Summer Sausage Casing question With SS making

[JBPilot]

Ok, so I’m starting to look at doing summer sausage. I don’t have any of the supplies yet (seasonings, casings) and had a few questions about what I’m reading. I’m looking at the 2.9” casings from Walton’s. My question is do I want the pre stuck casings or not? Also what’s the difference in pre-stuck vs not (other than obviously the holes). I’m looking at doing a premixed seasoning/cure with some NFDM added to help keep it from getting too dry. I’ll mix then stuff and let sit in the fridge for about 12-24 hours then hang in the smoker to get up to temp then start a slow smoke process from about 100* up to eventually 180*ish until IT reaches about 155*. That sound about right to the experienced SS makers here?

 

[poacherjoe]

I just made 2 batches of SS and I used 2 1/2 x 20" casings. I mixed everything up and stuck it in the fridge overnight.Added some HT cheese and hot peppers and mixed it again in the morning and stuffed the casings. I put them in the fridge for a couple more days and placed in the smoker at 120 for an hour and then added some wood and turned it up to 130 and continue to turn it up 10 degrees every hour till I reached 170. As soon as the IT hit 155 I tossed them in the ice water bath for 20 minutes and pulled them out and dried them off and hung them under the eve on the shop. It was dark and already 50 degrees and dropping into the low 40's so I let it bloom overnight. In the morning I cut them on half and vacuum packed all but one. Turned out great.

 

[Braz]

Pre-stuck casings? I don't know what those are.

 

[poacherjoe]

The casing comes with pinholes in it to let air escape while being stuffed .

 

[chopsaw]

That sound about right to the experienced SS makers here?

I think your plan sounds good .
I hang at room temp before going into smoker . Then dry in the smoker , like you said . I don't go over 170 for the smoker temp .
I never used pre struck casings .
I pull at 152 , no water bath .

 

[JBPilot]

Thanks guys, I appreciate it. I don’t want to buy a bunch of casings just to find out that they’re causing me problems with my first ever batch of SS!

Where do y’all usually get your casings? I want the mahogany ones but it looks like all the ones at Walton’s are pre-stuck. They’re who I’ve been ordering things from so far but I’m open to other vendors.

 

[chopsaw]

Walton's is good .

 

[JBPilot]

Walton's is good .

Their prestuck casings are ok? I couldn’t find any mahogany Summer Sausage casings that weren’t stuck. I may call them and just talk to them.

 

[chopsaw]

JB, I never used them , seems like a good idea . I went and looked at them
If Waltons sells them I would bet they are good .

 

[JBPilot]

Well I’ve decided to give them a try after stuffing 10lbs of sticks last night and using a needle to poke them to release air while I was stuffing. I’ll post pictures whenever I get to doing them.

 

[chopsaw]

Yeah let us know . Make sure you run the meat paste out to the end of the tube to push that air out before you stuff . Like this .

 

[JBPilot]

I was doing that, it just would get a little air in it and cause problems so I get a small pin and poke a pinhole into the casing. It lets the air out but doesn’t let the meat out.

 

[chopsaw]

I do the same thing , but I use a corn cobb holder .

 

[hoity toit]

Ok, so I’m starting to look at doing summer sausage. I don’t have any of the supplies yet (seasonings, casings) and had a few questions about what I’m reading. I’m looking at the 2.9” casings from Walton’s. My question is do I want the pre stuck casings or not? Also what’s the difference in pre-stuck vs not (other than obviously the holes). I’m looking at doing a premixed seasoning/cure with some NFDM added to help keep it from getting too dry. I’ll mix then stuff and let sit in the fridge for about 12-24 hours then hang in the smoker to get up to temp then start a slow smoke process from about 100* up to eventually 180*ish until IT reaches about 155*. That sound about right to the experienced SS makers here?

Your pre mix seasoning may already have NFDM it it. Check the label. If you add to much it will be crumbly. Personally I don't use NFDM often. The rest of your method is good. I just finished some yesterday Check my post. Good Smokin & Happy Thanksgiving.

HT

 

[hoity toit]

Well I’ve decided to give them a try after stuffing 10lbs of sticks last night and using a needle to poke them to release air while I was stuffing. I’ll post pictures whenever I get to doing them.

You can use a sausage pricker also. Several places sell them.

 

[JBPilot]

Ok, it’s been a while since I’ve updated this thread. So long that I almost forgot about it and just started a new thread but figured I could just keep this one going. Life kept seeming to get in the way.

I wasn’t sure of how to go about mixing or anything but figured that I’m basically making a much bigger snack stick so I just used that formula for a base from which to start.

I finally ordered the summer sausage seasoning with jalapeño from Walton’s with the high temp pepper cheese and the 12/2.4” 1lb SS casings. The bag from Walton’s was enough to season 25 lbs of meat. Well some conversions and math later and I figured out that I needed 137g of seasoning and 5.7g of cure for 5lbs of meat. The only other thing that I added was 1/2 a cup of NFDM just to help it bind and hold moisture better.

I took a lot of time trying to figure out what kind of meat to use to make my first batch and finally just decided that 80/20 beef seems to be an easy way to get my feet wet so to speak. I picked up a 5lb log at Kroger and got out my stuffer.

I originally planned to just try 1lb but didn’t really want to deal with the stuffer being messy for just 1lb of summer sausage if it turned out well so I just said why not do 5lbs!

I then realized after adding a full pound of high temp cheese (more than I normally add to my snack sticks by 1/2 a pound but I wanted them cheesy) that I now had about 6lbs of summer sausage mix so I quickly threw in another casing.

I mix the cheese by hand to keep it from getting too smushed.

All mixed together and ready to stuff.

Stuffing went very easy and I liked the prestuck casings as I could hear some air that got trapped in them squeezing out as I was stuffing them.

Finished product into the fridge until Tuesday afternoon. Unfortunately that’s going to be the soonest that I’ll be able to smoke them. I’ll come back and update with more pictures during and after the smoke! I hope that y’all have enjoyed thus far!

I got 5 3/4 tubes. I guess I overstuffed a few of the others...

If anyone sees anything in this so far that I’ve screwed up please let me know. I’m not above throwing all of this away just to keep from getting myself or anyone else sick!

 

[JBPilot]

Ok, so I’d call this a success!

The big white that you see is the pepper cheese. This is a very mild spice level. I wouldn’t call it spicy at all, just that it has a little bit of a bite.

My only real complaint/critique I would give myself is that it is very greasy. I think that comes from the 20% fat content and having 1lb of cheese in it.

Here it is taking some smoke:

Making sure my temps are on point:

All done and ready to slice:

This wasn’t nearly as complicated or difficult as I was afraid it would be. I’ll definitely do this again but I may try a much leaner meat, maybe only 10% fat content. A big thank you to everyone here!

 

[chopsaw]

Sure looks good ! nice work .

 

[JBPilot]

Thanks Chopsaw

 

[daveomak]

Pilot, morning... Fat is flavor, I wouldn't cut down on it yet....
When cooking your SS, try pasteurizing it... Makes for a safe to eat product cooked at a lower temperature....
My sausage and sticks NEVER are cooked above 140F, using a smoker temp of 155F.... Takes awhile for the meat to get up to temp but the texture is sooooo much better...
Here's a pasteurization table.... I hold at the ~135F temp for an hour or so longer to insure complete bacteria destruction.. and allow for uneven temps in the smoker and therms that may not be reading correctly...