- Jan 27, 2015
- 3
- 10
I just finished my first attempt at fermenting sausage. It was a complete disaster. The sausage tasted like it had been soaked in vinegar and was inedible. I followed Stanley M’s recipe for summer sausage with a few changes. I doubled the amount of culture at the recommendation of the supplier who worried about my ability to measure small quantities. The manufacturer recommended fermenting at 100 degrees for thirty hours. I had no way of doing this, so I let it ferment at 70 degrees for 72 hours. This change was based on Stanley M’ assumption that the amount of sugar dictates the ph and not the time or temperature. The wild card in the recipe is the sucrose in the ingredient list. I was under the assumption that the bacteria cannot utilize this sugar form. If it can then time and temperature become critical. Stanley states many times that fermentation creates a “sourly” taste. I have eaten fermented store-bought summer sausage, pepperoni, and beef sticks that didn’t taste sour. Is fermented sausage supposed to taste like vinegar? And if not, where did I go wrong?