summer sausage

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dannylang

Master of the Pit
Original poster
going to try my hand at making some summer sausage this weekend, have got a mix for 25 pounds of meat. i have got 20 pounds of vension in the fridge for thaw. the rest will be a pork butt, or some ground pork. is this mixture okay? can i add cheese straight out of the pack here, i was thinking of cubed cheese and some jalapenos for this. how many jalapenos should i add for 25 pds of meat. i do not want to hot just a little taste of them along with the cheese. how long does it take to smoke them in a smoker, and at what temp do i smoke to, and how much pink salt should i add... i know this is alot to ask but please help, weekends a coming. thanks in advance

dannylang
 
I did my first summer sausage not too long ago and it came out great.  I used fibrous 1.5x12 casings.  I cooked 2 hours at 130 then added smoke and bumped the temp up every hour till I hit 170 and left it there till the sausage hit an IT of 152 degrees. 

I can't help with the pink salt as I used a mix from LEM that had the cure packets for each 5lbs of meat.  I did 4lbs of ground beef and 1lb of pork. 

Here is my thread from the smoke.

http://www.smokingmeatforums.com/t/249663/2nd-sausage-summer
 
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ratio will be good... that comes out to 75/25 ... pink salt will be 1 LEVEL teaspoon (use back side of butter knife to scrap off access) per 5 lbs of meat... so 5 LEVEL teaspoons for 25 lbs of meat... as for jalapenos.. I used 3 (chopped up, seeds and all) per 5 lbs... heat was just right for me... problem is.. sometimes jalapenos are hot, sometimes not... so it's kinda hit or miss with them... as for cheese... my last batch I used store bought cheese and cut it up into 1/4" cubes... i wasn't very happy with it as it does melt and then when it cools it just doesn't have the texture it should have anymore... it's kinda runny like.. so next time I think I will spend the extra money and get the high temp cheese... it took close to 12 hrs in the smokehouse at temps that Scott said above... I also used the 1 1/2 x 12 casings... smoke penetration is ok...

What seasoning are you going to use for these ??
 
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going to try my hand at making some summer sausage this weekend, have got a mix for 25 pounds of meat. i have got 20 pounds of vension in the fridge for thaw. the rest will be a pork butt, or some ground pork. is this mixture okay? You will need to have a  total fat ratio of 10 percent or more. If you want to cut down on the game flavor then add pork and fat. If you like the game flavor then I would just add pork or beef fat. can i add cheese straight out of the pack here, Yes. cut it up into 3/16" squares  i was thinking of cubed cheese and some jalapenos for this. You should be able to get mount olive diced jalapenos at your local grocery. Drain then add to the meat to get a great jalapeno flavor with out the heat.   how many jalapenos should i add for 25 pds of meat. i do not want to hot just a little taste of them along with the cheese. how long does it take to smoke them in a smoker, It can take anywhere from 8 hrs to 24 hrs depending on the smoker and the size of the sausages and at what temp do i smoke to, 155 degrees  and how much pink salt should i add... 1 tsp/ 5 lbs meat     i know this is alot to ask but please help, weekends a coming. thanks in advance

dannylang
 
i have 1 1/2 x 12 fibrous casings and i have 2 1/2 x 20 casings I would cut the 2 1/2 x 20's in half then stuff....

dannylang
 
will smoke pentrate this fibrous casing? Yes  and what temp should i keep my smoker? Start around 120 and raise 10 degrees every hr until you reach 180  what i.t. temp should the sausage be when its done? 155 to 160

dannylang
Hope this helps

Boykjo
 
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if you love the heat of jalapenos add what you like... my wife and kids hate things even at a mild spicy level. if you cut the seeds out and soak them in cold water for a couple of minutes they will be the spice level of bell peppers but the flavor of jalapenos... i have no idea how or why that works since water certainly doesn't help when you've eaten too much of them, but it works
 
Boykjo (Joe)... am I reading your pink salt measurement correct ??? a 1/2 tsp per lb of meat ???? or is that a typo ????
 
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Boykjo (Joe)... am I reading your pink salt measurement correct ??? a 1/2 tsp per lb of meat ???? or is that a typo ????
Cure #1 is one "level" TEAspoon per 5 pounds of meat in sausage.  That also works out to 1 ounce (by weight) for 25 pounds.  If you have a good set of scales that does at least 1/10 gram resolution, I would go by weight since you are making the full 25 pounds.  Tare out your container and then weigh out 28.4 grams of cure #1.  If you wanted to may 5 pounds, I would get a set of scales with a 1/100th resolution.  You can find good ones on Amazon in the $20-$25 range.  If your scale only does pounds and ounces, I would use the measure method and go with 5 level teaspoons for 25 pounds of meat mix.

Those amounts for cure#1 ("pink salt" or Prague powder) are pretty much standard, but double check your cure bag or the directions on the kit to verify that the cure you have is at the same ratio.  There are different types of cures.  I had a summer sausage kit that had a different cure that was in a much higher ratio one time.  I think it was a Eastman 15 pound kit.  I do remember I took their cure packet and after tarring my container, I weighed the cure and then divided it into 3 portions so I could make 5 pounds at a time.  I think it was a sugar cure mix.  Just check what you have.
 
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Boykjo (Joe)... am I reading your pink salt measurement correct ??? a 1/2 tsp per lb of meat ???? or is that a typo ????
My bad. Thats a retard typo. Fixed.......
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The mixture is good, and you can try some Bratwurst, then you'll have more thoughts on mixtures.
 
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