Best way to freeze summer sausage and how long will it keep

[pigman34]

Just made some and now need to store it

[twilliams]

pigman34 vacuum seal. I would think it would last atleast a year

[Carl Scheuer]

pigman34 I vacuum seal 1 year no problems

[Jonathon]

pigman34 Yeah, as long as you let it dry at room temp for an hour then move it to a cooler overnight and pack it the next day you will be able to get a year no problem.

[iowa arborist]

Jonathon I just did this and sounds like maybe incorrectly. After ice bath I left them on the counter for about 1hr 20min to dry and then vac packed and into the freezer. So I need to put them back in fridge after the room temp phase and package the next day?

[twilliams]

iowa arborist if the centers still had some heat to them it may create some crystallization in the package. By refrigerating prior to packaging assures they are completely cooled down and taking less time to freeze.

[iowa arborist]

twilliams ok good to know. The knowledge here is awesome. Do you think there is any harm in leaving them on the counter until they reach room temp as long as it’s within a couple hours?

[PapaSop]

iowa arborist
Just my take… Without knowing your set-up, anything you can do to fully cool them before packaging will help. I typically do my summer sausage in the early spring and late fall. After the ice bath I’ll let them hang in the garage overnite or even a couple of days. My garage tends to stay around 38deg.
As far as storage goes, once found a stick in the freezer after 18 months and it was fine. Vacuum sealed of course.

[twilliams]

iowa arborist leaving on the counter to dry a bit for an hour or two after the ice bath is perfectly acceptable unless its 90° in the house during summer months. I would still put in fridge overnight not touching or stacked on top of each other and package the next day.

[Jonathon]

iowa arborist Nothing wrong with leaving them out for a little longer, but I still wouldn’t do more than 2 hours. It is a semi dried and cured product that was just cooked to 160° so there is a very low chance of anything growing on it but if the surface was unclean where you were letting it air dry it is possible. Remember, from 40-140 some bacteria can double every 20 minutes, so it can go from ok to terrible in just a few hours!

[iowa arborist]

Jonathon That is an impressive stat I did not know. Here to learn the best ways not just “a way” to do it so I will switch to the recommended overnight refrigeration after drying. Thank you!