Description
Homemade summer sausage is a flavorful semi-dry sausage traditionally made with beef and pork, seasoned with mustard seed, black pepper, and garlic, then cured and slowly smoked or cooked. Making it at home allows you to customize the meat, spices, and flavor while controlling the ingredients.
Ingredients
Scale
- 2 lb ground beef, preferably chuck
- 1 lb ground pork or pork butt
- 2 tbsp mustard seeds
- 1 tbsp coarse black pepper
- 2 tsp garlic powder
- 1 tbsp Cure #1 (use only according to the curing-salt manufacturer’s instructions)
- 1 packet FL-C meat culture, optional
- Fibrous or collagen sausage casings
- Water, as required by the meat-culture instructions
Instructions
- Keep the beef and pork very cold. Grind the meat using a fine 3/16-inch (4.5 mm) plate.
- Place the ground meat in a large bowl. Add the mustard seeds, black pepper, garlic powder, Cure #1, and FL-C culture if using.
- Mix thoroughly until the meat becomes sticky and the seasonings are evenly distributed. Keep the mixture refrigerated while working.
- Soak and prepare the sausage casings according to the manufacturer’s directions.
- Stuff the meat mixture firmly into the casings, avoiding large air pockets. Prick any visible air pockets gently with a clean needle.
- Place the sausages in a smoker. Start at about 110°F (43°C) and smoke while gradually increasing the temperature, keeping the smoker below about 175°F (79°C).
- Continue cooking until the sausage reaches a safe internal temperature. Use a reliable meat thermometer and follow the curing/cooking instructions for your specific formulation and curing product.
- Remove the sausages and allow them to cool. If following a validated fermented/dried-sausage process, dry them under controlled temperature and humidity conditions according to the culture manufacturer’s instructions.
- Refrigerate the finished sausage unless you are following a tested shelf-stable curing and drying process. Slice and serve with crackers, cheese, or as part of a charcuterie board.
Notes
- Keep meat cold throughout grinding and mixing for the best texture and food safety.
- Cure #1 must be measured precisely; never substitute an arbitrary amount of curing salt.
- For a fermented sausage, follow the FL-C culture manufacturer’s specific instructions for fermentation temperature, humidity, time, and pH.
- Do not rely on room-temperature drying alone to make sausage shelf-stable.
- A smoker provides the best traditional flavor, but an oven can be used for cooking without the smoky flavor.
- Freeze tightly wrapped or vacuum-sealed sausage for longer storage.
- Prep Time: 30 minutes
- Cook Time: 6–8 hours
- Category: Appetizer, Snack
- Method: Smoking, Cooking
- Cuisine: American
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 2 oz
- Calories: 180 kcal
- Sugar: 0 g
- Sodium: 500 mg
- Fat: 13 g
- Saturated Fat: 5 g
- Unsaturated Fat: 7 g
- Trans Fat: 0 g
- Carbohydrates: 1 g
- Fiber: 0 g
- Protein: 13 g
- Cholesterol: 50 mg
Keywords: homemade summer sausage, summer sausage recipe, beef and pork sausage, smoked sausage, homemade sausage, cured sausage