Summer Sausage Food

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.

BUBBA'S HOMEMADE SUMMER SAUSAGE, PERFECTED

Steps:

• Knead all ingredients together, mixing completely. Cover with foil and put in fridge. Knead, re-cover, and put back in fridge for days 2-4.
• Repeat each day. On the fifth day, knead and then roll into 4-5 loaves. Place on broiler pan, and put in oven at 170-180 degrees.
• For the 75% stuff, went 180 for 9 hours. Turn every two hours.
• Remove from oven, place on wire rack, and let cool to room temperature.
• Make sure to leave a plate under the rack while it's cooling to catch the drippings (in the fridge as well).
• Once it's cooled to fridge temperature, remove from rack and put in bags.
• Freeze or keep in fridge (especially due to lowering of the curing salt).

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.

SPICY SUMMER SAUSAGE

Steps:

• In a large bowl, combine all ingredients& mix well.
• Roll into four rolls of equal size.
• Wrap tightly in plastic wrap& refrigerate 24 hours.
• Unwrap rolls, place on baking rack and bake at 300 degrees for 1-1/2 hours.
• Cool& wrap in tin foil- refrigerate or freeze.

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.

WILD GAME SUMMER SAUSAGE RECIPE

Steps:

• While keeping everything ice cold (see methods for fresh sausage), combine the game meat, pork fat, and all of the other ingredients except for the Fermento, water, and casings in a large bowl.
• Mix to combine with your hands. Work in small batches if you need to, and 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 1/4-inch plate on your grinder, grind the meat mixture into the bowl set over ice.
• Change out the grinder plate to the 3/16-inch plate 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 the meat mixture in the bowl of a standing mixer and mix on low, until it's all incorporated.
• Press a piece of plastic wrap over the surface of the meat, making sure there are no air bubbles. Then wrap the bowl with a second layer of plastic wrap and set it in the fridge for 2 days to ferment.
• Make a little test patty and cook it up in a sauté pan to be sure you got the seasonings right. Adjust them if you didn't. Then, using a sausage stuffer, stuff the sausage into the casings.
• Let the stuffed casings rest in the fridge to dry out for 1-2 hours.
• While the stuffed sausages are resting, soak a panful of applewood chips for 20 minutes.
• Preheat the smoker to 112°-130°.
• 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°.
• Smoke until the internal temperature reaches 150°, which will probably take 2-3 hours, depending on your particular smoker and the ambient temperature.
• Keep refilling the pan of apple wood chips as they get low.
• When the sausages are done, let them hang at room temperature for 1 hour to cool, then wrap well and refrigerate. They can be frozen for several months.

VENISON SUMMER SAUSAGE

Steps:

• Cut the meat and fat into chunks that will fit into your grinder. Trim as much sinew and silverskin as you can. Put the fat into a container in the fridge. Mix the dextrose, salt and curing salt with the meats and put it in the fridge overnight. This helps develop myosin, which will give you a tighter bind when you stuff the links later.
• The next day, put your grinding equipment - blade, coarse and fine die, etc. - in the freezer. Mix the ginger, cloves and half of the remaining spices with the meat and fat. Put the mixture into the freezer and let everything chill down until it hits about 30°F or so. It won't freeze solid because of the salt. Normally, this takes about 90 minutes. While you're waiting, soak about 15 feet of hog casings in a bowl of warm water, and put the malt vinegar in the fridge.
• When the meat and fat are cold, take them out and grind through the coarse die of the grinder; I use a 10 mm plate. Test the temperature of the mixture, and if it's 35°F or colder, go ahead and grind it all again through a fine die, like a 4.5 mm. If it's warmer than 35°F, put the mix back in the freezer to chill. This might take an hour or so if you've let the meat warm up too much. Use the time to clean up, and to dissolve your starter culture in the distilled water.
• Once the sausage has been ground twice, test the temperature again to make sure it's 35°F or colder. I prefer to chill the mix down to 28°F to 32°F for this next stage. Chill the mix and when it's cold enough, take it out and add the remaining spices, the vinegar and the water-starter culture mixture. Now, mix and knead this all up in a big bin or bowl with your (very clean) hands for a solid 2 minutes-your hands will ache with cold, which is good. You want everything to almost emulsify.
• Stuff the sausage into hog casings rather loosely. For this sausage, you want long links. First cut lengths of casing about 2 feet long. Stuff each with a little more than 1 foot's worth of sausage, leaving with plenty of extra casing on either side. Do this with all the sausage before moving on.
• When you're ready, gently compress the long links. Keep an eye out for air pockets. Use a sterile needle or sausage pricker (set it aglow in your stovetop flame) to puncture the casing over all the air pockets. Gently compress the links together to squeeze out the air pockets; this takes practice. Tie the ends of the casing together in a double or triple knot.
• Hang the links from a clothes rack or somesuch. I use "S" rings you buy from the hardware store to hang them from the clothes rack rods. Now you need to ferment your links, keeping them warm and moist. I do this by putting a humidifier under the hanging sausages and then tenting the whole shebang with big garbage bags that I've sliced open on one end. I also use a water sprayer to spritz my sausages a couple times a day. Doing this prevents the casings from hardening. Keep your sausages hanging at room temperature (65 to 80°F) at about 85 percent humidity for three days.
• Move the sausages to your smoker and smoke them over very low heat for up to 4 hours of continuous smoke. It is vitally important that you do not cook your links here, so put ice in the water tray of the smoker and smoke on a cold day or in the early morning. Don't let the smoker rise above 100°F at all. If it gets too hot, open the door of the smoker or just take the links out.
• Now you need to dry your sausages and turn them into salami. Hang them in a place that is about 50°F to 60°F with about 80 to 90 percent humidity. In most cases you will need to put a humidifier under your links. I also spritz them with water once a day for the first 2 weeks. After the first week of hanging, drop the humidity to 70 to 80 percent. On the third week drop it again to 65 to 70 percent and hold it there until a total of 4 to 8 weeks has elapsed since the salami went into the chamber.
• You now have boerenmetworst. To store long-term, vacuum seal them individually and keep in the fridge. They will last indefinitely this way, and the vacuum sealing will keep them from becoming rock hard. You can also freeze them.

SUMMER SAUSAGE

Steps:

• In a large bowl, mix beef, curing mixture, mustard seed, garlic powder, cayenne, red pepper flakes, salt, and liquid smoke. Cover with plastic, and refrigerate for three days, mixing well once a day.
• On the fourth day, preheat oven to 200 degrees F (100 degrees C).
• Shape the mixture into five logs, and place on a wire rack over a large drip pan. Bake for eight hours, then remove to cool on paper towels. Let cool, then wrap logs individually in plastic wrap. Chill completely before slicing. They also freeze well.

SUMMER SAUSAGE

Steps:

• 1. Combine all ingredients together making sure it is mixed well.
• 2. Shape into two rolls and wrap in foil.
• 3. Refrigerate for 24 hours.
• 4. Take rolls out of refrigerator and place in pan, cover with water and boil for 60 minutes. Place a lid or something on top to keep the rolls submerged as they boil.
• 5. Drain and poke holes in the foil to allow them to drain and cool. Remove foil and put in ziplocs or bowls and refrigerate to cool. Slice and enjoy with some cheese and crackers.