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Gumbo Sausage Question
Posted on 12/1/23 at 3:41 pm
Posted on 12/1/23 at 3:41 pm
I have just started making Gumbos and picked up some Rabideaux's smoked sausage for tomorrows gumbo.
I have only used pre-cooked sausage before and have always either just put it directly in the gumbo to simmer or a light browning then simmering.
Rabideaux's smoked sausage is not pre-cooked. Should I be doing anything else because its not pre-cooked? Not trying to do anything out of my ordinary method.
Thanks.
I have only used pre-cooked sausage before and have always either just put it directly in the gumbo to simmer or a light browning then simmering.
Rabideaux's smoked sausage is not pre-cooked. Should I be doing anything else because its not pre-cooked? Not trying to do anything out of my ordinary method.
Thanks.
7
Posted on 12/1/23 at 3:47 pm to Caymus
Smoked sausage is cooked, but you need to brown it to render the fat. Remove it and drain on paper towels. You don't have to kill it but get rid of the excess fat so you don't have to skim as much. I'll use Rabideaux's for a quick jambalya, but you have to be careful of the smoke flavor in a gumbo IMO. I use Bourque's hot pork sausage and andouille, great flavor and balance of smoke. I love Rod's (Church Point) too, but be careful of too much smoke b/c it can overpower the gumbo.
Posted on 12/1/23 at 4:28 pm to Caymus
quote:
Rabideaux's smoked sausage is not pre-cooked.
definitely cooked through low temp smoking.
Slice and brown the sausage. Add diced onions (Holy Trinity) into pan and sautee' the vegetables.
Posted on 12/1/23 at 4:31 pm to Caymus
quote:
Rabideaux's smoked sausage is not pre-cooked.
what makes you think this?
Posted on 12/1/23 at 4:58 pm to t00f
The package says “requires further cooking” and has a safe handling label (which is required for non Ready to Eat - RTE - meats). It leads one to believe the product is not fully cooked.
There’s a loophole in the USDA regs that allows smoked sausage to be labeled as not fully cooked with a few simple requirements on the processor.
Why would the processor do this? Well, for one simple reason… it gets them out of having to label as RTE and thus out of having to implement a listeria monocytogenes testing program, which is a burden on the processors. I actually worked on this and helped many processors convert to labeling as not fully cooked. Since smoked sausage is widely accepted as a heat before eating product, the USDA allows this. If listeria monocytogenes programs were forced on our local sausage guys, only a couple in the state could handle it and stay federally USDA inspected. FYI, you must be USDA inspected to sell outside of your store or processing place. State USDA if staying in state or federal USDA if shipping across state lines.
There’s a loophole in the USDA regs that allows smoked sausage to be labeled as not fully cooked with a few simple requirements on the processor.
Why would the processor do this? Well, for one simple reason… it gets them out of having to label as RTE and thus out of having to implement a listeria monocytogenes testing program, which is a burden on the processors. I actually worked on this and helped many processors convert to labeling as not fully cooked. Since smoked sausage is widely accepted as a heat before eating product, the USDA allows this. If listeria monocytogenes programs were forced on our local sausage guys, only a couple in the state could handle it and stay federally USDA inspected. FYI, you must be USDA inspected to sell outside of your store or processing place. State USDA if staying in state or federal USDA if shipping across state lines.
Posted on 12/1/23 at 5:05 pm to SixthAndBarone
quote:
The package says “requires further cooking”
Exactly me.
Thank you all for the responses and I plan on browning it tomorrow before throwing it in the pot.
Posted on 12/1/23 at 5:09 pm to SixthAndBarone
Interesting.
Posted on 12/1/23 at 5:12 pm to SixthAndBarone
quote:
SixthAndBarone
What he said
Posted on 12/1/23 at 6:01 pm to Caymus
quote:
Thank you all for the responses and I plan on browning it tomorrow before throwing it in the pot.
Don't overdo it and lose the good juices from the sausage that you may want to flavor the gumbo. It's going to cook in the gumbo as well. You can also use that fat with whatever other fat you use to make the roux.
This post was edited on 12/1/23 at 6:02 pm
Posted on 12/1/23 at 6:49 pm to 91TIGER
quote:
I'll use Rabideaux's for a quick jambalya, but you have to be careful of the smoke flavor in a gumbo IMO.
Just a matter of preference, but we use Rabideaux's smoked andouille in gumbo along with smoked chicken. IMO, the smoke contributes positively to the overall flavor.
Posted on 12/1/23 at 10:04 pm to AlwysATgr
Agree. Don’t overthink it. If you just slice it and throw it in the gumbo, it will be fine. If you brown it down, it will be fine. If you brown it too much, you lose a lot of why you are using it to begin with.
Posted on 12/1/23 at 11:04 pm to SixthAndBarone
quote:trust what he says about sausage.
SixthAndBarone
He knows a thing or two about handling sausage.
How to hold it, how to store it, the safest way to prepare it.
And most importantly, how to consume it.
Posted on 12/1/23 at 11:39 pm to BigDropper
Posted on 12/2/23 at 7:38 am to BigDropper
quote:
trust what he says about sausage. He knows a thing or two about handling sausage. How to hold it, how to store it, the safest way to prepare it. And most importantly, how to consume it.
Ok….
That was unexpected.
Posted on 12/2/23 at 8:03 am to SixthAndBarone
quote:
quote:
trust what he says about sausage. He knows a thing or two about handling sausage. How to hold it, how to store it, the safest way to prepare it. And most importantly, how to consume it.
Ok….
That was unexpected.
perhaps the most td.com backhanded compliment ever?
Posted on 12/2/23 at 8:27 am to SixthAndBarone
quote:Seriously? You're the resident sausage expert.
That was unexpected.
If my memory serves correctly, you interned at a sausage factory as a sausage inspector.
Posted on 12/2/23 at 9:59 am to Jibbajabba
quote:
f you brown it too much, you lose a lot of why you are using it to begin with.
I don't brown mine. While I think browning a bit adds some caramelized flavor, there's a fine line between browning just a bit and cooking most of the flavor out of the sausage. I've had plenty of gumbo in which there is almost no sausage flavor and the sausage is dry. I prefer to get the good juices and flavor in the gumbo. I can skim any fat off the top very easily. Sausage goes in last and simmers about 30 minutes. That's it.
Posted on 12/2/23 at 12:58 pm to Caymus
quote:
Rabideaux's smoked sausage is not pre-cooked.
You can eat it straight out of the pack and you won't get sick.
It's sausage. Cook like you would any other sausage. Besides you don't think gumbo is going to cook your sausage. Quit over thinking this stuff.
Posted on 12/2/23 at 1:05 pm to saintsfan1977
Looking it up since I never thought about it and brown sausage for gumbo I think there is a difference between cold and hot smoking the sausage that makes it edible without cooking it.
Posted on 12/2/23 at 1:23 pm to t00f
In order to be edible without cooking, the processor must meet lethality temperatures and comply with all Ready To Eat regulations.
Even though our sausage producers are reaching a lethality temperature, they are not doing the RTE regs, so they cannot label it as fully cooked….unless they want to do the regs.
When you see packs from the National companies like Johnsonville, it’s a totally different story. They actually grind and stuff the sausage, then partially cook it so it gets the smoke flavor and the color, then they pack it and finally they finish cooking it in the package. This makes the product RTE and takes away the regulations since it’s impossible to introduce bacteria to the sausage after it is cooked because it is in a package. It’s astounding technology and makes the sausage have pretty much zero risk of bacteria.
Even though our sausage producers are reaching a lethality temperature, they are not doing the RTE regs, so they cannot label it as fully cooked….unless they want to do the regs.
When you see packs from the National companies like Johnsonville, it’s a totally different story. They actually grind and stuff the sausage, then partially cook it so it gets the smoke flavor and the color, then they pack it and finally they finish cooking it in the package. This makes the product RTE and takes away the regulations since it’s impossible to introduce bacteria to the sausage after it is cooked because it is in a package. It’s astounding technology and makes the sausage have pretty much zero risk of bacteria.
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