How to Dry Sausage at Home: A Step-by-Step Guide for Beginners

Drying sausage at home may seem intimidating, but with the right techniques and equipment, anyone can make delicious homemade dry sausages. From salami to pepperoni, drying sausage concentrates flavors and allows the meat to last longer without refrigeration.

In this beginner’s guide, I’ll walk you through everything you need to know to dry sausage at home, including:

• Benefits of drying sausage
• Sausage drying process overview
• Equipment needed
• Ingredients and preparation
• Step-by-step instructions
• Tips and tricks for best results

Why Make Homemade Dry Sausage?

Here are some of the main benefits of drying sausage at home

• Enhanced flavor – By removing moisture the flavors become more concentrated and intense. Homemade dried sausage tastes better than anything store-bought.

• Longer shelf life – Properly dried sausage can last for months in the pantry without refrigeration.

• Control ingredients – You can choose quality meats and customize flavors exactly to your taste. No questionable additives.

• Save money – With some initial equipment investment, homemade sausage costs a fraction of what you’d pay for artisanal dry sausage.

• Sense of accomplishment – It’s deeply satisfying to make your own charcuterie from scratch.

Overview of the Sausage Drying Process

While drying sausage is time-consuming, the process itself is straightforward:

1. Prepare the raw seasoned sausage – Combine ground meat, fat, and spices into a sausage mixture. Stuff into casings if using.

2. Incubate – Allow bacteria and enzymes to start fermentation process. This takes 1-3 days.

3. Dry the sausage – Hang sausage links at cool temperature with controlled humidity for 2-6 weeks.

4. Equalize – Rest equalizes moisture. The sausage can then be sliced and eaten.

Don’t worry, I’ll explain each step in detail coming up. First, let’s go over the equipment you’ll need.

Sausage Drying Equipment

Drying sausage requires some special equipment to control the environment. Here’s what you’ll need:

• Meat grinder – Grinds meat and fat into fine sausage consistency.

• Sausage stuffer – Pushes meat mixture into casings to make links (optional).

• Curing salts – Sodium nitrate or nitrite prevents bacterial growth.

• Casings – Collagen or natural casings contain the sausage mix.

• Humidity & temperature controller – Maintains ideal environment for drying.

• Humidifier – Raises humidity levels. Used with humidity controller.

• Dehydrator or dedicated drying chamber – Holds sausage at right temps.

I’ll explain more about using these tools later on. With the equipment covered, let’s get into the fun part…making sausage!

Sausage Ingredients & Preparation

Here are the basic ingredients and steps for preparing fresh sausage before drying:

1. Choose Meat and Fat

• Meat – Pork, beef, venison, duck, goose, turkey, chicken, or a mix.

• Fat – Pork back fat recommended. Provides moisture and flavor.

• Meat to fat ratio – 60-80% meat, 20-40% fat is ideal.

2. Grind Meat and Fat

• Grind meat through large die first.
• Grind fat through medium die.
• Combine and grind together through small die.

3. Mix In Seasonings

• Salt
• Sugar
• Spices like pepper, garlic, paprika, etc.
• Curing salt
• Starter culture

4. Stuff Mixture Into Casings

• Soak natural casings before stuffing
• Load casing onto stuffer tube
• Twist links to desired size

Now the fresh sausage is ready for the fermenting and drying process.

Step-by-Step Instructions for Drying Sausage

Follow these steps precisely for best results:

1. Incubate the Sausage

• Incubate at 80-90°F and 80-85% humidity for 1-3 days.
• Allows starter culture to ferment and develop flavors.
• Use incubator or water bath technique.

2. Dry the Sausage

• Dry at 60-70°F and 70-75% humidity for 2-6 weeks.
• Longer equals more flavor but can get too firm.
• Use dehydrator, chamber, or cool basement area.

3. Monitor Progress

• Weigh sausages periodically to track moisture loss.
• Check for spoilage like mold and discoloration.
• Adjust temperature & humidity as needed.

4. Equalize and Enjoy!

• Rest sausage in the fridge 1-2 weeks to equalize moisture.
• Slice thinly across the grain to serve.
• Store in vacuum sealed bags in the fridge.

And that’s all there is to it! With some practice you’ll be an expert at crafting gourmet sausages.

Tips for Drying Sausage at Home

Follow these tips and tricks for getting the best possible results when making dry sausage:

• Use fresh, high-quality meat and fat, ideally locally sourced.

• Keep equipment and ingredients cold before grinding and mixing.

• Mix seasonings evenly into meat mixture. Avoid over-mixing.

• Work fast while stuffing casings to prevent sausage from smearing.

• Sanitize all equipment thoroughly before and after use.

• Add a mold inhibitor like potassium sorbate if desired.

• Rotate sausages periodically for even drying.

• Try a salami or pepperoni recipe first before developing your own.

• Use nitrate for whole muscle dry curing. Use nitrite for ground sausage.

• Throw away any sausage that shows bad mold or other spoilage. Don’t risk it!

• Let sausage lose 30% of its initial weight during drying for best flavor.

• Resting the sausage after drying really improves texture and moisure distribution. Don’t skip it!

• Enjoy your homemade sausage on charcuterie boards, in sandwiches, with cheese, tossed into pasta, and more!

With the right techniques, you can now make incredible dry sausages at home. From the flavor to the cost savings, homemade sausage is extremely rewarding.

Just follow the instructions and tips above to safely dry flavorful sausage exactly how you like it. Once you nail the process you can experiment with your own recipes.