Cased Summer Sausage Recipes

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.

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.

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.

SANDY'S SUMMER SAUSAGE

Steps:

• In a large bowl, mix together the ground beef, mustard seed, garlic powder, liquid smoke, curing salt, and pepper using your hands. Form into two equal logs, and wrap each one in aluminum foil with the shiny side facing the meat. Refrigerate for 24 hours.
• Preheat the oven to 325 degrees F (165 degrees C). Poke small holes through the aluminum foil in the bottom of the meat rolls using a toothpick. Place on a broiler rack and fill the broiler pan with 1/2 inch of water.
• Bake for 90 minutes in the preheated oven. Cool slightly, then refrigerate for 12 hours before unwrapping and serving.

SMOKED SUMMER SAUSAGE

Steps:

• 1. Combine ground meat with all remaining ingredients(except casings)in a large mixing bowl,mix/knead thoroughly up to 2 minutes. (to prepare fibrous casings soak 15 min. in warm water prior to using.
• 2. Taste test by frying a small amount(a size of a quarter or so) a patty to see if you approve the flavor. Make changes if needed.
• 3. Stuff seasoned meat mixture into casings of your choice; refrigerate overnight to cure.
• 4. SMOKER PROCESSING After sausage product has been seasoned,stuffed & cured overnight, hang the sausage product in smoker, carefully positioning so that it's not touching one another. 2. If you have a digital thermometer timer, push the probe into the center of one of the sausages, set the temperature alarm at 152 degrees F. 3. Begin the first hour by setting the temp. to 130-140 degrees; open the smoker damper wide open until the product is dry (tacky) to the touch 4.At beginning of second hr. close damper & adjust smoker temp. to 150-260 degrees & apply smoke for 1hr.and 20 min.Longer is optional if you prefer a heavy smoke. 5.At beginning of the 3rd hr. adjust smoker heat to 170 degrees. Maintain until internal temperature of the sausage product reaches 152 degrees internally at which time the sausage is fully cooked
• 5. Cooling Down the product: Remove sausages from smoker & shower with cool water to stop the cooking process, shower(spray) product until the internal temp of product drops to 120 degreesF.
• 6. Product is ready to eat. Remainder should be packaged & frozen until needed. Venison lovers can grind 9lbs. of trimmed venison and 1lb. beef fat for 10 lbs. of sausage sticks or summer/salami type sausages..enjoy

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.

HOMEMADE SUMMER SAUSAGE

Steps:

• In a large bowl, mix together the ground beef and water until well blended. Season with garlic powder, curing mixture, liquid smoke and mustard seed, and mix thoroughly. It is best to use your hands for this - like meatloaf. Form the mixture into two rolls, and wrap with aluminum foil. Refrigerate for 24 hours.
• Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Remove foil from the beef, and poke holes in the bottom of the rolls. Place them on a roasting rack in a shallow roasting pan to catch the drippings.
• Bake for 1 hour in the preheated oven. Cool, then wrap in plastic or foil, and refrigerate until cold before slicing.