Pre mixed seasonings for Summer sausage etc Survey

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poacherjoe

Smoking Fanatic
Original poster
Nov 7, 2019
599
731
Central Ca
Here on the West coast these supplies are limited. For the most part LEM , BAckwoods and High Mountain seasonings seem to pop up when you google it. Some others pop up to. Now when you look to the North East of the USA I see a lot more to choose from. When you first get started making sausage you see 3 companies selling the same labeled product but which one is better? So getting to the survey , I would like everyone to give their personal preference as to what Company they prefer to buy their seasonings from for making Summer sausage . Please include any or all besides the 3 that I have already listed?
Thanks PJ
 
I use the kits from the Sausage Maker. They come out well. Though a bit on the bland side for me. I add more POG to it And mustard seed. On my next batch I'm also adding ECA as well.
 
I thought Owens Red Barn was a bologna mix NOT Summer sausage??
From what I have read it's a Trail bologna and that is close to SS
I use the kits from the Sausage Maker. They come out well. Though a bit on the bland side for me. I add more POG to it And mustard seed. On my next batch I'm also adding ECA as well.
That's what I am thinking to !! I already have the trail bologna on order but I was planning on adding more spice in smaller batches to get it to my liking.
 
I thought Owens Red Barn was a bologna mix NOT Summer sausage??
Correct but from what I can tell lots of guys mix it up. IE bologna seasoning for SS and vice versa and not just those. Jerky seasoning for sausage, you name it...

Have only run sticks, but I very much agree with the others and happy to see it posted that the mixes are bland. Somewhat surprising and expected the opposite especially for sticks. Would love to be able to make something in the vein of (was Johnsonville and wrong) KROGER Beef SS. I would say at least 2-3x more bold than the mixes I have tried and 2-3x bolder than your typical store bought SS. If I can came close I'd use it for EVERYTHING.

PS mind just blown that you could SV for the ferment maybe
 
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I have not had a bland out come with any of the Owens stuff I've used . Reg. sticks and SS or the Red barn .
I have with others . Some of this might come from the fact that the seasoning packs are meant to do a certain amount of sausage , and most of use make smaller batches . I try to make sure I get them mixed up good before I measure them out .

Jerky seasoning for sausage, you name it...
I've used bratwurst and hot Italian for summer sausage . Really good .
 
I make small batches too and am very critical of my measurements and scale down. I just realized I have not run the Owen's yet! That's encouraging...

That reminds me, I thought about about asking folks to participate in a mix trade so we could try and sample stuff. We list what we have and see if others want to trade. I make 3lbs batches usually so a mix for 25lbs is a lot. So many cool flavors I would like to try but would be expensive to do so. It was just an idea...
 
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Talking with missus and I was mistaken. Not Johnsonville but lowly Kroger BEEF SS. We were having some folks over and wife bought on a whim. We were ALL surprised how good it really was. If I get in the ballpark of that I would be estatic.
 
Just curious why would anyone buy a store made spice rub, marinade etc. If just starting out or you just don’t want to be bother making it I can understand. The knowledge base here is phenomenal and making a basic or complicated rub etc. Shouldn’t be an issue. The ingredients are not expensive, for the most part, and most people already have the ingredients in their pantry. Store bought cost many fold more than homemade. Just curious.
 
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Just curious why would anyone buy a store made spice rub, marinade etc. If just starting out or you just don’t want to be bother making it I can understand. The knowledge base here is phenomenal and making a basic or complicated rub etc. Shouldn’t be an issue. The ingredients are not expensive, for the most part, and most people already have the ingredients in their pantry. Store bought cost many fold more than homemade. Just curious.

Ok, I admit it...I’m lazy:). Actually, I plan on making my own mixes but needed something fast to try out a new smoker build. Got some Owens SS and a couple of their stick mixes and they turned out really well. I’ll eventually make my own just to experiment with.
 
Just curious why would anyone buy a store made spice rub, marinade etc. If just starting out or you just don’t want to be bother making it I can understand. The knowledge base here is phenomenal and making a basic or complicated rub etc. Shouldn’t be an issue. The ingredients are not expensive, for the most part, and most people already have the ingredients in their pantry. Store bought cost many fold more than homemade. Just curious.

Premixes are a go-to for processors which we sell to many(most will tell you it is their secret recipe:emoji_wink:) and for a few good reasons that all revolve around consistency. First all of the ingredients in the mix are identical every time. You would not believe the difference in black peppers from one manufacture to the next, then it is amazing how many different black peppers each manufacture has. When a recipe tells you X amount of black pepper you grab what is in your cupboard, next year you may have a different black pepper in the cupboard. Every ingredient effects the final product. When someone finds what they like, and what their friends and relatives like, consistency in ingredients is the one thing you don't want changed.

1ForSure.jpg
 
Store bought cost many fold more than homemade.
A bag of store bought mix that does 25 pounds cost around $ 8.00 , In my book that's many fold cheaper .
When someone finds what they like, and what their friends and relatives like, consistency in ingredients is the one thing you don't want changed.
That , and they have other ingredients that help with color , texture and oxidation if adding high temp cheese .
 
My Wife doesn't want 100 jars of seasoning taking up space in the pantry either.
Same here .

You can’t go wrong with Owens seasonings
I had a pound of clean brisket trim I was going to grind for burgers . With all this talk I added 1 pound of pork butt to it and mixed up some Red Barn bologna .
 
I in the past have used many brands. Most people seemed to like them all but I got rave reviews from the batch I made using Gander Mountain’s house brand SS seasoning kit. It was the best hands down. I liked that it contained mustard seed as many I’ve tried don’t. I have yet to write the company and see who if anyone has taken on their recipe now that they are out of business. . It was made by Chard International, specifically for Gander Stores, and had a trade mark calling it Gmnt Sportsman Blends.
 
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