Venison Summer Sausage Help

[illmakeufamous]

Long story short here’s my issue, my venison summer sausage has more of a “cooked” meat taste. I don’t know how else to describe it but it just doesn’t taste right. I’ve made several batches of it over the years from kits such as hi mountain and LEM. I was originally having issues with it taking 14+hours in the smoker to finish when I found my electric smoker thermometer was off. So now here is my process- 140* 1 hour to dry casing, 3hours of smoke at 155-160*, then finish in the oven at 180* until internal temp is at least 152*. When it’s done and I cut the casing it doesn’t really have a scent of ss, just a cooked meat taste. Any ideas?

 

[meat magician]

Are you cold bathing it after it reaches temp? If not it will keep cooking like a roast when you pull and rest it. Once it hits target temp you need to pull it and put into ice water bath to keep it from using residual heat to continue cooking further.

I always use two after market thermometers, one in the smoker and one in meat. Your probably unintentionally over cooking it.

 

[illmakeufamous]

I have tried ice bath and it Doesnt seem to make a difference on taste. I have also calibrated my thermometer. I’m just not sure how people are doing it in 6 or so hours to with good results. The best I’ve made took me well over 12 hours but that was by accident and because my smoker wasn’t the temp I thought it was.

 

[mossymo]

Perhaps your use to summer sausage taste with a "tang" to the flavor? You can add that flavor with encapsulated citric acid.

 

[BGKYSmoker]

Long story short here’s my issue, my venison summer sausage has more of a “cooked” meat taste. I don’t know how else to describe it but it just doesn’t taste right. I’ve made several batches of it over the years from kits such as hi mountain and LEM. I was originally having issues with it taking 14+hours in the smoker to finish when I found my electric smoker thermometer was off. So now here is my process- 140* 1 hour to dry casing, 3hours of smoke at 155-160*, then finish in the oven at 180* until internal temp is at least 152*. When it’s done and I cut the casing it doesn’t really have a scent of ss, just a cooked meat taste. Any ideas?

Your heat is too high, all your doing is cooking it at 180.
(High starting temps above 120-130 just start cooking your meat)

Start at 120- 130 for and hour then bump to 140 for couple hrs, then 150 with smoke for 2 hrs, you may hit stall temps here, after the stall hit to 160, check meat IT from the top of chub with instant read. This can take several hrs or choose to hot water them to get your IT.

Ditch any probes if your using, you dont need them, they give false readings.

If your getting close to the 152-155 mark bump to no higher than 170, keep going dont rush it.

 

[tallbm]

Long story short here’s my issue, my venison summer sausage has more of a “cooked” meat taste. I don’t know how else to describe it but it just doesn’t taste right. I’ve made several batches of it over the years from kits such as hi mountain and LEM. I was originally having issues with it taking 14+hours in the smoker to finish when I found my electric smoker thermometer was off. So now here is my process- 140* 1 hour to dry casing, 3hours of smoke at 155-160*, then finish in the oven at 180* until internal temp is at least 152*. When it’s done and I cut the casing it doesn’t really have a scent of ss, just a cooked meat taste. Any ideas?

Hi there and welcome!

Are you using cure#1 in this batch? If you don't use cure#1 it will taste like meatloaf or something like that instead of a cured sausage meat product.

Figured I would ask the simplest question I could think of in the case you didn't use a seasoning kit like Hi Mountain or LEM on these batches that taste the way you explain.

 

[illmakeufamous]

Thanks for the reply, I’m using the cure that comes with the kit. In todays case, LEM

 

[tallbm]

Thanks for the reply, I’m using the cure that comes with the kit. In todays case, LEM

Well that potential issue is put to bed.

I wasn't a fan of the LEM summer sausage seasoning years ago when I used it. I like a number of their other seasonings very very very much but not that one. The LEM summer sausage seasoning made things tasted like corned beef and not summer sausage. If they just changed the label to "LEM Corned Beef" flavor then boom it would be dead on hahaha.

Wish I had more to think of but I'll let the others weigh in and maybe it's the heat temp, but I have no more wisdom to lend :)

 

[illmakeufamous]

Well that potential issue is put to bed.

I wasn't a fan of the LEM summer sausage seasoning years ago when I used it. I like a number of their other seasonings very very very much but not that one. The LEM summer sausage seasoning made things tasted like corned beef and not summer sausage. If they just changed the label to "LEM Corned Beef" flavor then boom it would be dead on hahaha.

Wish I had more to think of but I'll let the others weigh in and maybe it's the heat temp, but I have no more wisdom to lend :)

I appreciate your input

 

[chopsaw]

it doesn’t really have a scent of ss, just a cooked meat taste. Any ideas?

Yes . Pay attention to post 5 . The only thing I'll add to that is hang the chubs at room temp for 60 to 90 minutes before going into the smoker . This should shorten your hang times .