[USA] "Sunrise Summer Sausage"

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Chuckwagon
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[USA] "Sunrise Summer Sausage"

Post by Chuckwagon » Fri May 20, 2011 09:54

[USA] "Sunrise Summer Sausage"
Semi-Dry-Cured Summer Sausage

Summer sausage has not been traditionally made during the summer months - it was consumed during the summer! Historically, the air-dried favorite has been made during the colder winter months, becoming bacteriologically stable as it dried slowly.

6 lbs. pork butt
4 lbs. beef chuck
2 level tspns. Instacure No. 1
5 tblspns. uniodized salt
4 tblspns. corn syrup solids
4 tblspns. powdered dextrose
6 oz. (170 gr.) Fermento
1-1/2 tspns. garlic powder
2 tblspn. mustard powder
1 tblspn. ground coriander
1 tspn. allspice

Separate the fat from the lean meat and cut only the fat into 3/8" dice. Place it into the freezer. Grind the lean meat through a 3/16" plate then add all the other ingredients, mixing the Prague Powder #1 with a little ice water for even distribution. Mix the lean meat until the actomyosin develops the "primary bind" and becomes tacky. Finally, add the larger diced frozen fat and carefully fold it into the meat, distributing it evenly. Stuff the sausage into your favorite casings (see paragraph below), hang them on smokesticks, and allow them to ferment 24-48 hours at 85°; F. (29°; C.) in 90% relative humidity. I have known sausage makers, fearing spoilage, who have preferred to place the sausages inside a 38°F. cooler (at a much reduced humidity) for a period of 48 hours at this point. Note that at this lowered temperature, the activity of lactobacillus is greatly reduced, requiring more time for fermentation to take place.

Some degree of fermentation will be accomplished by the "chance contamination" of lactobacillus or pediococcus bacteria nourished by the dextrose and corn syrup solids. Note that Fermento is not a starter culture. It is simply a flavoring ingredient made from whey in the dairy industry. It gives semi-dry-cured summer sausage a proper boost of "tang" and it is produced and sold by the Sausagemaker™. It is an organic product and may be used safely.

Next, pat the sausages dry, hang them in your smoker, and introduce smoke for 5 hours, dropping the relative humidity to 70%. Gradually, increase the smokehouse temperature only a few degrees every twenty minutes or so, until they reach an internal meat temperature of 140°;F. (Any possible trichinella spiralis has been destroyed at 138°; F.). Shower the sausages with cold water until the internal meat temperature drops below 80°; F. (26°; C.). Pat them dry and allow the sausages to continue drying at 65°; F. (18°; C.), three more days in 70% humidity. Now is the time to "bite `em"! At this point, your summer sausage could possibly require "extensive taste testing", usually performed with the assistance of several stout, ice-cold, foaming, beverages. Store the sausages at 50°; F. (10°;C.) in 75% humidity.

Traditionally, sewn beef middles about two feet in length and almost 3" in diameter were used for summer sausage. I`ve had great success with 3-1/2" diameter fibrous casings cut two feet long. Placed in dark brown netting, the product is very presentable and popular as gifts. Most folks today prefer much smaller summer sausages, using 38 m. m. hog casings or mahogany-colored synthetic fibrous casings cut about a foot in length.

This is "Cervelat" summer sausage with coriander. If you wish to make "Goteborg" summer sausage, delete the coriander and substitute up to 2 tablespoons of ground nutmeg.

Best Wishes,
Chuckwagon
Last edited by Chuckwagon on Sun May 22, 2011 08:01, edited 2 times in total.
If it looks like a duck, walks like a duck, and quacks like a duck, it probably needs more time on the grill! :D
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Post by ssorllih » Sun May 22, 2011 05:16

And here is an example of what is being offered to the masses as the same thing. AAAAHHHHH!! http://cookeatshare.com/recipes/summer-sausage-406943
Ross- tightwad home cook
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Post by Chuckwagon » Sun May 22, 2011 05:59

Oh no Ross! You've GOT to be kidding! :shock:
Who in their right mind would subscribe to such a thing? That recipe looks like something I once scraped off the side of my boot! :roll: (hamburger indeed!)
How lazy can people get?

You know, today I sliced open a salami that I had curing for quite some time. At first my nose tickled me. Then I saw the closely defined texture and solid structure. Then I sliced off a few thin samples and popped 'em into my mouth. The first thing I thought of was a question. How many people have not had this exquisite fermented flavor presented to them in their entire lifetime? It's because many people don't even know it exists. Some people don't even care to know about it or learn about it, much less take the time to make it for themselves. What a shame! Hey Ross, aren't you glad you belong to WD? :grin:

The cost of making that huge salami was only about ten bucks. In a delicatessen, it would be at least eighty dollars. I'll be gnawing on the thing for the next couple of weeks and smiling like a burro eatin' cactus!

Best Wishes,
Chuckwagon
If it looks like a duck, walks like a duck, and quacks like a duck, it probably needs more time on the grill! :D
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Post by uwanna61 » Tue Aug 02, 2011 01:45

At the top of the page it says " COOK EAT & SHARE" :shock:
Bake at 350 deg for 60 min :?:
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Post by Chuckwagon » Tue Aug 02, 2011 02:37

Yikes! Cook,eat, and share... uh.... with whom? :roll:
If it looks like a duck, walks like a duck, and quacks like a duck, it probably needs more time on the grill! :D
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Post by Bubba » Tue Aug 02, 2011 09:34

ssorllih wrote:And here is an example of what is being offered to the masses as the same thing. AAAAHHHHH!! http://cookeatshare.com/recipes/summer-sausage-406943
:mrgreen: One would have to be pretty desperate to consume "indecent" food as described in that recipe offered to the masses.
2lbs hamburger (store bought) as the first ingredient. :roll:

I remember the first time I grilled my daughter a hamburger from fresh ground meat at home, her taste buds never knew what serenaded them.
Ron
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