My first time trying Summer Sausage
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Hello everyone. New to the community.
So I picked up a brisket on sale a couple weeks ago (I already have 6 in the freezer). Because it was cheaper than ground beef I thought I would grind up some beef and make some patties. Then I got a wild hair to pick up a pork shoulder on sale and grind the two into summer sausage.
I had just over 18 pounds of brisket and pork cubed up. I put the grinder to work. I made some breakfast sausage, ground beef, and balled up some brisket for smash burgers. Everything was vacuum sealed and froze for whenever I’m ready to eat.
Here is where it gets interesting…
I figured up how much everything weighed and was pretty confident I was making 4 lbs of summer sausage. I had 2 lbs of brisket flat (lean), 1 pound of pork shoulder, and 1 pound of brisket fat.
I divided all my seasonings, cure, and binder. I measured out the encapsulated citric acid, and set it aside so I would be sure to add it last.I have the 500 watt Meat Your Maker grinder. It also has a stuffing feature. I stuffed four 2.4" x 12" casings and tied them off. They felt great for my first time, kind of firm and looked good. I was using the mahogany casings so I couldn’t tell if There was any air in the casings.
I decided to weigh them to see if they were about 1 pound each, before they went to the smoker. Total in weight I had 4 pounds and 14 ounces… I have no clue how I was almost a pound extra!
I decided to finish what I started. I put them on the smoker at 150 for a couple hours. then bumped it up to 175 for an hour, and then 200. Once the internal temp hit 160, I put them in an ice bath for about 30 mins, and then I put them in the refrigerator over night. The casings were shriveled pretty bad. I am assuming there was air in the casings?
I haven’t cut one open to see what they look like today.
Is it safe to eat? I only used enough cure, binder, seasoning and accelerator for 4 pounds.
Thanks for any input.
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JustStrokeIt383 0 They are almost certainly safe to eat. What most likely happened is that you were above 30% on fat total which meant you didn’t have enough protein to hold on to all of the fat. So, as you cooked it, it leaked out and was pushed out of the sausage, so the volume that was there as fat is now gone, so you get shrivelled casings. It could also be that you cooked it a little hot to begin with and then went to 200. I know people do it out of necessity but you really want to start it at 120 and then step it up slowly and stop around 180. If you want to try it again and are frustrated by the length of time it is taking I strongly suggest finishing your summer sausage in a Sous Vide cooker. There is a ton of information on here about doing it as we have all pretty much done it but here are a few links to a few articles that we and others have put out that talk about it:
https://meatgistics.waltons.com/topic/1099/advanced-thermal-processing-cured-sausage-205
https://meatgistics.waltons.com/topic/1059/to-sous-vide-or-not-sous-vide-that-seems-to-be-the-question -
Jonathon
Thank you for your reply!
I was using a pellet grill and the lowest it goes is 150. I do have a sous vide precision cooker. I might do that next time.I did notice that the casings are very greasy feeling. I noticed in the ice bath that there was a fat layer on top of the water, like quite a bit of fat leaked out like you mentioned above.
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Everything Jonathon said plus cooking those to finish at 200 degrees was a big no-no. I can almost 100% guarantee that you achieved what is called “fat out”, where the fat cooks out of the meat and ends piled up inside of your casings! Also for summers 160 degrees finish internal temp is too high, that needs to be in the low 150’s. For me I try to keep the unit temp from 180-190, no higher than 190 for the push to finish internal temp. I should’ve done this in order so let’s back up. I hang mine on a hanging stick(3/4" wooden dowel rod) til the casings feel almost dry to the touch. Then into the smoker at about 150-160 or so with wood chips for 2-2 1/2 hours then turn it up to the 180-190 temp mentioned earlier to finished internal temp of 150-152 or so. Then dump them in a sink and give them a cold shower or ice water bath, or both to stop the cooking process. Every guy on this site has their own preferred method and temps they use, the above works great for me, I get good looking casings on my finished product, nice firm meat, more than enough smoke color and smell/taste and they aren’t in my smoker for hours upon hours getting beat to death!!! This is my method, there are many, many knowledgeable guys on this site who I’m sure will be happy to chime in here with more very helpful hints for you, especially if you’re using a pellet grill. I’m not well versed in pellet grills, although I love the way they cook and I can see one for me in the near future!! Just not for low and slow items like summers and snack sticks!
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tompayne
Thanks for the reply!
I sliced open one of the sausages today. I used Walton’s h seasoning, carrot binder, sure cure, and encapsulated citric acid. I could tell there was more fat than I wanted. But it didn’t leave a wax feeling in my mouth. So I should of cut back on the fat and pulled them from the smoker sooner.
I’ve had some beef sticks that taste like I’m eating a candle.
My summer sausage wasn’t terrible. I’ll be able to eat what I made. And I have some adjustments to make for the next try.
I was more worried about the 4 pounds 14 ounces of meat with only cure and citric acid for 4 pounds. I wanted to be sure it was still safe to eat.
I do have a stick burner but it was getting late last night and I was exhausted. So the pellet grill was my decision. -
If you have to do them on a pellet grill, you should get an elevated rack to get them off the bottom and crack the lid open with a small piece of 2x4. It will help with your fat out problem.
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cdavis Masterbuilt Canning Kamado Joes Regular Contributors Power User Sous Vide Oklahoma Team Camoreplied to JustStrokeIt383 0 on last edited by
JustStrokeIt383 0 welcome aboard. Glad to have you here
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Grimpuppy
I do have an elevated rack. But I didn’t think to crack open the door.My smoker has a cold smoke feature. I can turn on the fan while running a smoke tube to circulate the smoke.
Maybe try this for a couple hours before turning it up to 150 defrees (minimum)? -
JustStrokeIt383 0 Probably the best way to get opinions on this site is to say this was my first time making XYZ, everyone loves trying to help someone at something new! Glad you got so much good information!
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JustStrokeIt383 0 said in My first time trying Summer Sausage:
tompayne
Thanks for the reply!
I sliced open one of the sausages today. I used Walton’s h seasoning, carrot binder, sure cure, and encapsulated citric acid. I could tell there was more fat than I wanted. But it didn’t leave a wax feeling in my mouth. So I should of cut back on the fat and pulled them from the smoker sooner.
I’ve had some beef sticks that taste like I’m eating a candle.
My summer sausage wasn’t terrible. I’ll be able to eat what I made. And I have some adjustments to make for the next try.
I was more worried about the 4 pounds 14 ounces of meat with only cure and citric acid for 4 pounds. I wanted to be sure it was still safe to eat.
I do have a stick burner but it was getting late last night and I was exhausted. So the pellet grill was my decision.The extra 14 ounces might be the weight of the seasoning and any extra liquid you used to get a good protein extraction. If you used enough cure for the 4 pounds of meat then you should be fine.
