The post you've all been waiting for....

The sausage factory!!!  I know you guys are all really intrigued by my super sophisticated title of "cook master" so I decided to share what a typical night at work is for me.  I get to work between 4 and 5 on Monday and Wednesday nights.  The kitchen staff that make the sausage are usually already gone and it's just the daytime cook and the cleaning lady, Pan, who are there.  She doesn't speak much english so there isn't any chit chat outside of "me eat," "me go home," "easy day?," "no more?," "See you wednesday" and "you help me check machine."  Im happy to report that we've recently added "flashlight" to the vocabulary as well. 

The smoke room

In the picture to the left you see the cages of sausage that yet need to be cooked on the left.  Four cages fit into one smokehouse.  We have three smokehouses, which you see on the right.  The machines by the smokehouse are filled with the liquid smoke.  One line pushes air through and the other controls the amount of smoke going into the smokehouse.  You have to make sure the vents are closed when you smoke and that you have the right level of smoke flowing otherwise you'll see drip marks if it is set too high.



The control center for the smokehouse

Each type of sausage has it's own cook cycle.  Most have anywhere from 5 to 8 different cycles it must go through.  The timers are down the center or the machine in the picture to the right with the dials on the left controling wet heat (steam) and the dials on the right controling dry heat.  The round charts on each machine tracks the temperature inside each smokehouse.  There are times when the boiler poops out and the heat drops so you need to keep an eye on the charts throughout the night.  In the case that that happens, I have to go downstairs and restart the boiler.  I've named the boiler Rose because she looks like something that was probably used on the Titanic.  She's old, but gets the job done.

Right on the dot! 160 degrees.

During the last cycle I have to quickly open the smokehouse, cut off one of the links and test the internal temperature.  When the sausage hits 160 degrees internally it's done.  That is the temperature at which most food bacterias are killed, including e. coli.  Poultry has to cook a little higher.  After the sausage has reached temperature, I turn on the chill shower and wait for the temperature to drop below 80 degrees.  All this information (time and temps) has to be recorded.  Once it hits below 80, the cages get moved to the cooler where I wrap them and they sit until they are packaged the next day.  I have to record temp one last time before I am done with my sheets; it's when the sausage gets below 41 degrees.   

It ain't easy making this outfit look cute

I have to get all decked out for work too.  I wear a hair net and helmet (we just got new ones with our logo on them, it's kinda a big deal ;o).  Then I change into a dress and wear a plastic apron.  I also need a long sleeve frock for handling the cooked meat.  This just makes sure no uncooked meat gets on the cooked sausage.  I have my own pair of boots too.  They're pretty much Hunter's just a tenth of the price.  I still don't understand the hype about those silly rain boots.  The constant cleaning gets annoying, but I guess that's just as big of a part of my job as cooking.  It is comforting knowing all the sanitation precautions that are taken here.  I know that's not the case other places though so eat your sausage at your own risk!