Summer Sausage report

[kelbro]

Smoked a small batch yesterday. 60/40 pork/beef. Smoked over hickory. First time trying jalapeno/pepperjack.
The pepperjack didn't retain much flavor and the bigger chunks melted a little leaving small voids.
Quite a bit of 'juice' leaked out when I probed for temp near the end of the cook.
Pulled at 153.
Casing shriveled quite a bit when I put the logs into the ice bath.
May not be instagram worthy but it tastes good!

 

[Steve H]

Looks ok. If the cheese melted. Then chances are it got hotter than you thought.
Wrinkles in the casing is usually from loose packed meat. Which I had yesterday with mine. Or fat out. Which I suspect from you saying the "juices" leaked out.

 

[kelbro]

Looks ok. If the cheese melted. Then chances are it got hotter than you thought.
Wrinkles in the casing is usually from loose packed meat. Which I had yesterday with mine. Or fat out. Which I suspect from you saying the "juices" leaked out.

Thanks. After slicing the second log, it looks like the voids were only where the cheese had doubled up in one spot. The cheese chunks were intact through the rest of the log. Temp probes are spot on and I was watching closely.

I think you're right on the fat. It was a little more than a teaspoon on the 1lb logs and about a tablespoon on the 3lb log. Not sure how to avoid that using 73/27 beef and 85/15 pork.

These casings seem to take a lot of pressure. I'll try a tighter pack next time. The good thing is that the casing peels right off so the finished product looks OK.

Spicy mustard, saltine crackers and a slice of sharp cheddar covers up a lot of sausage 'mistakes'!

 

[Steve H]

Spicy mustard, saltine crackers and a slice of sharp cheddar covers up a lot of sausage 'mistakes'! And a good brew too!

I think you're right on the fat. It was a little more than a teaspoon on the 1lb logs and about a tablespoon on the 3lb log. Not sure how to avoid that using 73/27 beef and 85/15 pork.

Did you leave the probe in during the entire cook? It sounds like you didn't.
If the temp gets too high. And fats out. Then the probe could have been in void.
Which gave a false reading for the actual temp.

 

[chopsaw]

I think you're right on the fat. It was a little more than a teaspoon on the 1lb logs and about a tablespoon on the 3lb log. Not sure how to avoid that using 73/27 beef and 85/15 pork.

Did you use any kind of binder , like NFDM ?
What was the salt percentage to the meat weight ?
Mix until sticky ?
Looks like maybe the sliced pic was when it was still warm . Overnight in the fridge will show the fat solids better when sliced . Might tell a story on the fat .

These casings seem to take a lot of pressure. I'll try a tighter pack next time. The good thing is that the casing peels right off so the finished product looks OK.

The pic of the chubs hanging looks good / tight .
I crank mine hard . I look for a " swirl " in the slice . Takes a lot of pressure .
Chub on the left shows the direction of force .


If you still have some in casing , take it for a dip in simmering water . About 60 to 90 seconds should plump it back up . Then into a plastic bag and fridge for a day or two .

Over all looks good to me . Hard to do on that type of smoker .
thanks for posting .

 

[mike243]

Temp is about the only way to control fat out, I like my MES for sausages better than any other smoker I have ran.

 

[kelbro]

Did you use any kind of binder , like NFDM ?
What was the salt percentage to the meat weight ?
Mix until sticky ?
Looks like maybe the sliced pic was when it was still warm . Overnight in the fridge will show the fat solids better when sliced . Might tell a story on the fat .


The pic of the chubs hanging looks good / tight .
I crank mine hard . I look for a " swirl " in the slice . Takes a lot of pressure .
Chub on the left shows the direction of force .
View attachment 706735

If you still have some in casing , take it for a dip in simmering water . About 60 to 90 seconds should plump it back up . Then into a plastic bag and fridge for a day or two .

Over all looks good to me . Hard to do on that type of smoker .
thanks for posting .

No binder in this recipe.

1 tsp salt and 1 tsp of #1 cure to 5 lbs. meat.

Good and sticky mix. Not as much liquid as my other sausage recipes though.

There was a little slack in the casing when I tied it up. I need to pay a little closer attention to that.

It was sliced this morning after sitting in the fridge overnight. Most of the slices looked good.

I'll try a little poach to see if it firms up the casing.

Thanks!

 

[kelbro]

Spicy mustard, saltine crackers and a slice of sharp cheddar covers up a lot of sausage 'mistakes'! And a good brew too!

I think you're right on the fat. It was a little more than a teaspoon on the 1lb logs and about a tablespoon on the 3lb log. Not sure how to avoid that using 73/27 beef and 85/15 pork.

Did you leave the probe in during the entire cook? It sounds like you didn't.
If the temp gets too high. And fats out. Then the probe could have been in void.
Which gave a false reading for the actual temp.

Probe was inserted about an hour before they reached temp. Chubs were at around 140. Juice squirted! I did see a video where they tied off the chub with the probe inserted. Of course I saw that video after I had tied them off. May try that next time.

 

[kelbro]

Temp is about the only way to control fat out, I like my MES for sausages better than any other smoker I have ran.

Thanks. The vertical on my smoker runs about 100 degrees below the main cook chamber so I can keep it pretty well under control. I have considered putting a hotplate in that section to tighten it up even more.

 

[chopsaw]

No binder in this recipe.

That would help .

1 tsp salt and 1 tsp of #1 cure to 5 lbs. meat.

1 tsp or 1 TBLS of salt ?
I use 18 grams of kosher salt per 2 1/2 pounds of grind .
Not sure if you're watching salt % but that's way low for 5 lbs .

I don't personally account for the salt in the cure , but for 5 lbs. I would be around 2 TBLS of kosher salt for 5 pounds . My TBLS weighs out at 17 grams .

 

[kelbro]

That would help .

1 tsp or 1 TBLS of salt ?
I use 18 grams of kosher salt per 2 1/2 pounds of grind .
Not sure if you're watching salt % but that's way low for 5 lbs .

I don't personally account for the salt in the cure , but for 5 lbs. I would be around 2 TBLS of kosher salt for 5 pounds . My TBLS weighs out at 17 grams .

Thanks. Sounded light when I mixed it up but I try to follow a recipe as written the first time then tweak. It does need more salt and more of the rest of the spices. Pretty bland.

 

[chopsaw]

need more salt

It will help the mix / texture and the binding . Bring out the flavor too .
I'm no expert , but I joined here because the first SS I made was not good .
So my comments and suggestions are just based off of where I've landed over the years .
So when I say I don't count the cure in the salt percentage , it doesn't mean you shouldn't .

The 18 grams of salt per 2 1/2 pound batch is based on Marianski using 2.2 lbs . in his formulas .
So I use that as a starting base for all of it . Fresh , smoked , lunch meat and SS .
I use 2 1/2 pounds because it works out better for me .

Try to sprinkle salt on a slice . See if it brings out some flavor .

 

[BGKYSmoker]

Just need some crackers and a couple beers with pickled eggs.

 

[SmokinEdge]

Did I miss it or did you say what the cook chamber temp was?

 

[Steve H]

Just need some crackers and a couple beers with pickled eggs.

A deadly combo!

 

[kelbro]

Did I miss it or did you say what the cook chamber temp was?

The vertical chamber where I hang sausage ran at 120 for an hour or so then 140 for a couple of hours and then 150 for an hour or so. When I inserted the probes the logs were around 140 so I cranked the chamber temp to about 160-170 until they hit 152-153.