Cased Summer Sausage Food

HOMEMADE BEEF SUMMER SAUSAGE RECIPE

Steps:

• Mix 4 pounds of ground beef with Morten's Tender Quick Home Meat Cure. Cover and refrigerate overnight. If you don't have one, set a cooling rack in a baking sheet.
• Add garlic salt, cracked black pepper, and liquid smoke. Mix together until combined.
• Divide the meat mixture into four equal parts. Shape meat into four sticks, or logs.
• Line a roasting pan with aluminum foil for easier cleanup. Set sausages on a roasting pan with a wire rack.
• Preheat oven to 225 degrees. Bake sausage for 4 hours.
• Remove from the oven and cool. Refrigerate summer sausage for up to three weeks, or freeze for up to three months.
• Slice and serve with sliced cheese and crackers.

CASED SUMMER SAUSAGE

Steps:

• While keeping everything ice cold, combine game meat, pork fat, and all other ingredients (except for the Fermento and water) into a large bowl.
• Mix to combine with your hands. Work in small batches if you need to (don't be afraid to throw the meat back in the fridge or freezer, or into a cooler with ice to get chilled again.)
• Using the large die on your grinder, grind the meat mixture into the bowl set over ice. Change out the grinder die to the small die and pass the mixture through the grinder again.
• Meanwhile, dissolve the Fermento in the water and stir with a spoon. Add to the ground meat mixture and again mix with your hands (or throw in your standing mixer and mix on low using the paddle attachment) until it's all incorporated.
• Wrap the bowl with plastic wrap, pressing down on the surface to remove any air bubbles. Wrap again with plastic wrap and set it in the fridge for 2 days to ferment.
• Make a little test patty and cook it up in a saute pan to be sure you got the seasonings right. Adjust them if you didn't.
• Then, using a sausage stuffer, stuff the sausage into 2 ½-inch collagen casings (an 18" casing will hold about 2.5 pounds of sausage mixture), which make these sausages easy to transport on a hunt.
• Let rest in the fridge to dry out for 1-2 hours while you soak your wood chips and preheat your smoker. Soak a pan of apple wood chips for 20 minutes.
• Preheat the smoker to 112-130 degrees.
• Set the pan of chips in the smoker.
• Lay (or hang) the sausages in the smoker. Smoke for about 60 minutes at this temperature, then raise the temperature to 180 degrees.
• Smoke until the internal temperature reaches 150 degrees, which will take about 2-3 hours or more depending on your particular smoker and the ambient temperature. Keep filling your pan of apple wood chips if they get low.
• When the sausages are done, let them hang at room temperature for one hour to cool, then wrap well and refrigerate.
• I always make a ton and give some away to friends. If necessary, they can be wrapped and frozen for several months.

BUD'S HOMEMADE SUMMER SAUSAGE

Steps:

• 1. In a large bowl, mix all ingredients with your hands like making meatloaf. Cover and Refrigerate 24 hours. Take out and knead one more time then make 4 14x2 inch logs. Put them on a cookie sheet with 1-2 inch sides. Bake at 300 degrees for 3 hours. Take out and wrap in wax paper with aluminum foil around that. Refrigerate until well chilled. Serve by slicing and eating alone or with crackers and cheese.
• 2. NOTE: When rolling logs into shape, make sure you knead the meat and form a tight log so there's no cracks forming while baking.
• 3. IF USING VENISON: Venison is very lean. This recipe needs some fat in it so use 3 lbs venison and 2 lbs hamburger.

CHEF JOHN'S SUMMER SAUSAGE

Steps:

• Smash celery into juicy bits using a mortar and pestle. Combine with ground beef in a large bowl. Add garlic powder, paprika, mustard seeds, kosher salt, black pepper, cayenne pepper, curing salt, and sugar. Mix by hand until thoroughly combined.
• Transfer meat onto a large piece of parchment paper. Use damp hands to shape into a 3- to 4-inch-thick log. Roll up in the parchment paper, compressing it as much as possible. Twist ends tightly to seal. Place on a paper towel-lined baking sheet and refrigerate for 24 hours.
• Preheat the oven to 275 degrees F (135 degrees C).
• Cut ends off the parchment paper and unwrap meat. Mix liquid smoke with water and generously brush over the meat. Roll meat back up in the paper, then again in aluminum foil, sealing it tightly and twisting the ends in opposite directions.
• Line a baking sheet with a wire rack and place the sealed meat on top. Poke 5 or 6 holes across the bottom for excess moisture to drip out.
• Bake in the preheated oven until the internal temperature reaches 150 degrees F (66 degrees C) and no higher, about 1 1/2 hours.
• Let sausage cool in the pan until room temperature, at least 30 minutes. Give ends a tighter twist, then refrigerate at least 8 hours, or overnight.
• Unwrap sausage and slice in half. Coat outsides with freshly ground black pepper, place on a plate lined with crinkled foil, and let dry in the refrigerator for 24 hours.

HOMEMADE SUMMER SAUSAGE AKA SALAMI

Steps:

• Mix together all ingredients in a nonmetal bowl. It is easier to mix the seasoning with the water, then incorporate the meat, using your hands to distribute all spices evenly (like making a meatloaf). A note, based on a review, do not over mix the meat or it will be tough. This is true about any kind of meat, work it just enough to get every thing incorporated.
• I use an ice cream bucket and place a lid on top.
• Refrigerate for 24 hours.
• Remove from bowl and roll into 4 rolls, about 1 1/2 to 2 inches thick.
• Wrap in aluminum foil with shiny side towards meat.
• Punch tiny holes along one side and place in a broiler pan with holes down to drain out liquid.
• Bake at 325 degrees for 1 1/2 hours.
• Remove foil and rewrap in plastic wrap.
• Ready to use or freeze.