Summer sausage, fermented with buttermilk

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TeeZee

Meat Mopper
Original poster
May 22, 2024
151
87
Took longer than two weeks to get around to this, but I did make a fermented summer sausage using buttermilk only. (Wanted to use homemade sauerkraut juice; unfortunately it was past its prime.)

My recipe came from Victor of Taste of Artisan, who adapted a Marianski formula. I made just three subs: venison and pork in equal proportions and 2 T. (6g) active culture buttermilk instead of F-LC culture. I replaced the dextrose with an extra teaspoon of granulated sugar.

[I had read in another recipe on his site that buttermilk powder gave a 'pleasant tang' to a chicken sausage--that's exactly what I was looking for.]

The mixture sat in the fridge for three days to ferment--I was too chicken to try a higher temp.

After looking around at other postings (thank you, members) I made a cloth sausage casing. This was really easy--snip the selvage of medium or heavy weight unbleached muslin every 10-inches then rip (you get straight strips w/o scissors). Fold lengthwise and stitch a 1/4-inch seam along the open edge. Turn inside out, flatten the seam you just made, and fold it along its edge. Stitch again along the folded edge, about 1/2-inch wide this time, to enclose the raw fabric threads.

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An 18-inch length of the casing, stuffed with 2 lbs. sausage meat:

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And here it is out of the smoker.

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Ran the heat a little high, I'm afraid, as it came out at 160°F. But I'm so pleased, it wouldn't matter if it burnt to a crisp--there's always next time! And it smells so good. We're tasting it tomorrow--I'll report back.

Meanwhile, MANY thanks! ;-)
 
My recipe came from Victor of Taste of Artisan
Solid source. I use some of his recipes.
[I had read in another recipe on his site that buttermilk powder gave a 'pleasant tang' to a chicken sausage--that's exactly what I was looking for.]
My chicken sausage recipe posted here is adapted from the one on Taste of Artisan .... Mostly left it as is but made a few changes.
The mixture sat in the fridge for three days to ferment--I was too chicken to try a higher temp.
You might get some tang off the buttermilk, but ain't really any fermentation happening at fridge temps.
 
Can cheese cultures ferment meat?
I want to get into sausage making, but part of my hang up is I have more cheese cultures than I care to admit, most of which never get used. I don't want the emotional baggage of another bag of cultures sitting in my freezer.
 
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Solid source. I use some of his recipes.

My chicken sausage recipe posted here is adapted from the one on Taste of Artisan .... Mostly left it as is but made a few changes.

You might get some tang off the buttermilk, but ain't really any fermentation happening at fridge temps.

Yes, a great source, perhaps better than he (Victor) knows. I learned quite a bit.

And I did read over your chicken sausage post, DougE. Very encouraging to know your thoughts; Parmesan cheese and sundried tomatoes are a delicious combo. As it happens I mixed up Victor's chicken sausage last night. Very good, but next time I will be cutting back on the granulated garlic and onion--they seem to overpower the other spices. I swapped smoked paprika for the cayenne with good results.

[BTW, we bought 9 lbs. of bone-in thighs with skin and it STILL wasn't enough to make 5 lbs. ground chicken; had to add a little pork.]

I do wonder about the fermentation action--in milk dairy cultures break down lactose into glucose and galactose. But these cultures can also digest sugars (simple and complex) in grains. So I'm giving it a try, but I'll have to wait until winter to get the proper temps for hanging. Let's see if this works.
Can cheese cultures ferment meat?
I want to get into sausage making, but part of my hang up is I have more cheese cultures than I care to admit, most of which never get used. I don't want the emotional baggage of another bag of cultures sitting in my freezer.

Meat doesn't have sugar to digest--you have to add it. I'm hoping buttermilk will ferment more sugars than lactose. [Dairy cultures also digest casein protein; can they also digest meat protein?]
 
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[Dairy cultures also digest casein protein; can they also digest meat protein?]

I don't think this is strictly true, but we are on the fringes of my knowledge here. I think more accurately when the culture dies after lactose is exhausted, the bacteria break down releasing enzymes which break down the caseine into shorter chain amino acid.

Does sausage typically ferment to completion until the culture die off? If so, could possibly contribute in a similar manner.

Tagging indaswamp indaswamp and LoydB LoydB encase they have some thoughts on the topic.
 
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I don't think this is strictly true, but we are on the fringes of my knowledge here. I think more accurately when the culture dies after lactose is exhausted, the bacteria break down releasing enzymes which break down the caseine into shorter chain amino acid.

Does sausage typically ferment to completion until the culture die off? If so, could possibly contribute in a similar manner.

Tagging indaswamp indaswamp and LoydB LoydB encase they have some thoughts on the topic.

"I did make a fermented summer sausage using buttermilk only."

Did I speak too soon? ;-)

Waiting to hear further thoughts.
 
TZ, Looks good and I like your casings !

Thanks! I really like how the casing turned out and will be doing this again.

Tasted and disappointed--no tang at all. So I'm going for broke next time: same summer sausage recipe, same proportion of meats (spices are spot on, and I might add a little more garlic), and more buttermilk, maybe 1/2 cup.

And then I'll be asking around for sauerkraut juice. (Hey, they already think I'm a little nuts anyway.)

By the by, sourdough digests gluten, a protein. Might be something there.
Oh yeah! Got distracted by the culture discussion. Love the casings! So cool.
Do you think they will be reusable?

I don't think so. It made more sense to slit the casing and peel it back to slice the sausage, however I found the medium weight muslin pretty easy to cut through with a serrated knife. You can sew up yards of casing with little trouble and trim to length. I'm definitely doing this again. ;-)
Looking up reference...

Thanks!
 
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