Simple Beef Summer
Sausage Recipe
Here's a great summer sausage recipe that you can make right in the kitchen without resorting to a smoker (or a meat grinder, if you so choose).
I usually make this recipe with 85% lean ground beef that I buy on sale at the mega-mart. That way there's no need to even pull out the sausage grinder.
You can grind lean cuts of beef if you have a "beef windfall" or just want to control the whole process yourself.
This is one of those recipes that my friends and family ask for a lot. It will freeze nicely, but the 5 pound batches I make go so quickly that my freezer seldom sees any at all.
Recipe
- 5 lbs hamburger, 15% fat
- 2 teaspoons granulated garlic or garlic powder
- 3 tablespoons kosher salt
- 1 tablespoon granulated onion or onion powder
- 3 tablespoon coarse ground black pepper OR...2 tablespoons fine ground black pepper
- 2 tablespoons paprika
- 1 tablespoon whole mustard seed
- 1 tablespoon liquid smoke
- 1 teaspoon Prague Powder #1 or Instacure #1
- Grind your beef through the medium plate of a meat grinder if you are using whole beef cuts, or just place your purchased ground beef into a large mixing bowl
- Combine the spices and cure in a small container, shake or stir them, and pour them into your ground beef. Use your hands to mix things all together very well for at least a couple of minutes. You want the spices and cure evenly distributed
- Put the completed summer sausage recipe in a covered bowl and place it in the refrigerator for 1 to 3 days. Make sure it cures at least over night, but longer is better.
- After the summer sausage has cured in the refrigerator, take it out and form it into logs about 2 inches in diameter. Cover the sausage logs in aluminum foil (shiny side in), and puncture the aluminum foil in several places (small holes) to allow for drainage.
- Place the foil covered rolls on a rack over a drip pan and bake in the oven for 1 1/2 hours at 350 degrees.
- Take out the sausage, remove the foil, soak up any remaining drippings by rolling in paper towels, rewrap in foil and allow to cool.
Once your sausage is cooled and firm you can slice it for sandwiches or
snacking. If you plan to keep it more than a few days it is best to
freeze it.
Here is a picture of the last batch of summer sausage that I made. The cured meat has been formed into 5 logs about 1 lb each, and is ready to be wrapped in foil.
The sausage logs have been wrapped in foil (shiny side in, remember) and are ready to be cooked. If you look closely you can see the drain holes that I have poked into the foil wrapping with a fork.
Be sure to place the foil-wrapped sausage on the rack with the holes down so any excess fat/moisture can drain easily.
Here are the five summer sausage rolls on a rack over a drip pan, ready for the oven.
Cook them at 350 degrees F for 90 minutes, take them out and let them cool, and you have some really good eating. I like the sausage best after it has had a few hours in the refrigerator.
Try this summer sausage recipe on your friends and family, and I promise it won't stick around long.