Kielbasa

So seeing as how we had pork back fat left over from our last sausages, we decided to make more sausages. It was down to either a Brat or Kielbasa, with Kielbasa edging past Brats with the added garlic (boyfriend LOVES garlic). Went back to Tim's (I think I might become a regular) and picked up some more Pork Butt and some Beef Chuck (although we were also tempted to buy a nice looking Tri Tip, but thats another post!). Went home and started the long soaking process for the casings, and mixed up the meat mixture (lots of paprika and garlic!). Next time I will have to try the freezer trick for the meat, as it came out still a bit mushy. This time it only made about 3 lbs of meat, which for us was enough for one casing. Got the casing on the stuffer much easier this time, tied it off and started to stuff. Boyfriend is now an old pro at stuffing, and the sausage was much more uniform. Put the sausage in the fridge to await the smoking in the morning. Got up this morning and started the gas grill, filled the smoker box with wood chips (mesquite I think) and put the sausage on. The recipe said to smoke at around 160-200 degrees, which I never was able to do, it just kept staying too hot... I think I smoked at around 280 degrees which took me 1 hr. It didn't seem to affect the sausages too much, although I think they would have been a bit more tender. The second I brought them into the house, as the smell wafted through the house, the dog was right there licking his lips! (Oh and did I forget to mention that apparently dogs love casings?? Yes our dog ate 3 last night!!!) Tonight we grilled the smoked sausages and they were very tasty as well, and not at all greasy. I don't know which one I like the better....