So this weekend I'm going to try making summer sausage for the first time.
I have high mountain mix, grinder but no stuffer and an electric smoker ( also making jerkey after sausage is done) any tips?
Will I be making things easier on my self if I just buy extra string to tie them off instead of trying to cut part off the casing where its tied now like directions say?
What cut of pork does everyone use to mix with the game meat? Does the meat mix ratio in the kit work well or should I adjust it ?
Thanks and any tips will help
The high mountain mix is a good start along with the grinder and no stuffer. I find if you start making smaller sausage say brats or snack sticks then you want an actual stuffer, but the grinder will work great for stuffing summer sausage casings.
I used the High Mountain mix for several years before I switched to a less expensive mix where I am building to a recipe. If you want to add a little something extra think about high temp cheese or jalapenos. I buy both from LEM. The jalapenos will come dehydrated and work real well in summer sausage. I will mix 1 1lb bag of cheese for 25 lbs and 2 oz of jalapenos for 25 lbs of meat mix.
My choice of pork is pork shoulder butt. I used to use pork fat, but going to the pork shoulder butt has really added a new flavor to my sausage. I mix at a rate of 70-30. Some guys go more or less, but that is where I have settled.
I have used the excess string from the casing, I have used extra string, and now I use hog ring pliers and crimp a metal clip onto the open end after stuffing. I like leaving the excess string that is on the casing because I hang my sausage when I smoke it and that string makes a nice loop that I can place a 3/4 in dowel rod through and place into my smoker.
I smoke per the following schedule.
Hickory chips.
1 hr at 100 deg no smoke
1.5 hr at 130 deg with smoke
1.5 hr at 160 deg with smoke
stop smoke at roughly 3 hrs
1.5 hr at 180 deg no smoke
adjust smoker temp to 200 deg and continue "cooking" with no smoke until meat thermometer reads 156 deg
I will then immediately remove my sausage and place in an ice bath for about 1/2 hr to cool the meat
Let me know if you need any more info. I have been making my own sausage for about 10 years now and have experimented with several recipes and certainly made my own bad batches that I don't want anyone else to have to make.
