans more with some cajun spice, like Tony C's. I hope it works out for you.

[Blissful]

Why dehydrate smoked sausage? Should last a few days (though I'd likely eat it on day one or two). They smoked meats in the old days so it stays preserved

[JaxHiker]

Thanks for the suggestions guys. My logic for dehydrating since it's already fully cooked is simply a weight issue. I think I'll just change my menu around and make it the first dinner. I didn't really think about taking at straight out of the package but that might've worked better. I still have another link, though.

BTB, I did cut it into small pieces for drying but might try the saute method also.

[longhiker]

Is there any weight savings that can be realized by dehydrating those skinny hard and seemingly dry hungarian sausages you see stored un-refridgerated at the grocery store? maybe salami is another example?

[JaxHiker]

Well, these were nice and plump links. :-)

[Toolshed]

Is there any weight savings that can be realized by dehydrating those skinny hard and seemingly dry hungarian sausages you see stored un-refridgerated at the grocery store? maybe salami is another example?
Funny you should mention those. I grew up outside of Rochester and Hartmann's German Sausage shop made those and hung them behind the counter for days to dry out. We carried them for years in paper bags in our backpacks (Plastic won't let air out) and they were fine. Back around 1998, the Monroe County health department made Hartmanns start refrigerating them rather than air dry. Said it was a health code violation. Hmmm....Millions of sausages over hundreds of years vs a county health inspector...
Anyways, Wegmans (another Rochester invention) carries Hartmanns sausages down here in NJ, which may be what you are referring to - If it is the case, I think they would be fine non-refrigerated, but a quick call to Hartmanns could confirm this...

[longhiker]

Wow... I was thinking of the sausages at Wegmans in NJ! I almost included the name in there but then figured it's not too big a chain and many here may not know of it..

Since you are from around here, do you know of a forum where I can find people to share a ride with to the Catskills, Adirondacks etc? I have a car but having to put so many miles (5 - 6 hrs one way to the 'Dacks) and burn gas just to get the 2 of us to a 2 - 3 day hike limits the number of times we go hiking.

[longhiker]

Sorry, I should have said rides FROM NJ to nice places. I see forums where people from nice places go to nicer places.. but it'd be great if I could find people from central NJ going to nice places :)

[GGS2]

What's wrong with Central NJ? I thought that was Pine Barrens. No fun?

[Toolshed]

Wow... I was thinking of the sausages at Wegmans in NJ! I almost included the name in there but then figured it's not too big a chain and many here may not know of it..

Since you are from around here, do you know of a forum where I can find people to share a ride with to the Catskills, Adirondacks etc? I have a car but having to put so many miles (5 - 6 hrs one way to the 'Dacks) and burn gas just to get the 2 of us to a 2 - 3 day hike limits the number of times we go hiking.
Sure - join up with VFTT - Viewsfromthetop.com - there are a few folks from NYC and NJ area.
Also ADKhighpeaks.com is a great place and there are a few folks also from NJ/NYC that are active in the Cats and Daks.
You could try ADKforum.com as well, but that has, over the years, evolved to more localized folks with more of a sports-minded pursuit - hunting/fishing. there are backpackers and hikers on there, but I think you might have more luck with the other 2.

Also don't forget catskill-3500-club.org - You can join up and get the newsletter - There are always hikes and carpools going on - you should also check out the related Yahoo group:
[email protected]

as well as Meetup.com - Look for a local hiking group near your zip. If no one is leading a trip to where you want to go, Become the leader.

Finally, You could join the Good old ADK - I believe there is a NJ chapter - Plenty of folks to carpool with there.

[russb]

Very interesting thread migration.

My first thought when i read the title was, ahh sausage... the backpackers friend since dried/cured/smoked sausage was a preservative method in the days of old and need not be refrigerated. Of course this was then mentioned.

Then I see the mention of Hartmanns sausage. Their landjaeger is one of the best. (Landjaeger is a traditional hunters sausage from Bavaria IIRC) and is designed to get better with age, not being refrigerated. As mentioned in a dry paper bag. Of course being in Rochester, I know of Hartmanns and Wegmans. I have been in contact with hartmann's a while ago about why they refrigerate their landjaeger. Apparently, their sausages are now "cooked" instead of the traditional method. Not sure if they "require" to be refrigerated, but they "recommend it". Might be a health dept thing as mentioned.

And then the mention of adkforum, vfft, etc... I am a member at all of those places (DuctTape is my name there). vfft focuses mostly of peakbagging hence the forum name. adkforum has many subforums and depending on the season you will see an abundance of posts about a specific topic whether it be hunting, fishing, paddling, etc... there are still plenty of backpackers there. Just isn't much to discuss about the methods employed since it is just walking.

Anyway, back to your regularly scheduled programming.

[Toolshed]

Very interesting thread migration.

My first thought when i read the title was, ahh sausage... the backpackers friend since dried/cured/smoked sausage was a preservative method in the days of old and need not be refrigerated. Of course this was then mentioned.

Then I see the mention of Hartmanns sausage. Their landjaeger is one of the best. (Landjaeger is a traditional hunters sausage from Bavaria IIRC) and is designed to get better with age, not being refrigerated. As mentioned in a dry paper bag. Of course being in Rochester, I know of Hartmanns and Wegmans. I have been in contact with hartmann's a while ago about why they refrigerate their landjaeger. Apparently, their sausages are now "cooked" instead of the traditional method. Not sure if they "require" to be refrigerated, but they "recommend it". Might be a health dept thing as mentioned.

And then the mention of adkforum, vfft, etc... I am a member at all of those places (DuctTape is my name there). vfft focuses mostly of peakbagging hence the forum name. adkforum has many subforums and depending on the season you will see an abundance of posts about a specific topic whether it be hunting, fishing, paddling, etc... there are still plenty of backpackers there. Just isn't much to discuss about the methods employed since it is just walking.

Anyway, back to your regularly scheduled programming.
RussB - I am "Rick" on those forums. Nice to meet you here. I used to be pretty active with the ADK in the Daks in northern PA in the 90's.

[russb]

Hey Rick.

I suppose if one spends enough time on the outdoor forums, one will eventually run into many of the same people. I know redhawk and winterwarlock have migrated over here once or twice. Probably a bunch more too.

Good to "see" you.