I try to set aside a few days at the end of each year to make venison summer sausage and breakfast sausage. By then, I usually have all the deer I need in the freezer and have the time to tackle the project. 2022 was unusual because my pile of raw materials was smaller than usual but I had enough to make around 60 pounds of summer sausage.
The recipe I use is of my own creation and something that I have been tinkering with for several years. It hasn't changed much as of late. I like my summer sausage to have a tart taste and I found the secret to getting that is to add a bacteria culture to the meat mixture and let it ferment for a day or so. You can buy it at sausagemaker.com, if anyone is interested.
Here is my mixture of herbs, spices, and liquids along with a big bowl of meat.
I have learned the hard way that making sausage is a lot easier if you have the proper equipment. A sausage press is a must!
I ended up with 53 chubs. My smoker can only hold 28 at a time so I had do this in two batches. I smoke the chubs at 175 degrees for around 7 hours and then finish them off in the oven until they reach an internal temperature of 155 degrees.
Once they are done cooking, I put them in an ice bath to stop the cooking process. After they reach an internal temperature of 100 degrees, I remove them from the cold water, towel them off, and then hang them up to dry. They will hang in our stairwell for a couple days before I vacuum seal each chub. Jake, our bloodhound, is used to the tempting meat hanging just out of reach. Our new Great Pyrenees, Daisy, spent a lot of time trying to figure out a way to grab one. I think she asked Santa Claus for opposable thumbs.
Jake and I sampled this year's batch for lunch and found it acceptable. Jake only gave my effort a B+ but hinted that the grade could go up if he had more samples to work with. I think he's trying to game the system.
Our daughter had these plates made for us for Christmas and I think they sum up the situation at our house quite succinctly.
Darren
Topic: Annual summer sausage project (Read 1319 times)