Summer Sausage Cures

cheryl1949 · Jul 8, 2010

I am getting ready to make some venison summer sausage and with one of the kits I have it says to mix and stuff the sausages then let it sit in the refrigerator over night to let the cure work. I then got a receipe off this sight where insta cure is used and was told to stuff then let hang for 3 to 4 hours then put is smoker. Are the different instructions due to the type of cure being used? Why does one say to put in the refrigerator over night before smoking and the other say let hang for 3 to 4 hours?

Thanks Bones

solaryellow · Jul 8, 2010

To be fair I have never used a packaged mix for summer sausage but I have found letting it sit in the fridge overnight helps develop the flavors a little more and that is my preference. The ones I have done where I didn't let the flavors develop overnight were still good, just not as good in my opinion.

Dutch · Jul 8, 2010

Cheryl- what brand of sausage mix are you using? Not all cures are the same-so you should follow the instructions of the manufacturer to insure that the meat is properly cured.

gary46992 · Jul 8, 2010

this one i been doing for years and i think its very good. this recipe is for five pounds of meat i use eight so go half again on spices if you go that way. 3 pounds hamburger two pounds buld sauage... i use 5 and 3 it makes a better loaf in the pan. ok here we go 5tsp mortontender quick salt... 2 and a half mustard seed 2 and a half coarse black pepper 2 and a half garlic salt 1 tsp hickory salt i tsp cayenne or to taste i use habaneros tsp black pepper corns 2 and a half tsp onion powder 2 and a halftsp garlic powder.... mix dry ingredients together then start mixing hamburger and sausage together when all the meat is about half way mixed start adding the spices and mix a little at at time. when done put in a wellllllllllll greased 9 by 13 metal cake pan and smooth out till the pan is all level. cover with plastic wrap put it frig for atleast 24 hours i do 48 then take a butter knife and go all around the endges then mak two length ways cut to have three equal logs put on smoker to 165 degrees.......... this works

Dutch · Jul 8, 2010

Gary, in reading through your recipe, I take it that all the spice measurements are in teaspoons? You have 'tsp' listed for some of the measurements and nothing on the others (ie: 2 and a half mustard seed...1 tsp hickory salt)

gary46992 · Jul 8, 2010

sorry dutch thats correct all is tsp and i just made theis yesterday

mythmaster · Jul 8, 2010

Just a quick question -- I've always read not to use a metal pan whenever marinating because of some kind of reaction with the meat. Is this not true?

coffee_junkie · Jul 8, 2010

I would follow the directions in the packet..the two recipies/directions could be referencing different types of cure.The packet I use says to hang at room temp for one hour then smoke. Here is the link to the directions I follow. http://www.hicountry.com/docs/instructions/sausage/SandwichInstructions.pdf

Bearcarver · Jul 8, 2010

Gary,

I don't know much about curing summer sausage, but if I were using TQ, I think I might be using 4 TBS in 8 pounds of sausage, or 2 1/2 TBS in 5 pounds. Others may disagree.

One thing----If you line your pan with saran wrap, you will have less problem getting it out after curing.

Cheryl,

Others could answer your particular question better than I.

Bearcarver

mythmaster · Jul 8, 2010

To answer my own question about metal pans above -- it's the acids in the marinade that react with the metal, not the meat.

gary46992 · Jul 8, 2010

dutch one more thing if you cut it when you take it off its going to be blood red bet its ok just like eating meatloaf. what you want to do is after a taste lol let it come to room temp then rap it put in frif and its good up to three weeks enjoy

gary46992 · Jul 8, 2010

if you do i dont think you could eat it i been doing this for fifteen years and whoever i give it to likes it. i changed the recipe that was given to me if there is someting in here you dont like dont put it in and if you think of someting you want as i did then add it a recipe is just a starting place . i like it spicey so i make mine a little on the warm side

gary46992 · Jul 8, 2010

by the way i will steal your idea of wraping the pan its tough to get out

Bearcarver · Jul 9, 2010

gary46992 said:
by the way i will steal your idea of wraping the pan its tough to get out

That's not my idea. Many on this forum have been doing that for a long time.

Bearcarver

gary46992 said:
if you do i dont think you could eat it i been doing this for fifteen years and whoever i give it to likes it. i changed the recipe that was given to me if there is someting in here you dont like dont put it in and if you think of someting you want as i did then add it a recipe is just a starting place . i like it spicey so i make mine a little on the warm side

Gary,

All I did was suggest that you may not be using enough TQ to cure 5 or 8 pounds of ground meat. Then you have to come back with stating that "If I do it my way, you don't think I could eat it?"

First of all, that wasn't "My Way". You said you've been using 5 teaspoons of TQ in 8 pounds of ground meat. I use 1 1/2 tsp per pound of ground meat in my beef sticks. They taste GREAT! I got that recipe fro Mortons. At that amount per pound, that would mean that Mortons tells us to put 12 teaspoons in 8 pounds of ground meat, instead of the 5 tsp that you use.

Mortons also has a recipe for "Summer Sausage". That recipe calls for 1/2 cup of TQ in 10 pounds of ground meat. That would be 24 teaspoons in 10 pounds.

I did not make these numbers up. These numbers come from Morton---The manufacturer of Tender Quick.

I make all kinds of changes with many of the ingredients in all recipes, but I NEVER change the amount of "CURE" that is suggested by a reliable source, and I believe the "Morton Home Meat Curing Guide" to be as reliable as it gets.

I'm not saying you should stop using 5 tsp to cure 8 pounds, or even 5 pounds. I only post this to alert others who aren't sure that that amount of cure will not do the job.

I'm much too slow at typing to do this for fun,

Bearcarver

gary46992 · Jul 9, 2010

bearcarver i didnt mean it to sound that way but if you look again at my recipe i did say if you use 8 pounds to go half again on spices sorry for the misunderstanding

Bearcarver · Jul 9, 2010

No problem Gary.

When I first started on this forum, there were a lot of guys who would chime in anytime a statement about cure comes up that may be suspect. Lately it seems I am the bad guy, acting as the "Cure Police". I don't like the job, but I feel someone has to do it. The only cure I ever use is Tender Quick. I got Morton's Home Curing Guide, because I want it to be exactly right. When I see something that I know or am pretty sure is wrong, I often say something. I don't do it to be nasty. Then when a get a reply like "[color= rgb(24, 24, 24)]if you do i dont think you could eat it", it makes it even less fun to try to help others.[/color]

Morton Tender Quick:

1/2 ounce (1 TBS) per pound of solid meat.

1/4 ounce (1 1/2 tsp) per pound of ground meat.

So for 8 pounds of ground meat, they normally tell you to use 12 tsp of TQ (4 TBS)----(2 ounces).

So when you say you're using a lot less (5 or 8 tsp), and you've been doing this for 15 years, if I don't say anything, someone else will do that, then cold smoke it for many hours, and get very sick, or worse.

I realize you're also taking it to 165˚, which makes it alright if you do it in the proper length of time, but will others, like newbis?

Don't sweat it---I had to say it,

Bearcarver

PS: Any time anyone finds that what I say is wrong, they can show me where it says that, and I'll be happy to correct myself. Meanwhile, sorry if I am a PITA!

Bearcarver · Jul 9, 2010

Cheryl1949 said:
I am getting ready to make some venison summer sausage and with one of the kits I have it says to mix and stuff the sausages then let it sit in the refrigerator over night to let the cure work. I then got a receipe off this sight where insta cure is used and was told to stuff then let hang for 3 to 4 hours then put is smoker. Are the different instructions due to the type of cure being used? Why does one say to put in the refrigerator over night before smoking and the other say let hang for 3 to 4 hours?

Thanks Bones

BTW Cheryl,

Sorry about stomping all over your thread here. I just felt the need. I hope you got what you wanted. I never understood some of the instructions I have read already about letting it hang after stuffing, instead of putting it in the fridge to cure. I can see an hour or so to dry the outside before smoking, but not the 3 to 4 hours of hanging. After curing in the fridge, I usually just put it in the smoker at maybe 130˚ without smoke, until the outside dries, before putting the smoke on it. I was hoping one of the real sausage gurus would jump in here & explain that to both of us.

Take Care,

Bear

cheryl1949 · Jul 10, 2010

Bearcarver do not worry about stomping all over the thread. The information you gave was exactly what I was hunting for and in around about way you answered one of my questions. Thank You

Bones

travcoman45 · Jul 10, 2010

The idear a lettin rest in the ice box overnight is ta let the flavours meld a bit, but more so to give that cure time to work. Let it spread out through the meat before expousin it ta the smokin enviroment. Now that course be usin cure one er it's relatives, cure two is a whole new ball game.

Bearcarver · Jul 11, 2010

travcoman45 said:
The idear a lettin rest in the ice box overnight is ta let the flavours meld a bit, but more so to give that cure time to work. Let it spread out through the meat before expousin it ta the smokin enviroment. Now that course be usin cure one er it's relatives, cure two is a whole new ball game.

Trav,

I knew about that for a long time. Cheryl may have did too.

I think the real question here is "What's with the 3 to 4 hours of hanging at room temp, before smoking?"

Thanks,

Bear

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