Making summer sausage at home is something that I have been doing for many years. This sausage is very flavorful and not too fatty. Smoked summer sausage, the way it has been done traditionally, is to die for. Smoke greatly enhances flavor and increases shelf life of sausage due to its antibacterial properties. In this article I will talk about how to make summer sausage at home and share my experience.
Summer sausage is a tasty cured sausage that is often smoked or dried to preserve it. While you can easily buy summer sausage at the store, making it at home allows you to control the ingredients and customize the flavor. With just a few simple ingredients and tools, you can make delicious homemade summer sausage right in your oven!
Overview of Making Summer Sausage
The basic process for making summer sausage at home involves:
- Selecting and preparing the meat
- Mixing the cure
- Blending the spices and seasonings
- Stuffing the mixture into casings
- Allowing time to cure
- Smoking or cooking in the oven
- Cooling and hanging to dry
It may seem intimidating, but I’ll walk you through each step to make it easy and foolproof. With my guidance, you’ll be enjoying homemade summer sausage in no time!
Benefits of Making Your Own
Here are some of the biggest benefits of making summer sausage yourself
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Control ingredients By making it yourself you choose the quality of meat as well as the flavors. You can avoid unwanted ingredients like preservatives.
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Save money: Homemade is much cheaper than buying artisanal summer sausage from the store.
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Customize flavors: Mix up spices, peppers, cheese or anything you like to make it your own signature recipe.
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Learn a new skill: It’s extremely rewarding to craft something so tasty with your own two hands.
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Impress others: Your friends and family will be seriously impressed when you tell them you made it from scratch.
Gathering Your Equipment and Ingredients
You don’t need a lot of fancy equipment to make summer sausage at home. Here’s what you’ll need:
Equipment
- Kitchen scale for weighing meat
- Knives and cutting board
- Stand mixer or bowl for mixing
- Sausage stuffer (can be makeshift like a freezer bag with tip cut off)
- Instant read thermometer
- Oven, smoker or dehydrator
Ingredients
- 5 pounds ground meat (pork, beef, venison)
- Curing salt (InstaCure #1 or Prague Powder #1)
- Spices like garlic, pepper, paprika, mustard
- Cheese (optional)
- Casings (optional)
Meat and Fat
The meat you choose makes a big difference. A blend of 80% lean meat and 20% fat works very well. I recommend:
- Ground pork shoulder or butt
- 85% lean ground beef
- Ground venison or other game
For excellent texture and flavor, grind the meat yourself if possible. Or ask your butcher for a coarse grind.
Mixing the Summer Sausage Cure
The cure ingredients are what set summer sausage apart, allowing it to be shelf-stable without refrigeration.
For every 5 lbs of meat, mix together:
- 1 ounce (28 grams) curing salt
- 1 tablespoon (15 mL) garlic powder
- 2 tablespoons (30 mL) black pepper
- 1/4 cup (60 mL) nonfat dry milk powder
This ensures the proper concentration of curing salt for food safety.
Tip: To mix it evenly, blend the dry ingredients together first before adding to the meat.
Flavoring Your Summer Sausage
One of the best parts about making your own summer sausage is customizing the flavors! Here are some tasty spice blend ideas:
- Classic Summer Sausage: Black pepper, mustard seed, coriander
- Maple Brown Sugar: Maple syrup, brown sugar, red pepper flakes
- Everything Bagel: Poppy seeds, dried onion, garlic, salt
- Spicy: Jalapeño, chipotle powder, cayenne
- Cheesy: Sharp cheddar, Monterey jack, parmesan
Use 1-3 tablespoons of your spice blend for 5 lbs of meat. Always add spices a little at a time until it tastes just right.
Step-By-Step Instructions
Follow these simple steps for perfect homemade summer sausage every time:
1. Prepare the Meat
- Cut the meat into 1-inch cubes.
- Grind through a 3/16 inch plate.
- Spread out the ground meat on trays and place in freezer for about 30 minutes to firm up before mixing.
2. Mix All Ingredients
- In a large bowl, mix together the ground meat, cure, spices, and any other ingredients until fully incorporated.
- Use your hands to knead and squeeze the mixture for 2-3 minutes to activate the cure.
3. Stuff the Sausage
- Stuff the mixture tightly into hog casings, muslin bags, or foil tubes, eliminating air pockets.
- Tie off or twist into 6-8 inch links.
4. Allow to Cure
- Place the stuffed sausages in the refrigerator for 24-48 hours. This allows time for the cure to penetrate.
5. Cook the Sausage
- For smoker-free oven method, preheat oven to 200°F.
- Cook for 2-3 hours until internal temperature reaches 152°F.
- Optionally apply smoker treatment after cooking.
6. Chill, Hang, and Dry
- After cooking, immediately ice bath the sausages until cooled below 100°F.
- Hang sausages or place on a rack in the fridge uncovered overnight to bloom.
- For longer shelf life, hang sausages in front of a fan to dry for 1-2 weeks until casings are shriveled.
Troubleshooting Homemade Summer Sausage
Summer sausage is simple to make, but here are some tips if you run into any issues:
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Not stuffed tightly enough: This can cause air pockets and a soft texture. Really squeeze out the air as you fill casings.
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Too dry: Try reducing oven time and don’t over-smoke. Use a humidifier in your smoker if needed.
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Not cured enough: Ensure you measured curing salt properly and allowed enough curing time.
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Odd flavor: Spices likely need adjustment. Try small batches first to tweak the recipe.
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Mold growth: Indicates the sausage did not fully dry. Discard any with mold.
Serving and Storing Your Summer Sausage
The possibilities are endless when it comes to enjoying your homemade summer sausage! Here are a few ideas:
- Slice thin and eat like salami
- Dice up in pasta, pizza, salads
- Fry up with scrambled eggs
- Pair with cheese, crackers and wine
- Wrap chunks in puff pastry for appetizers
To store, refrigerate for up to 3 weeks or freeze for 6 months. For shelf-stable storage, the sausages must have a shriveled casing.
I hope these steps give you the confidence to create your own flavorful summer sausages at home. It takes some time and patience, but the satisfaction of crafting your own cured meat is priceless. Make a big batch to share!
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the best meat for summer sausage?
A blend of 80% lean pork or beef and 20% fat works very well. Many people use venison or other game meat too. Avoid very lean meats like chicken or turkey.
Can you make summer sausage without casings?
Yes, you can form the sausage into logs and wrap tightly in plastic wrap or tin foil instead of stuffing into casings. The texture will be a bit different.
What is the white powder on summer sausage?
It is usually a mold called penicillium. It is completely harmless but can be wiped off before eating if desired. It’s a sign of a properly dried sausage.
How long does summer sausage last in the fridge?
Refrigerated properly, summer sausage can last 2-3 weeks in the fridge or up to 6 months in the freezer.
Why is store bought summer sausage slimy?
The slippery texture comes from adding gelatin or another meat binder when making it. This isn’t necessary when making it yourself.
So get your meat, spices, and casings ready and let’s start sausage making! I hope these detailed instructions give you the knowledge and confidence to create your own flavors. Please share any of your special recipe ideas or tips. Enjoy your homemade summer sausage!
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Using a propane smoker
I do a lot of low heat and high heat smoking, so I try to compromise and use the Masterbuilt XL propane smoker. Its not that easy to maintain low temperatures with, but if I time my sausage smoking properly and do it on days with lower ambient temperatures it works fine.
Many people have had great results achieving low temperatures after modifying their propane smokers with needle valves, like the Bayou Classic Brass Control Valve. If you dont feel comfortable installing a needle valve into the gas line yourself, you can buy a pre-made gas assembly, like the 
It wasn’t long ago that I bought the Big Green Egg and have already used it to smoke sausages over low heat. It’s not hard to get this grill to 110F and keep it there for one to two hours maximum. Eventually, the temperature will be begin to creep up but thats exactly what you want anyway. You just have to control the air flow such that the temperature does not rise too quickly.
If you are a DIY type, you can look into building a low temperature sausage smoker. Stanley Marianski has an excellent book called Meat Smoking And Smokehouse Design
If none of the above works for you, dont give up. You can cook your summer sausage in the kitchen oven. You wont get the same mind-blowing smoky flavor and the color, but its still better than nothing. Just make sure to cook the sausage at low temperatures. This is very important.
Stanley Marianski in his Home Production of Quality Meats and Sausages
At temperatures over that mark, the fat starts to leak out quite rapidly. There is a significant fat loss at temperatures over 248F. Sausages cooked at temperatures higher than 190F will exhibit dry, crumbly texture. The higher the cooking temperature, the poorer the results will be.
If you’re smoking or grilling your summer sausage, start by smoking it at 110F to 130F until you get the color you want. Then, slowly raise the temperature to 150F to 175F and finally all the way to 190F. When baking the sausage in the oven, begin cooking it at the lowest temperature (around 170F) and gradually raise it to 190F until it reaches the right internal temperature.
How To Make Summer Sausage
- 700 g beef chuck (about 1.54 lbs)
- 300 g pork butt (about 0.66 lbs)
- 23 g salt (about 4 tsp)
- 2.5 g Cure #1 (about 1/2 tsp)
- 10 g dextrose (or glucose; about 2 tsp)
- 5 g sugar – 5.0 g (about 1 tsp)
- 3 g black pepper (ground, about 1½ tsp)
- 2 g coriander (ground, about 1 tsp)
- 4 g whole mustard seeds (about 1 1/2 tsp)
- 2 g allspice (about 1 tsp)
- 3.5 g garlic (about 1 clove)
- 0.24 g F-LC culture (use scale)
- Grind pork and beef through 3/16” plate (5 mm).
- Mix all ingredients with ground meat.
- Fill beef middles or fibrous casings that are about 60 mm in diameter with the meat.
- Ferment at 86F (30C) and 85-90% humidity for 24 hours.
- Putting the sausage in the smoker and smoking it at 110°F and 70% humidity for 6 hours. Gradually increase smoke temperature until internal meat temperature reaches 140F.
- For a drier sausage, dry it for three days at a temperature of 60 to 70 degrees Fahrenheit and a humidity level of 75 to 75%, or until the desired weight loss is reached.
- Store sausages at 50-59F and 75-80% humidity.
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