Have you ever tried your hand at making summer sausage?
Do you have extra ground meat (venison, beef, etc.) on hand in the freezer?
Men Really Love Their Meat
If you have a hunter in the family or just need a creative way to make space for summer freezing, you can’t beat this! After making this as an experiment, our guys raved about it. You know how many men love their meat!!
We have great friends who raise Boer goats, and they kindly offered us a 1# package of their prime grass-fed ground goat to try. I have always loved summer sausage with cheese and crackers, so my mind instantly went to making summer sausage.
Any kind of ground meat will work!
I remember as a little girl having summer sausage with fresh, hot artisan bread and cheese in the Italian Alps with my father’s family. It had more than a hint of maple syrup sweetness and savory, smoky spices that were bursting with flavor.
My biggest hurdle was not having or wanting to use an intestinal casing to hold it in a log shape.
When I got home with the ground meat, I could hardly wait to try my summer sausage idea! I had maple syrup, sea salt, and some Italian spices on hand, so I set out to do it, but I had no idea how much of these ingredients to use!
SO…I guessed, and it turned out absolutely perfect! Now, you won’t have to.
Summer Sausage Recipe:
- 2 pounds of ground venison, lamb, pork, goat or beef, thawed
- 6 tsp. Himalayan pink salt or grey sea salt (preserving qualities)
- 5 tsp. McCormick Italian herb (or other) seasonings in a grinder set at medium grind. Contains rosemary, black pepper, garlic, onion, sea salt, tomato and parsley (again, for preserving properties)
- 3 TBSP maple syrup (or for keto, use your favorite sugar substitute like Lakanto Monkfruit 1: 1 Sugar Substitute, non-GMO)
- Fresh or powdered garlic, to suit your taste, optional
- 1 TBSP fennel seed, optional, traditionally added to give a hint of sweetness
Options to add heat or kick:
- add 1/2 tsp. hot red pepper seeds at your discretion (seeds are hotter than the flesh of hot peppers)
Directions:
- I blended all the ingredients together and worked them thoroughly through the meat with my hands.
- Then I placed it in the refrigerator, covered, for 24 -48 hours for the flavors to mix and slightly ferment. (This fermentation does NOT affect the taste at all, if only to make it better).
- When you finally take it out of the fridge, this aromatic mass of meat will be pleasant to your senses and not gross at all, at least it wasn’t to us. The spices and sea salt, as well as the sugars in the maple syrup have acted as preservatives and aided in ‘keeping’ the meat fresh.
- Preheat the oven to 350°.
- Form the spiced meat into a log.
- Wrap it first in parchment paper, then aluminum foil (so the meat isn’t in contact with the aluminum foil).
- Wrap the foil with the folded edges up so the juices don’t run out as it bakes.
- Place this on a cookie sheet and into the 350 °oven for 1 hour.
As my experiment baked, the wonderful spicy aroma filled our senses, taking me back to the old German, Dutch and Swiss meat shoppes filled with smoked and naturally-preserved meats.
Let the almost completed summer sausage cool thoroughly before slicing. It should have developed a skin, a firmness, and you can slice it very thin to serve with cheese and crackers or make sausage sandwiches, etc.
There is No Need for Casing
It is firm with its own smooth, shiny, sealed skin. You can almost see it is smooth and has a bit of a shine in this photo. I didn’t have to use a casing after all.
Summer Sausage With Ground Beef
Later that same week, I did it again with ground beef. The color was browner and did not have the brighter typical color of the goat sausage which you see in the photos, but both were pronounced ‘very good’!
I encourage you to give this easy summer sausage a try.
This sausage would also be delicious smoked.
It is something we will be learning about soon from the Build A Smokehouse book. I love the idea of having naturally-cured meats like those of yesteryear hanging from the rafters with no preservatives and no refrigeration needed. Meats cured and dried this way will keep for years.
“…she that is married cares for the things of the world, how she may please her husband.” ~1 Corinthians 7: 34b
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Thanks for reading!
Clint Baker says
I love summer su! We make it out of deer meat around here!
Clint Baker says
sausage, lol!
JES says
This looks great ~ I also make a summer salami which I call “lunch meat” and roll in the logs the way you suggested with tin foil. However, I do not use the parchment. Is there some sort of health problem involved with the meat touching the foil? The other thing I do is poke holes in the foil with a fork on the bottom side and place logs fork face down in top of a baking rack on top of a cookie sheet so that the fat drains out. Anyways, I was curious about the foil…
Also, glad to see you tried with goat meat since we will be butchering soon and I was a bit hesitant on eating goat (we are a chicken, turkey, lamb, beef family)… Now I know that I have some options 🙂 since I have only made my “lunch meat’ recipe with beef in the past. I will give goat a try!
Jacqueline says
JES, Here is a link that mentions avoiding aluminum and also things to do to lower our risk. We have avoided antiperspirants with aluminum chlorhydrate for over 20 years, but I don’t think anyone knows for sure. Hope this helps!
http://articles.mercola.com/sites/articles/archive/2008/01/02/aluminum-and-alzheimer-prevention.aspx
http://articles.mercola.com/sites/articles/archive/2011/08/15/alzheimers-early-detection-risk-factors-are-crucial.aspx
JES says
Oh, I didn’t even think of that! YES, I changed deoderants because of the aluminum but I didn’t even think of the baking/cooking part affecting us!!! Thanks for pointing that out!!! One more thing to avoid 🙁
Jacqueline says
I know ~ there are so many negatives in this world, but I think of the scripture: “For I consider that the sufferings ( in this case, difficulties) of this present time are not worth comparing with the glory that is to be revealed to us”. Romans 8: 18 ~ Love to you in Jesus, JES 🙂 Jacqueline
Jen says
This sounds tasty! I have a pound of ground beef in the freezer I wasn’t quite sure what to do with, but now I think I do! I do have one question: how long can you expect the completed sausage to last in the fridge? Thanks!
Jacqueline says
Ours was gone in 3 days but I think at least 5 or 6 or even more due to the spice’s preservative affect. It would be fun to take a piece off and do a test! I’ll do just that when I make it again 🙂 If you experiment, would you let me know what you find? TY!
Mrs. Z says
My family LOVES summer sausage, but I now won’t buy the store bought kind. Thanks for this!!!
Annie Kate says
Ohhhh! Just perfect for our family. My son has a birthday coming up and his little sister wanted to buy him sausage but couldn’t afford it. Thanks so much for posting this!
Beth says
I am really glad I found your blog! This sausage looks fantastic and I can’t wait to try it. I wonder though, I’ve never tasted goat. What does it taste like?
Jacqueline says
Hi, Beth 🙂 Well, it is a lot like beef, but maybe lighter and slightly redder when baked. In this case, it was not ‘goaty’ or having a weird flavor at all. We were very impressed and would buy a lot (grass-fed, too) if they had enough to sell . I’d love to know what you think when you try some…maybe you know some local farmers that raise goats. I wonder if Jesus ate goat regularly?!
farmlife chick says
I am thrilled that you gave this a go and shared it! We love summer sausage and usually can’t eat it when made by others, or from stores because they contain nitrates/nitrites. Myself and one of my children get migraines from it so we are so excited to make this from scratch!
Jacqueline says
farmlife chick,
I do hope it is as much a success as we found it to be! I am still experimenting 🙂 Happy preparing!
Marilyn K says
Thanks for the recipe! I can’t wait to make it! I shared with a friend and she wondered about the pink salt. Is it necessary to use that kind or can we use regular old iodized salt? I have the type of salt called “Real Salt”. Can I use that?
Your posts have really been a blessing lately! I look forward to reading them!
Jacqueline says
Hi, Marilyn! No, you don’t need to use the Himalayan pink salt. We use ‘Real Salt’ around here a lot, too. It is a good balance on minerals and would be very good adding that full compliment to your family’s diet whereas iodized salt in just sodium and chloride with nothing else ( and it is bleached). It would work, however. Good question 🙂
Lisa says
Thanks so much for sharing this recipe! We’ve made our own Polish kielbasa several times (family tradition) and make our own breakfast and Italian sausage, too. Can’t wait to give this a try — so hoping my family likes it!
Blessings to you and yours,
Lisa 🙂
ileah says
I’ve been wanting to do a summer sausage with liquid smoke and ground mustard/mustard seeds. Would you add these to the recipe? Or edit it somehow? Just been trying to find recipes not using tender quick and its near impossible it seems.
Jacqueline says
Hi, Ileah,
I think your idea of mustard seeds will work if you desire a mustardy taste. Liquid smoke is an additive that I avoid b/c it is highly processed and MSG-forming which can cause headaches and some neurological issues for some, but may use it anyway. I’d love to hear what you think! We love this sausage!!
Blessings!
Mark Griffin says
Amazing stuff. Really great recipe. I am gonna try for sure. Smoked Garlic Summer Sausage is my favorite when I first ordered it online from Blackforestbison. It is perfect with cheese on a cracker or a peanut butter sandwich and its not only for men but my whole family loves it. The best thing is my children can also eat. There ain’t any problem.
Jacqueline says
Do make it, Mark! It has gotten such rave reviews that I am making several big batches for friends as gifts! Of course, it depends on the seasonings you like and decide to use. We love what I have shared here, but I hope you feel free to experiment, too! Enjoy!