So I did my first run of summer sausage this weekend. Overall, the end product turned out fantastic and the whole family loved it - that is most important. Certainly learned a few things along the way and still have some questions I'm hoping you more experienced folks could answer for me. here we go.....
I was doing summer sausage, breakfast sausage and snack sticks so I needed the right uniform for such a meaty day
As I was prepping, the doorbell rang. Some nice man in a brown truck left this for me on the door step
Venison cleaned up and cubed, ready for the grinder
2nd time using the Cabela's grinder, love this thing so far
1st grind through the coarse plate, looking good
Pork fat added and mixed up ready to go. Used the Cabela's (PS Seasonings) Summer Sausage mix
Did a 1/2 batch, all stuffed up and ready for the Warthog
Into the Warthog. A drawback of the Smokin-It smokers is that they are not tall, and I have the largest # 3 unit. I knew this going in, so stuffed my logs short on purpose so I could get them hung up without touching the unit. I used BBQ skewers through the extra casings to hang the sausages on the racks. This technique worked really well and I will be using it again. Good "low profile" way of saving vertical space while hanging in the Smokin-It units
Probes in, smoked according the the instructions on the mix recipe
Out of the smoker and into the ice bath for 20 minutes
Into the fridge overnight
Sliced. This is the piece that had the probe in it so there is a hole in the middle.
So this stuff was amazing, wife had no idea it was venison. This mix was really good, I added maybe 1 Tbs more than the match called for in the half batch based on others that said it was a little under flavored and it worked well. Smoke flavor was great, texture was good although a bit softer than the store bought SS I am used to eating.
Now for the questions. A few things I think I have figured out but am looking for confirmation, others I am baffled and am looking for some help before my next run.
First off, when cooking these things, I hit a stall that rivaled the stall on my 9lb butt I did last weekend. The SS hit about 145* -150* and would not budge! It was 3 AM before the Mav finally chirped that I had hit 156* IT.
WOW, was NOT expecting that at all. Is this normal for SS? Lesson learned for next time, start early in the morning. Can I stuff the sausages the night before and leave in the fridge overnight and smoke the next day?
Second, when I pulled the SS out of the smoker there was what I later learned was fat between the SS and the casings in some of the logs. You could see and feel it under the casings when I pulled them off and after the water bath and subsequent over-nighter in the fridge (see pic above). I ended up taking the SS out of the casing and wiping off the fat before vac sealing. Since this was my first time stuffing, I assume that I did not stuff the casings tight enough? Some felt a bit loose, a hog clip/ring tool is definitely something I will get for next time because closing the casings up was a PITA with butcher's twine. I ended up having better luck tying off the extra casing than I did tying them off.
Next question, on 2 of logs I had a "core" form in the center. What is this, what causes it, and how do I keep this from happening. Looks terrible (tastes just fine), and I don't want this to happen again. Is this from not stuffing tight enough?
So that's all for the SS, any answers to some of the questions above would be very helpful!
Thanks for looking...
I was doing summer sausage, breakfast sausage and snack sticks so I needed the right uniform for such a meaty day
As I was prepping, the doorbell rang. Some nice man in a brown truck left this for me on the door step
Venison cleaned up and cubed, ready for the grinder
2nd time using the Cabela's grinder, love this thing so far
1st grind through the coarse plate, looking good
Pork fat added and mixed up ready to go. Used the Cabela's (PS Seasonings) Summer Sausage mix
Did a 1/2 batch, all stuffed up and ready for the Warthog
Into the Warthog. A drawback of the Smokin-It smokers is that they are not tall, and I have the largest # 3 unit. I knew this going in, so stuffed my logs short on purpose so I could get them hung up without touching the unit. I used BBQ skewers through the extra casings to hang the sausages on the racks. This technique worked really well and I will be using it again. Good "low profile" way of saving vertical space while hanging in the Smokin-It units
Probes in, smoked according the the instructions on the mix recipe
Out of the smoker and into the ice bath for 20 minutes
Into the fridge overnight
Sliced. This is the piece that had the probe in it so there is a hole in the middle.
So this stuff was amazing, wife had no idea it was venison. This mix was really good, I added maybe 1 Tbs more than the match called for in the half batch based on others that said it was a little under flavored and it worked well. Smoke flavor was great, texture was good although a bit softer than the store bought SS I am used to eating.
Now for the questions. A few things I think I have figured out but am looking for confirmation, others I am baffled and am looking for some help before my next run.
First off, when cooking these things, I hit a stall that rivaled the stall on my 9lb butt I did last weekend. The SS hit about 145* -150* and would not budge! It was 3 AM before the Mav finally chirped that I had hit 156* IT.
Second, when I pulled the SS out of the smoker there was what I later learned was fat between the SS and the casings in some of the logs. You could see and feel it under the casings when I pulled them off and after the water bath and subsequent over-nighter in the fridge (see pic above). I ended up taking the SS out of the casing and wiping off the fat before vac sealing. Since this was my first time stuffing, I assume that I did not stuff the casings tight enough? Some felt a bit loose, a hog clip/ring tool is definitely something I will get for next time because closing the casings up was a PITA with butcher's twine. I ended up having better luck tying off the extra casing than I did tying them off.
Next question, on 2 of logs I had a "core" form in the center. What is this, what causes it, and how do I keep this from happening. Looks terrible (tastes just fine), and I don't want this to happen again. Is this from not stuffing tight enough?
So that's all for the SS, any answers to some of the questions above would be very helpful!
Thanks for looking...
