Summer sausage help

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bobrap

Meat Mopper
Original poster
SMF Premier Member
Dec 9, 2012
169
32
Estill Springs, TN
Got some venison that I plan to use for summer sausage (it is summer, right? :)). My questions are:
Best casings to use and size. I have some that have a protein (?) lining.
What other meat should I add since it's venison. Or just pork fat and recommended ratio.
And of course, a good recipe recommendation.
Any help/ideas is greatly appreciated. Thanks very much!
 
BR, I use the 3" fibrous casings for my SS. I'm not sure about your protein lined casings as I know they are used for dry cure sausage. You'll need pork back fat or pork trim in a 4-1 ratio for a good sausage. Don't forget to add cure #1 .
 
I made some Hot Italian sausage and made some "summer sausage" out of part of it...   put some in muslin bags I made and smoked it and let it dry out a bit in the smoker until it had a consistency that it was "almost" dried out....  Came out awesome....    You can make SS out of anything your like...  pick a meat mix and go for it....   I like AC Leggs snack stick flavor #116....  I think it would make good SS but I'll tell you this Hot Italian #103 mix is awesome...

http://www.smokingmeatforums.com/t/241772/ac-leggs-103-hot-italian-seasoning-mix-final-money-2-8-16
 
Thanks CrazyMoon and Dave.  I was thinking of trying just a homemade spice combo, but, I have a pack of Excalibur SS mix that I think I'll try first. Seems SS is a little scarce around me.  When some folks heard I was going to do SS, all I heard was "I want some!"  So, I'd like to get it right the first time.

Dave, I'll have to try the Legg's Hot Italian.  I've made hot Italian before using this:

Hot Italian Sausage

5-lbs pork

1-cup cold red wine

1-cup chopped fresh parsley

5-tsp salt

1-tbsp garlic powder or-4 to 5 garlic cloves, minced

1-tbsp fresh ground pepper

3-tsp cayenne

5-tbsp fennel seed

2-tsp crushed chili peppers

5-tbsp paprika

Combine all, mix well & stuff into hog casing

Came out tasting great, but, the texture wasn't that good (crumbly).  Learned here that I wasn't mixing enough.  Now that I know better...
icon_smile.gif
 
 
I would add cure #1 to that and Amesphos... the Amesphos holds in moisture...  I usually add 1/2 the recommended amount of Amesphos...    Smoke it at about 110 for several hours then up the temp to 150 - 155 for about 24 hours...   two high a temp will cause sausage to turn crumbly....

Yes you do want to mix until you get a gluey, pasty, stick to anything texture...  that the meat proteins doing what ever they do... 

Your recipe sounds really good....    I'd use it...
 
 
I would add cure #1 to that and Amesphos... the Amesphos holds in moisture...  I usually add 1/2 the recommended amount of Amesphos...    Smoke it at about 110 for several hours then up the temp to 150 - 155 for about 24 hours...   two high a temp will cause sausage to turn crumbly....

Yes you do want to mix until you get a gluey, pasty, stick to anything texture...  that the meat proteins doing what ever they do... 

Your recipe sounds really good....    I'd use it...
Thanks, Dave.  When I've made the Italian, it was fresh, hence no Cure #1.  I never even thought about smoking it.  Have to  give that a try.  Out of curiosity, why do you use half of the recommended amount of Amesphos?  When I see 24hr smokes, it kinda makes me nervous.  I just picture something coming out of the smoker all dried and shriveled.  Why such a long smoke?  I have to do this and not worry.  Besides, I'm on my way to Kroger for some $.99/lb butts!  I'll have plenty to screw up and my dogs will love me.
icon_lol.gif
 
 
I want the internal temp of the meat to rise to a temp that kills the pathogens...  Below are two reports on killing salmonella... one is in non-intact meats....  the other is in poultry...  the differing numbers, in part, is due to the 5 log vs. 7 log reduction of the bacteria..  Smoking meats at 150 ish degrees F does not dry out the meat...   does not render the fat....  The meats stays moist because it can't get to a high enough temp to screw it up...  Amesphos and binders keep the moisture locked in the meat...

The charts below, the first chart...  If you get the Internal temperature to 130 deg. F, and hold it there for 90 minutes +, it is safe to eat...

The poultry chart.... If you get the Internal Temp. to 132 deg. F, and hold it there for 1 hour, it is safe to eat....

We don't have to overcook sausages to 160-165 to make them safe to eat... There are other methods...    This is one...  time and temp....

It really helps to follow good sanitation rules to avoid EXTRA contamination...  keeping meats and grinders cold...  when having a break, keep it cold....

I sanitize my smoker before each use.....   Crank it up to 275 for an hour or 2 to kill all the bad stuff that grew between used...   Probably overkill but I feel the extra 20 cents in electricity is worth it...  My meat hooks, bacon hangers, Q-MATZ etc. all go in the smoker to get sanitized....   Pellets used to go in there to dry out...   BUT, Mr. T showed me a secret trick...  the AMNPS is now on legs....   better air flow...   no need to nuke them or dry them....

Any other questions ??    I'm here or PM me anytime......

FSIS Guidance on Safe Cooking of Non-Intact Meat Chops, Roasts, and Steaks April 2009

Temp °F / Time for 5.0 log Reduction

Unit Time

130.......... .86 min.

131 ...........69 min.

132.......... 55 min.

133.......... 44 min.

134............ 35 min.

135............. 28 min.

The required lethalities are achieved instantly when the internal temperature of a cooked meat product reaches 158 °F or above. Humidity must be considered when using this Time/Temperature table.

This Time/Temperature table is based on Thermal Death Curve for Salmonella in Beef Emulsions in tubes (Derived from Goodfellow & Brown1, 1978) Regulatory Curve obtained from Jerry Carosella, Deputy Director, Microbiology Division, Science and Technology. All times that were a fraction of a minute or second was rounded up to the next whole number (e.g., 16.2 seconds for 155 °F was round up to 17 seconds).

________________________ 1. Goodfellow, S. J. and W. L. Brown. 1978. Fate of Salmonella Inoculated into Beef for Cooking. Journal of Food Protection. 41:598-605.

-------------------------------------------------------------------------

Poultry Time and Temp

Temperature........

...................... Time

°F (°C).............. 12% fat

136 (57.8)......... 81.4 min

137 (58.3)........ 65.5 min

138 (58.9)........ 52.9 min

139 (59.4)........ 43 min

140 (60.0)........ 35 min

Table C.2: Pasteurization times for a 7D reduction in Salmonella for chicken and turkey (FSIS, 2005).
 
BR, My SS takes about 10 hours starting low and working the temps up slowly to an IT of 152*, A 3"x24" casing holds about 3.5 # of meat. Hit the search bar icon above right for lots of good ideas and tips on SS. Have fun and good luck !
 
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I would add cure #1 to that and Amesphos... the Amesphos holds in moisture...  I usually add 1/2 the recommended amount of Amesphos...    Smoke it at about 110 for several hours then up the temp to 150 - 155 for about 24 hours...   two high a temp will cause sausage to turn crumbly....

Yes you do want to mix until you get a gluey, pasty, stick to anything texture...  that the meat proteins doing what ever they do... 

Your recipe sounds really good....    I'd use it...
Thanks, Dave.  When I've made the Italian, it was fresh, hence no Cure #1.  I never even thought about smoking it.  Have to  give that a try. 

Out of curiosity, why do you use half of the recommended amount of Amesphos? 

When I see 24hr smokes, it kinda makes me nervous.  I just picture something coming out of the smoker all dried and shriveled.  Why such a long smoke?  I have to do this and not worry.  Besides, I'm on my way to Kroger for some $.99/lb butts!  I'll have plenty to screw up and my dogs will love me.
icon_lol.gif
 
Boy oh boy did I get carried away.....   OK, here your answer.....

Binders, fillers, moisture improving stuff.....  Anything that is not associated with food safety, I start with half the recommended amount.... 

Usually they give a range like 1-3% or something close....  Well, I will try the middle and see what happens...   If it does what it's supposed to do and I like the results, that's a great starting point....

Say you want to add red pepper flakes....  1-3 tsp.  range....  I'm gonna taste the peppers first..  then depending on the heat, maybe go with 2 tsp....   if that don't cut it.... next time maybe 4 tsp.... 

All this non food safety stuff is flexible.....
 
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