Here’s a very old recipe for making your own summer sausage, we also use it to make venison sausage.
We’d like to share a couple of important notes about the ingredients. First of all, you’ll notice in this recipe that if you’re using venison, you’ll need to add a bit of ground beef as well. The reason for this is that venison is extremely low in natural fat, which is required to make the sausage.
Secondly, the recipe calls Morton Tender Quick Salt, which is the main preserving agent. It contains a blend of sugar, sodium nitrate and sodium nitrite, which are curing agents that allow the meat to develop the correct color and flavor as it cures.
You’ll Need:
5 lb ground hamburger (no lean burger) OR if you prefer venison, use 3lbs venison AND 2 lbs ground beef.
5 Tbsp liquid smoke
5 Tbsp morton salt tender quick(found in dark blue bag in spice aisle) do not use plain salt
2 Tbsp coarse ground pepper
2 Tbsp minced garlic
2 Tbsp mustard seeds
In a kitchenaid mixer bowl, combine all ingredients together and mix well until they’re completely assimilated.
Cover and Refrigerate 24 hours.
Remove from fridge, knead and then form into 4 (14×2 inch) logs. At this point, if you’d prefer you can stuff them into premade casings, which are much easier.
If you don’t have casings, wrap each log tightly in aluminum foil with shiny side towards meat.
Punch tiny holes along one side and place in a broiler pan with holes down to drain out liquid
Bake at 300 degrees for 3 hours.
Take out and wrap in wax paper with aluminum foil around that.
Refrigerate until well chilled.
Serve by slicing and eating alone or with crackers and cheese.
When rolling logs into shape, make sure you knead the meat, pressing out the air, forming a tight log to prevent cracks from forming while baking.
If you want a Much smaller recipe here’s another favorite:
2 lbs ground beef
1 cup water
1⁄2 teaspoon liquid smoke
1⁄2 teaspoon onion powder
1⁄2 teaspoon coarse black pepper
1⁄2 teaspoon garlic powder
1⁄2 teaspoon mustard seeds
2 tablespoons quick curing salt (Mortons Tender Quick salt)
In a kitchenaid mixer bowl, combine all ingredients together and mix well until they’re completely assimilated.
Cover and Refrigerate 24 hours.
Remove from fridge, knead and then form into 4 (14×2 inch) logs. At this point, if you’d prefer you can stuff them into premade casings, which are much easier.
If you don’t have casings, wrap each log tightly in aluminum foil with shiny side towards meat.
Punch tiny holes along one side and place in a broiler pan with holes down to drain out liquid
Bake at 300 degrees for 3 hours.
Take out and wrap in wax paper with aluminum foil around that.
Refrigerate until well chilled.
Serve by slicing and eating alone or with cheese and crackers or fresh bread.
When rolling logs into shape, make sure you knead the meat, pressing out the air, forming a tight log to prevent cracks from forming while baking.
