Summer Sausage complete

crankybuzzard · Dec 15, 2015

Well, per my employees and coworkers, I've got a keeper recipe. 80/20 beef and pork butt on this round. I used seasonings from The Sausage Maker, added NFDM, cayenne, whole mustard seed, whole peppercorns, and hi-temp cheddar cheese. Not too spicy, but has a slight tingle at the end.

I mixed this up on Saturday, stuffed on Sunday, and smoked on Monday. After smoking last night, I let it cool down and then refrigerated until this morning.

I didn't get a lot of pictures, but here's the mix

SS001.JPG

crankybuzzard
Dec 15, 2015

Here's the money shot.

SS002.JPG

crankybuzzard
Dec 15, 2015

Can't wait to try this with some venison when we have our sausage fest in January!

gary s · Dec 15, 2015

Looks Good, What was you pork to beef ratio ?

Gary

boykjo · Dec 15, 2015

Nicely done CB... That looks great. Your money shots are getting impressive. I like 90/10 ratio on SS...........

HalfSmoked · Dec 15, 2015

Great looking summer sausage dang man you are killing with weight gain and the holiday season is bad enough.

ibbones · Dec 15, 2015

You sure make it look easy.

crankybuzzard · Dec 15, 2015

gary s said:
Looks Good, What was you pork to beef ratio ?

Gary

I went 80% beef and 20% pork butt. However, I didn't use a lot of fat in the pork since most of it was used for the pepperoni, so it came out pretty well.

crankybuzzard · Dec 15, 2015

boykjo said:
Nicely done CB... That looks great. Your money shots are getting impressive. I like 90/10 ratio on SS...........

Thanks for the points!

90/10 beef or 90 beef and 10% pork? I vary between 90/10 and 80/20 beef/pork, depending on what I have at the time. With venison, it's almost always 80/20 since the venison is so lean.

I can't take credit for the pictures getting better, I got a new case for my phone and it's changed the look of the pics. I like it!

dirtsailor2003 · Dec 15, 2015

Looks great!

POINTS!!!!

crankybuzzard · Dec 15, 2015

HalfSmoked said:
Great looking summer sausage dang man you are killing with weight gain and the holiday season is bad enough.

Thanks!

I figure after January 1st, we'll all start making low fat chicken sausages... Nah, probably not.

ibbones said:
You sure make it look easy.

Thanks. It's really not that hard to do once you get into it. As with a lot of things, sausage making looks intimidating, but is a lot of fun.

dirtsailor2003 said:
Looks great!

POINTS!!!!

Thank you sir!

mowin · Dec 15, 2015

Will you adjust the mix for venison besides the meat to fat ratio? Happen to have 45# of venison all cubed and frozen waiting for its turn to become various types of goodies.

:points:.

crankybuzzard · Dec 15, 2015

mowin said:
Will you adjust the mix for venison besides the meat to fat ratio? Happen to have 45# of venison all cubed and frozen waiting for its turn to become various types of goodies.

.

If you're referring to the spices, cheese, and seeds, nope, not at all. The only change will be that for the 20% pork butt, I'll make sure that the fattier portion is used instead of the leaner like I did here.

Don't jump in with all 45#. Do a couple of 1-2 pound batches and see what you think. Also, do a patty fry test after mixing. It's not exactly like it will be out of the smokehouse, but it will let you know if you need to add something or tell you if you're too salty. Don't go over 2% salt. Once you have the mix, flavor, and texture you want, after smoking, then you can go crazy with the rest of the venison.

I learned a hard lesson one year with about 30 pounds...

mowin · Dec 15, 2015

Trust me.. there know way I'm going to put 30lbs of venison at risk on my first try. I picked up a SS kit from Gander Mt. After the holidays, I plan on trying SS.

crankybuzzard · Dec 15, 2015

mowin said:
Trust me.. there know way I'm going to put 30lbs of venison at risk on my first try. I picked up a SS kit from Gander Mt. After the holidays, I plan on trying SS.

That's a great way to start! Most of the kits are geared towards a first time maker and they are pretty tame spice wise.

Now, after the first kit or 2, you can add some peppercorns, mustard seed, cheese, etc., to start making it your own. Then, again, with a small batch, come up with your own recipes.

Remember, soak the fibrous casings in water around 100 degrees for 30 minutes or so before you stuff. When stuffing, go slow and make sure it's packed in really well. The amber colored casings look great, but you can't see air pockets in them. I recommend natural colored fibrous for the first few times to get the hang of it and be able to see the air pockets.

I'm sure you know this, but make certain that the amount of cure you use is correct for the amount of the meats. Most of the kits are geared towards a 5 or 10 pound batch, and the cure is in a separate envelope. Read the label to make sure which size kit you're using each time.

whistech · Dec 15, 2015

Wow CrankyBuzzard the summer sausage looks delicious! About how much pepper corns were used?

murraysmokin · Dec 15, 2015

Hey how much NFDM per pound I think I would like mine a bit drier & was thinking the NFDM would help that out. Looks awesome by the way.

crankybuzzard · Dec 15, 2015

I'll post the recipe I used here in a little bit. On a different computer. It will have all the measurements.

crazymoon · Dec 15, 2015

CB , Nice job sir !

murraysmokin · Dec 15, 2015

Thanks I just smoked some yesterday and would benefit from being a bit drier.

crankybuzzard · Dec 15, 2015

murraysmokin said:
Hey how much NFDM per pound I think I would like mine a bit drier & was thinking the NFDM would help that out. Looks awesome by the way.

Actually, NFDM will help it retain moisture.

What was your recipe and maybe we can help you figure out what you need to do.

crankybuzzard · Dec 15, 2015

My recipe for 6.5 pounds of meat

Cranky Summer Sausage 12/13/2015

4.8oz SS spice from the sausage maker
.5 pound cheese
3 Tbs pepper corn
2 Tbs mustard seed
.75 tsp cayenne
.5 cup NFDM
30ml red wine vinegar
1/4cup water

Everyone like it, so I'll do this one again next time. This batch will be gone after next week.

Summer Sausage complete

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