Summer Sausage results – w/ picture

[drano]

I just re-registered here since I lost my password a while back. 

Over Christmas I made a batch of summer sausage, and it turned out great.  I normally make deer sausage, but didn't have the opportunity to hunt this fall, so this batch was beef chuck/pork butt. 



I had a ½ stick in the fidge the other day.  Last night I asked the wife were it was, and she said she ate it.  I guess she likes it!

I use a summer sausage seasoning mix from Frisco Brand Spices in La Vista Nebraska (south edge of Omaha).
http://www.friscospices.com/sausageseasoningmixes.asp

I've use High Mountain and like Frisco a lot better.  Frisco also sells casings, and I use their beer bratwurst mix and breakfast sausage mix for some great home made fresh bratwurst and breakfast sausage (made a batch of those during Christmas also!). 

I cubed up the meat, mixed in the spice and cure, ran it through the Kitchen Aid mixer meat grinding attachment using their large hole plate, then stuffed it with my Cabela's 11 lb stuffer.  After sitting in the fridge over night to cure, 3 sticks went in the OBS at 6:30 the next morning.  At 2:30 pm they hit 155 deg and were done.  I did the last 2 sticks the next day.  I used maple pucks for 3 hours. 

My Love Controls TS temp controller does a great job holding the temp stable. 

At the rate this batch is disappearing, I'll need to make another pretty soon.

[Arcs_n_Sparks]

drano,

That looks great!

[bigredsmoker]

Drano, You a fellow Omahan? If so, It's about time there is another Omaha person on the board. Sausage looks great. Haven't made the jump to sausage yet, but I have only been smoking for a couple months now. I am very tempted by the whole sausage making thing.

Terry

[La Quinta]

WOW drano...looks fantastic! Congrats!! :) :)

[Mr Walleye]

Drano.... Looks fantastic!  :P

Mike

[drano]

All,
Thanks for the kind words.  I've been making summer sausage for about 4 years--a few batches a year to turn bambi into something good.  This is my best yet. 

Now I need to add a fan to my OBS so I can hang the sausage instead of laying them in the racks like I do now.  I only smoke 3 sticks at a time (2 on top rack, 1 on next rack down) to ensure I don't block air movement.  But the back stick on the top rack gets more heat.  I think adding a fan and hanging them should make them cook even.  Smoking 5 sticks in one day would keep this from being a 3 day process which would be nice.

Terry, not a Omahan, but was a while back.  When you get ready to do sausage, stop by Frisco.  Get a grinder and stuffer, and Frisco will have everything else you need--spices, casings, hog nose pliers and rings, etc.   Just get 'er done--you'll be glad you did.

Get smokin
drano

[coyote]

Good for you Drano....and very good for your family an friends !

Coyote

[Habanero Smoker]

drano;
Welcome to the forum.

Nice looking sausage. Until you get your fan installed, many of use rotate the racks from top to bottom; front to back; a few times to ensure even cooking. You should not have been a problem with using 2 racks and smoking/cooking all 5 sticks at once. Looking at your photo there would have been plenty of air space between each stick for adequate heat and smoke flow.