How important is temperature control during smoke curing?
Very. If you are smoking sausages, excess heat will melt the fat out and leave the final product dry and crumbly. This I know from experience. Here, we’re talking about temperatures around 140F, although it varies from recipe to recipe. This is very difficult to maintain in a wood burning smoker. Mine has a slow smoking section farthest away from the fire. With experience, I’ve learned to control the temperature in this section without overdamping the air inlet. Some other meats, like bacon and ham, are a little more tolerant of higher heat, but it can affect the quality of the final product. The best solution is a thermostat controlled gas or electric slow smoker like those sold by the Sausage Maker (see sources). These are not good general purpose smokers, in my opinion. I just don’t think they do nearly as well as a log burning pit for smoke cooking. Unfortunately for the many water smoker owners, they just won’t do for slow smoking–don’t even bother trying. 6.2.
