Summer Sausage

[DTJ]

I had a busy weekend between starting the belly bacon and trying some summer suasage.  I felt confident and tried to due 15 lbs of summer suasage for a first try.  I won't do that again!!!   I used HI moutain mix that I have had for a few years, it got tucked away in the pantry and forgot about.  I mixed the cure and seasoning together and then mixed with the meat, mixed for a good 15 to 20 minutes.  put in the refrigerator for a couple of hours and then  stuffed.  Let sit overnight and smoked the next day.  The instructions said not to refrigerate for more than 24 hours, mine was in for about 17-18 hours.  I smoked it as per the instructions @120 to dry for 1 hr, @140 for an hour with smoke(I used Pecan) @ 160 for 40 min w/smoke and 180 until reaching 156...this took about 3 more hours.  After it was done I put in cold water to stop the heat.  Let it sit overnight.

When I cut into it it was grey in color, I was expecting a pink type color.  After tasting the seasoning was there but lacking, it has somewhat of a cold meatloaf type taste. The smoke taste is there and good, could use a little more for my taste, but I know how to fix that. The texture was a little dry also.

So my questions are, Can the cure go bad or loose its effect if too old??

Should I have let it cure longer despite the instructions, if so how long would be safe??

Can I cook to a lower temp and still be safe so it does not dry out so much??  (I did hang the sausage and tried to rotate but could not flip and there was a definite difference in temp from top and bottom....time for  a fan this was the first time using the new pid I built and it worked great)

thank you for any advice/help

Daryl
 

[westexasmoker]

Welcome to the forum DTJ!

I won't be alot of help, one of our sausage experts will be along shortly!  I know with my dry rubs if they are not sealed in an air tight container seem to loose a bit of their punch and same to be a little stale so I only mix up enough for about a two month supply at a time.  Like I said not much help!   ;)  Once again, welcome and keep us posted!  And use mesquite! (thats my job!)   ;D

C

[Habanero Smoker]

DTJ;
Welcome to the forum.

What I find with sausage is that you generally will not get the reddish meat color that you will get with whole muscle meat. Unless you have a lot of paprika in it.

I'm not familiar with High Mt. cures, but sodium nitrite has a long self life, you can almost say indefinite, as long as it is stored properly. If your cure had hard lumps, then you need to throw it away; the sodium nitrite will not be reliable. If it had lumps that easily broke up between your fingers with a little pressure you should be alright.

I'm unclear  about no longer then 24 hours refrigeration. Was that part of the instructions on the cure package, or a recipe instruction. When I see that in a sausage recipe, it is generally a recipe that has soy protein or powder milk in them. After mixing if they set too long, the meat mixture begins to "glue" together and it is very difficult to stuff. As far as curing times, there really isn't any for the type of sausage you are making, though I like to cure mine at least 12 - 24 hours, just to make sure the sodium nitrite has distributed evenly.

[Mr Walleye]

DTJ

I don't use Hi Mountain products so I can't comment on them. Spices will deterate over time, especially a couple of years but to my knowledge the cure should not providing it is in an air tight container. Because your finished sausage was grey in color it seems that the cure didn't occur. Although your cure time in the fridge seems to be about the same as I usually do. Providing the correct amount of cure was used, the only other thing I can think of would be the mixing. Did you try slicing any other pieces to see if they looked cured? Your temp and times all seem about right although I usually start at 130 degrees to dry for 1 hour then start the smoke and increase the temp to 165 to 175. I always use a binder in my sausage as well. This will help keep it moist and avoid it drying out. In addition pretty much all my sausage recipes call for an internal temp of 152 degrees, even though this is only 4 degrees lower than yours I would think it would help some.

I use my own recipes and add the cure by weight. I have made batches up to 30 lbs and plan on making larger ones but for simplicity I will start mixing 20 lbs at a time, then stuff, then mix 20 more lbs, then stuff, etc. It's just easier to handle that amount at a time for me. All of my smoked & cured sausage has a pink cured color to it.

I'm no expert by any means but I have been making a fair bit of sausage recently. Hopefully someone else can shed a little more light on this.

Mike

[pensrock]

From what I have read all I can say is.... the cure should be ok, like hab mantioned but the seasoning could be very weak as Mike stated. I normally allow my cure/seasoning on the meat for 1-2 days before grinding and stuffing. But the lack of tastes suggestes to me the seasoning is too old.

[DTJ]

Thanks everyone for the info.  The amount of cure I used was pre measured by hi moutain and that is why I made 15 lbs to avoid any problems.  It was also in a sealed bag and was loose to the touch.

Mike how do you mix yours, just with your hands or do you have a mixer??
Any recipes would also be appreciated

Thank you

Daryl

[Smokin Soon]

Did you use a cure or seasoning kit? I have a good supply of Hi-Mountain sausage seasonings, and only the Buckboard Bacon has cure included. I think it as Habs who taught me that sausages going into the smoker need cure added. I also leave the mix in the fridge at least overnight before stuffing. I use the Hi-Mountain Cajun mix often, and have been satisfied with the results and pink color. The color might be from the cure, I am not sure.

[Mr Walleye]

Daryl

I mix mine by hand (rubber gloves). I've thought about a mixer but so far mixing by hand has worked well.

If you don't already have the book "Great Sausage Recipes and Meat Curing" by Rytek Kutas you should get it. It is considered the Bible of sausage making by many people. It has alot of great recipes in it as well. Most of the sausage I make comes from this book. I've tweaked some of the recipes for my own taste. I know this book is available on Amazon and a number of other places. As far as I'm concerned it's definitely a must have for sausage making.

Mike

[Habanero Smoker]

All the above are good information. I just don't get reddish interior after cooking cured sausage. I mix my seasoning by hand, or add my own Cure #1 to premixed seasoning. I use a Kitchen Aid stand mixer to mix my sausage.

[DTJ]

Smokin it was a pre mix of seasonings and came with a cure in a seperate pouch along with the casings.  It was a whole summer sausage kit.

Mike, I do have that book actually just wondering if you had a family recipe, the book is great!!  I thought I would try a premix for my first shot at sausage, I think I will try the book..bible..next time.

Habs, I thought about using my Kitchen aid mixer but thought it might put to much strain on it, about how much do you mix at a time...bowl being about 2/3 full???  That is what I used to stuff with.  It took awhile but worked.  Also to help clarify the no longer than 24 hours refrigeration here is a link to the instructions ..recipe instructions
http://www.himtnjerky.com/product/summer_sausage.php  there is nothing listed in the ingredients for the cure or seasoning about any type of binder. It is labeled as Hi Moutains maple cure which I think I have read others using...I could be wrong.

Again I thank everyone for their input  Definitely can't learn unless we ask and keep trying


Daryl

[Mr Walleye]

Definitely can't learn unless we ask and keep trying

That's for sure Daryl....

Fire another batch in, you'll get it dialed in!  ;)

Mike

[Tenpoint5]

Trial and Adjust, Trail and Adjust till you get it dialed in. I usually start with 5lb batches until I get mine dialed in. That way I don't have to eat as much when it isn't quite right and needs more tweaking.

[DTJ]

That sounds like a good amount to try with I won't be doing any more 15 lb batches until I have it really dialed in!!

[Mr Walleye]

Trial and Adjust, Trail and Adjust till you get it dialed in. I usually start with 5lb batches until I get mine dialed in. That way I don't have to eat as much when it isn't quite right and needs more tweaking.

I couldn't agree more, good advice 10.5!  ;)

Mike

[Habanero Smoker]

I have the 5 qt. heavy duty model, and five pounds is about what it can take. If you have the 5 qt. with the regular motor, use less meat. It is best to blend directly after it has been grind. If you chill the meat first you will have problems. Just mix until the meat is sticky.

I have Kutas' book also but like to take information from several sources that give you different ideas and information.

I don't quite understand the 24 hours, unless the refrigeration is for air drying the sausage and to prevent it from drying too much. Sodium nitrite begins to act instantaneously, so if mixed into the meat properly at the proper amounts you can start smoking the sausage immediately or any time after that. But as a habit I let my sausage rest cure or fresh for 12 - 24 so all the spices blend.