# OFG Summer Sausage



## disco (May 12, 2018)

I have had trouble making a summer sausage that I like since I started smoking. Don't get me wrong, all the spice mixes and recipes I tried made good summer sausage but it isn't what I remembered from when I was a kid. So, I have been experimenting for a couple of years to get what I remember getting from home made summer sausage when I was a kid. I quickly learned that people didn't add ascorbic acid, buttermilk powder, jalapenos, high temperature cheese, etc. They used what they had, meat and seasonings. That led me to my summer sausage recipe which I call OFG Summer Sausage as I am the Old Fat Guy.

I apologize in advance that it is only meat and seasonings and not fancy schmancy.

The first thing I do is mix beef or lean game with pork shoulder. I cube 500 grams (1 pound) of each. In this batch I used beef. I don't use hamburger as I just find it doesn't taste right. I went to the supermarket and bought the cheapest cut of lean beef I can find.








I put them in the fridge for 2 hours to get cold. It is critical to keep the meat cold. I ran them through the medium plate on my KitchenAid grinder.







I put the meat in the fridge for 1/2 hour to chill again. While it was chilling, I mixed together:


50 ml (1/4 cup) ice water
3 grams (0.09 ounces) pink salt #1 (2 ml or 2/5 teaspoon)
12 ml (2 ½ tsp) table salt
5 ml (1 tsp) coarse ground pepper
5 ml (1 tsp) sugar
5 ml (1 tsp) garlic powder
4 ml (3/4 tsp) whole mustard seed
3 ml (1/2 tsp) onion powder
3 ml (1/2 tsp) nutmeg
3 ml (1/2 tsp) dried basil
3 ml (1/2 tsp) whole coriander seed
1 ml (1/4 tsp) dried marjoram







I put this in the fridge to keep cool until the meat had finished its 1/2 hour in the fridge. Then I mixed the seasoning slurry into the meat with my hand by folding it over 20 times.






I put the meat in the fridge for 1/2 hour to chill.

I put the paddle on the KitchenAid and beat the meat on medium low for 4 minutes.







I put the meat in the fridge for 1/2 hour to cool. Then I used my LEM vertical stuffer to put it into 2 inch fibrous casings I had soaked for a couple of hours.






Note I make quite short chubs. There is just She Who Must Be Obeyed and me. I tied the chubs off and put them in the fridge for 2 days.






I don't use my pellet smoker to smoke sausage. It just won't smoke at a low enough temperature to do sausage and keep it from defatting. You need to start at 140 F and it won't go below 180 F. When I am using the WSM to do sausage I put a terra cotta planter base in the bottom that is about 1 inch 


So I fired my home made WSM Mini up to 140 F, put the chubs in and smoked for 2 hours.






I opened the vents to increase the temperature to 150 F and smoked for another hour. I went up to 160 F for another hour and then 170 F until the internal temperature of the sausage was 155 F.






I plunged the chubs into ice water.






I let them hang at room temperature for 2 hours and then put them in the fridge overnight.

I sliced some up and had a great sandwich!










Once again, this is not some fancy scientific version of summer sausage or doctored up with lots of add ins. It is just a simple sausage. A tasty, tasty sausage.

Disco


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## forvols (May 12, 2018)

THAT is very nice, thank you for proving..it aint gotta be hard or fancy. Just attention to detail.


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## disco (May 12, 2018)

forvols said:


> THAT is very nice, thank you for proving..it aint gotta be hard or fancy. Just attention to detail.


Thanks for the very kind words!


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## motocrash (May 12, 2018)

Nice disco.No spicy/hot mustard? :)


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## disco (May 12, 2018)

motocrash said:


> Nice disco.No spicy/hot mustard? :)


HAR! I knew I was forgetting something! Thanks for the kind words.


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## oddegan (May 12, 2018)

Sometimes super simple recipes are the hardest to pull off. No room to hide mistakes. Looks pretty darn good to me. Nice!


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## disco (May 12, 2018)

oddegan said:


> Sometimes super simple recipes are the hardest to pull off. No room to hide mistakes. Looks pretty darn good to me. Nice!


Thanks. I think I am just getting simpler as I age.


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## pc farmer (May 12, 2018)

That looks great.   I LOVE simple.   

Never tried sausage in my mini.   I have a offset vertical I use.  Might try the mini for small batches.


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## disco (May 12, 2018)

c farmer said:


> That looks great.   I LOVE simple.
> 
> Never tried sausage in my mini.   I have a offset vertical I use.  Might try the mini for small batches.


Thanks, Adam! The offset would be a way better choice unless you are only doing a couple of pounds like me.


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## SonnyE (May 12, 2018)

Looks great Disco!

Disco,
How do you like the grinder attachment on your Kitchen-aid mixer?
I have a very old hand grinder I don't mind using, but always thought having the Kitchen-aid do it might be a better way since we have one. The mixer, but not a grinder attachment.
I only do small batches myself. But I want to start making some stuffed stuff. (Like meat snacks and such.)


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## disco (May 12, 2018)

SonnyE said:


> Looks great Disco!
> "Pardon me, But might you have any Grey Poupon?"
> 
> Disco,
> ...



The grinder attachment is OK but is under powered if you are doing anything over a few pounds of meat. Whatever you do, don't try to use the sausage stuffer attachment. It works poorly and it is worse that getting a root canal by a proctologist.

If you are doing small batches, it is fine. If you ever plan on making large batches, buy a dedicated grinder.


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## SonnyE (May 12, 2018)

disco said:


> The grinder attachment is OK but is under powered if you are doing anything over a few pounds of meat. Whatever you do, don't try to use the sausage stuffer attachment. It works poorly and it is worse that getting a root canal by a proctologist.
> 
> If you are doing small batches, it is fine. If you ever plan on making large batches, buy a dedicated grinder.



Thank You Sir!
You are the first Friend I've known with one. The reviews I've seen were not very glowing for the K-A stuffer attachment.
I'm so small time/hobbyist I can't bring myself to looking into both a grinder and a stuffer.
If it was 45-50 years ago, when I was hunting and processing game for the family, heck yeah.
But our Kitchen-Aid gets used for Christmas cookies....

Yeah, no root canals for me! First, we both have some idea where he's used those tools before... :eek:
When I was a little shaver, we wanted to be Firemen, Policemen, Rangers....
Nobody said they wanted to be a Proctologist! :confused:o_O
I guess it's like examining a casing from the inside.

Thanks Disco! :)


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## DanMcG (May 13, 2018)

Real good sounding recipe Disco, I'm adding it to my list. Thanks for sharing it.
Add what's up with those eggs on your counter? ;)


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## CharlotteLovesFood (May 13, 2018)

disco said:


> I have had trouble making a summer sausage that I like since I started smoking. Don't get me wrong, all the spice mixes and recipes I tried made good summer sausage but it isn't what I remembered from when I was a kid. So, I have been experimenting for a couple of years to get what I remember getting from home made summer sausage when I was a kid. I quickly learned that people didn't add ascorbic acid, buttermilk powder, jalapenos, high temperature cheese, etc. They used what they had, meat and seasonings. That led me to my summer sausage recipe which I call OFG Summer Sausage as I am the Old Fat Guy.
> 
> I apologize in advance that it is only meat and seasonings and not fancy schmancy.
> 
> ...


I dunno it seemed pretty fancy to me ;)
Seriously though it looks great! Thanks for sharing your method and recipe...i'm in need of some new kitchen gadgets I think :D

Charlotte


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## crazymoon (May 13, 2018)

D, Nice job on your SS and as always a great post ! like


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## tropics (May 13, 2018)

Disco that looks great and I bet it does taste good. Likes
Richie


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## disco (May 13, 2018)

danmcg said:


> Real good sounding recipe Disco, I'm adding it to my list. Thanks for sharing it.
> Add what's up with those eggs on your counter? ;)


Thanks so much! The "eggs" are some potatoes I'm sprouting to plant!


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## disco (May 13, 2018)

CharlotteLovesFood said:


> I dunno it seemed pretty fancy to me ;)
> Seriously though it looks great! Thanks for sharing your method and recipe...i'm in need of some new kitchen gadgets I think :D
> 
> Charlotte


Thanks! I thought I needed some more gear, too. However, I have been informed I am wrong.


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## disco (May 13, 2018)

crazymoon said:


> D, Nice job on your SS and as always a great post ! like


Thanks for the like, CM!


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## disco (May 13, 2018)

tropics said:


> Disco that looks great and I bet it does taste good. Likes
> Richie


Thanks for the like, Richie!


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## archeryrob (May 18, 2018)

Great work, I've recommended your blog to many people I know. Lots of good stuff on there.


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## mike243 (May 22, 2018)

Looks great next time i make a batch I am going to take my rolling pin and crack some whole pepper corns cause when i was a kid thats what it had in it and wow it was good, store bought is lite on seasonings imo


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## boykjo (May 30, 2018)

Nice OFG summer sausage disco............:D


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## disco (May 30, 2018)

archeryrob said:


> Great work, I've recommended your blog to many people I know. Lots of good stuff on there.


You are so kind!


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## disco (May 30, 2018)

mike243 said:


> Looks great next time i make a batch I am going to take my rolling pin and crack some whole pepper corns cause when i was a kid thats what it had in it and wow it was good, store bought is lite on seasonings imo


Sounds great!


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## disco (May 30, 2018)

boykjo said:


> Nice OFG summer sausage disco............:D


Thank you, Sir!


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## hitechredneck (Jul 18, 2018)

Just mixed up a bunch of summer sausage from a kit today.  First time trying it.  I just wanted to confirm something that you did in your OP.  You mixed the meat 4 minutes in the mixer?  I only did a couple of minutes and it looked like it was fully mixed up.  Did you do this longer because it actually takes 4 minutes?  Maybe I should mix some more before I stuff the casings?  I made 5 lbs.
I also wonder if I got enough fat content into my meat.  I followed the directions on the box and went with a 4lb venison to 1lb pork shoulder ratio.
One thing I did notice is that the seasoning package didn't come with any peppercorns.  I may have to add some cracked peppercorns to my mix before stuffing too.  Just in case :)


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## disco (Jul 18, 2018)

hitechredneck said:


> Just mixed up a bunch of summer sausage from a kit today.  First time trying it.  I just wanted to confirm something that you did in your OP.  You mixed the meat 4 minutes in the mixer?  I only did a couple of minutes and it looked like it was fully mixed up.  Did you do this longer because it actually takes 4 minutes?  Maybe I should mix some more before I stuff the casings?  I made 5 lbs.
> I also wonder if I got enough fat content into my meat.  I followed the directions on the box and went with a 4lb venison to 1lb pork shoulder ratio.
> One thing I did notice is that the seasoning package didn't come with any peppercorns.  I may have to add some cracked peppercorns to my mix before stuffing too.  Just in case :)


I mix mine for longer not to mix the meat but to get a more fine texture in the finished product. I find mixing it for 4 minutes gives a firmer sausage more to my liking. I also find I get less fat outs. As for adding peppercorns, be careful. The mix may have a lot of pepper in it already, just not in cracked form so you may be over peppering your sausage. You can wrap some of the mixture in plastic wrap and poach it in simmering water until cooked. It won't be exactly like the finished product but will give you some idea about the level of seasonings and you can decide if you want to add more pepper. As for the fat/meat balance, it is really a matter of taste. If your pork shoulder is quite fatty, 4 to 1 should be ok. I don't like to go less than 2 to 1 lean to pork shoulder but only due to personal tastes. I have seen a lot of smokers I trust use 4 to 1.


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## dwdunlap (Jul 18, 2018)

Disco, I want to get into sausage making and look forward to following your Summer Sausage recipe and methods. However, I am afraid I have confusion with the meats and ratios.

_"The first thing I do is mix beef or lean game with pork shoulder. I cube 500 grams *(1 pound) of each*. In this batch I used beef."       "As for the fat/meat balance, it is really a matter of taste. If your pork shoulder is quite fatty, 4 to 1 should be ok. I don't like to go less than *2 to 1 lean to pork shoulder* but only due to personal tastes. I have seen a lot of smokers I trust use 4 to 1."
_
I think I'm missing something here. I don't see how 1 pound of "each" isn't 1 to 1. Please clear up for me so I can make mine just like yours.  Also, I too remember cracked pepper in Summer Sausage. If I want to use some cracked, how would you think I should adjust your recipe?

Many thanks  David


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## disco (Jul 19, 2018)

dwdunlap said:


> Disco, I want to get into sausage making and look forward to following your Summer Sausage recipe and methods. However, I am afraid I have confusion with the meats and ratios.
> 
> _"The first thing I do is mix beef or lean game with pork shoulder. I cube 500 grams *(1 pound) of each*. In this batch I used beef."       "As for the fat/meat balance, it is really a matter of taste. If your pork shoulder is quite fatty, 4 to 1 should be ok. I don't like to go less than *2 to 1 lean to pork shoulder* but only due to personal tastes. I have seen a lot of smokers I trust use 4 to 1."
> _
> ...


I use one to one as my preferred. I was answering a question from hitechredneck about a kit that said to use four parts lean to one part pork and I said you could go that low but it wasn't my preference. He was also asking about adding peppercorns to the kit spices. I strictly warned him that might be too much to add to the kit. My recipe calls for coarse grind or cracked pepper so there is no need to adjust my recipe. Nothing in my response to hitechredneck changes my recipes, I was just discussing his use of a kit and the instructions with the kit.


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## hitechredneck (Jul 19, 2018)

disco said:


> I mix mine for longer not to mix the meat but to get a more fine texture in the finished product. I find mixing it for 4 minutes gives a firmer sausage more to my liking. I also find I get less fat outs. As for adding peppercorns, be careful. The mix may have a lot of pepper in it already, just not in cracked form so you may be over peppering your sausage. You can wrap some of the mixture in plastic wrap and poach it in simmering water until cooked. It won't be exactly like the finished product but will give you some idea about the level of seasonings and you can decide if you want to add more pepper. As for the fat/meat balance, it is really a matter of taste. If your pork shoulder is quite fatty, 4 to 1 should be ok. I don't like to go less than 2 to 1 lean to pork shoulder but only due to personal tastes. I have seen a lot of smokers I trust use 4 to 1.


Thanks for the info. I poached a bit and you’re right. Peppercorns would have been too much. I went ahead and ran everything through the grinder again as part of my stuffing exercise, hopefully it’ll make the mix a bit more firm upon smoking. We’ll see!


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## BGKYSmoker (Jul 19, 2018)

Good job.
Like i say, sometimes KISS is so much easier.
Keep
It
Simple
Stupid


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## dwdunlap (Jul 19, 2018)

disco said:


> I use one to one as my preferred. I was answering a question from hitechredneck about a kit that said to use four parts lean to one part pork and I said you could go that low but it wasn't my preference. He was also asking about adding peppercorns to the kit spices. I strictly warned him that might be too much to add to the kit. My recipe calls for coarse grind or cracked pepper so there is no need to adjust my recipe. Nothing in my response to hitechredneck changes my recipes, I was just discussing his use of a kit and the instructions with the kit.



I want to follow as close to what you do for SS, so I plan to be doing mine 1:1 Beef to pork butt. I'll plan to start smoke at 140* stepping up hourly.

I decided to test my MES 30 gen 2.5 for 140*.  I have a PID conroller for temp and set it to 140* and a tube smoker. Went right up to 170* very quickly and stayed. Reset PID to 130* and only but only dropped to 160*.  All four probes, (732&TP820) are at grate level within an inch of each other including the PID. I lowered the PID to 110* but only dropped the probes to 150*. After staying there, I wondered if the smoke tube was putting out too much heat and so I removed it and let settle again. That has dropped the probes to 120*!!  I didn't realize those pellets are so powerful! Have you had this experience? I should add, the outside temp is 100 glorious TEXAS degrees - Yikes!

I this why so many have gone to the mailbox conversion??

I still have to have smoke. Do you have any ideas?

David


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## jimmyinsd (Jul 20, 2018)

dwdunlap said:


> I want to follow as close to what you do for SS, so I plan to be doing mine 1:1 Beef to pork butt. I'll plan to start smoke at 140* stepping up hourly.
> 
> I decided to test my MES 30 gen 2.5 for 140*.  I have a PID conroller for temp and set it to 140* and a tube smoker. Went right up to 170* very quickly and stayed. Reset PID to 130* and only but only dropped to 160*.  All four probes, (732&TP820) are at grate level within an inch of each other including the PID. I lowered the PID to 110* but only dropped the probes to 150*. After staying there, I wondered if the smoke tube was putting out too much heat and so I removed it and let settle again. That has dropped the probes to 120*!!  I didn't realize those pellets are so powerful! Have you had this experience? I should add, the outside temp is 100 glorious TEXAS degrees - Yikes!
> 
> ...



I think the mailbox, with a long piece (3' or so) of vent pipe between the box and the smoker should help cool the smoke before it gets to the smoker.  That aluminum vent pipe dissipates heat pretty well.  However I have to think that in 100 degree heat its going to be a challenge no matter what you do without getting silly.   wondering though,  why not let the pellets smoke to what ever temp they can achieve and then slowly crank up the MES?  no reason IMO that the pellets couldnt be the primary heat source and the electric supplements that.


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## dwdunlap (Jul 20, 2018)

Thanks Jimmy, I asked the master and he informed me the heat problem was probably coming from heat generated by my smoke generating tube. He suggested instead of filling the tube full, to try only half full and then turn level and shake to distribute the pellets only half depth. The result is half as many pellets burning as when full and less heat generated. And boy, *that did it!!*  I refilled the tube half way and shook to get even distribution and relit. Set PID to 110* and after the temp settled down that's where it held! The smoke level while a bit less, did produce more than enough. This method is his possible fix for those using trays - half depth!

However, please note; my MES 30 gen2.5 has been converted and now bypasses the MES controller and is now precisely controlled by a PID controller. Works great! 

I think *IF* cold weather ever returns to Texas; I will be able to smoke cheese at 70*. And if there is still too much heat, then I can use ice to keep the temp down.


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## disco (Jul 21, 2018)

dwdunlap said:


> I want to follow as close to what you do for SS, so I plan to be doing mine 1:1 Beef to pork butt. I'll plan to start smoke at 140* stepping up hourly.
> 
> I decided to test my MES 30 gen 2.5 for 140*.  I have a PID conroller for temp and set it to 140* and a tube smoker. Went right up to 170* very quickly and stayed. Reset PID to 130* and only but only dropped to 160*.  All four probes, (732&TP820) are at grate level within an inch of each other including the PID. I lowered the PID to 110* but only dropped the probes to 150*. After staying there, I wondered if the smoke tube was putting out too much heat and so I removed it and let settle again. That has dropped the probes to 120*!!  I didn't realize those pellets are so powerful! Have you had this experience? I should add, the outside temp is 100 glorious TEXAS degrees - Yikes!
> 
> ...


Sorry for the delay in getting back to you. I see you already have some responses. I suspect the high temperature outside had some input to your problems! However I have never used an MES and am sort of guessing.


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## disco (Jul 21, 2018)

nepas said:


> Good job.
> Like i say, sometimes KISS is so much easier.
> Keep
> It
> ...


Thanks. I need KISS!


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## nanuk (Jul 21, 2018)

ima try the half full pellet thingie...    mine puts out FAR TOO MUCH smoke!

I made a smaller diameter tube, but it wouldn't stay lit.
I'll try my bigger one.

gonna have my "mailbox" mod soon!


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## BGKYSmoker (Jul 23, 2018)

Nice SS there D.


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## nimrod (Aug 4, 2018)

Disco, the SS looks delicious! I'll be trying your recipe soon. Also a fan of your blog. I picked up some SS casings but wasn't sure what recipe I was going to use.
Craig


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## imjim (Nov 6, 2018)

Hi Disco, I am a new member and new to making/smoking sausage and have a quick question about your recipe. After stuffing you stated to put the chubs into fridge for two days, can they sit longer?  I was planning to stuff mine tomorrow (Wednesday) but will not be able to smoke them until Saturday, is that a okay to do? Thanks, I'm really enjoying reading your forum post.


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## disco (Nov 6, 2018)

imjim said:


> Hi Disco, I am a new member and new to making/smoking sausage and have a quick question about your recipe. After stuffing you stated to put the chubs into fridge for two days, can they sit longer?  I was planning to stuff mine tomorrow (Wednesday) but will not be able to smoke them until Saturday, is that a okay to do? Thanks, I'm really enjoying reading your forum post.


That should be no problem. Anything up to about six or seven days will likely be ok.


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## imjim (Nov 6, 2018)

Thanks much, I appreciate the guidance.


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