Dry Sausage

Sausage making and curing meats.

Moderator: TBBQF Deputies

papag USER_AVATAR
PapaG
Pilgrim
Posts: 25
Joined: Mon Apr 12, 2010 5:58 pm
Location: Caldwell, Tx
Contact:

Dry Sausage

Postby PapaG » Tue Aug 17, 2010 5:53 pm

My FIL made dry sausage before he died. We made it during deer season, that was deer and pork, or pork if we were butchering pigs later. He would smoke our regular sausage for a few days, to get the smoke flavor, but the dry would continue to smoke for a week or more ... Till it was dry. Very small fire that was mostly smoke. This was done in what they called the smoke house, which was a closed off end of a old single car from the early 30's or 40's. MIL called it knockwurst. She was first generation German, grandma came over when she was a child.

Anyone make something like this? My kids came home from school and just broke a piece off of it in the fridge. It most likely did not need refrigeration but it was the late 70's early 80's.

We can not find anything that comes close to "dry" sausage, even though some companies sell it. Theirs are not dry. This would be closer to jerky I guess. I would like to make some for us and my kids,28 and 32.

I do not have a smoke house, but we did this mostly in cold weather.
chilefarmer USER_AVATAR
ChileFarmer
Forum Star
Posts: 6602
Joined: Sun Feb 18, 2007 6:18 pm
Location: Jacksonville,Texas
Contact:

Re: Dry Sausage

Postby ChileFarmer » Tue Aug 17, 2010 6:11 pm

Here is a recipe I found in my collection. Might work for you? CF :D

Smoked Sausages

Amount Measure Ingredient -- Preparation Method
-------- ------------ --------------------------------
8 1/2 lb Pork - 25%-30% fat -
Coursely ground
1/4 c Salt - plus 1-1/2 Tbsp
1/4 c Dried red pepper
1 1/2 tb Garlic powder
1 t Whie pepper

Serve these spicy deliciously smoky sausages at breakfast, or use in
jambalaya, gumbo, and in etouffees. They can also be smothered with
tomatoes and onions as a main dish, or used to flavor vegetable dishes
or beans.

Makes 8-1/2 pounds smoked sausages or about 45 breakfast patties.

The pork must be coarsely ground (what we call "chili grind."
Preferably at room temperature.

Use 1/4 cup plus 1-1/2 tsp crushed dried red pepper for very spicy
Louisiana link-style sausage: use much less for mild sausage.

Use pork sausage casings OR, for sausage patties, 4-1/4 tsp powdered
sage (or to taste).

Combine all ingredients except casings in a large roasting pan and mix
well. Knead 3-4 minutes; include sage if making uncased breakfast
sausage patties. Let stand 20 minutes at room temperature to allow
flavor to develop. Pinch off a small piece of the mixture, form into
a tiny patty, fry it to taste the seasonings, and correct seasoning as
needed.

Cut the sausage casings into 2-1/2 to 3-foot lengths. Using a
sausage-stuffing attachment on the meat grinder or mixer, fill each
casing until it's firm but not packed. It may be more convenient to
fill the casing to only 8 inches, tie it but not cut it, and continue,
so that you have strings of sausages instead of a single giant. Tie
the ends. Either smoke the sausages the same day or refrigerate them
and smoke them the next day.

To smoke the sausages, use a smokehouse, if possible. Using a
hardwood like oak, start a very low, smoky fire with no open flame.
(Do not use charcoal lighter or briquettes.) Drape sausages over a
wooden dowel (an iron rod is liable to get too hot and break the
sausages). Hang the sausages 4-5 feet above the fire. Tend the coals
to keep the smoke going, rather than a real fire; if fire flares up,
slowly sprinkle water or dirt on the coals until flames die down.
Smoke the sausages at a temperature between 170 and 250 degrees
(measured by inserting an instant-reading thermometer in any air vent)
at least 8 hours. If you can, smoke them the next day as well. Wrap
all the sausages tightly. Reserve as many sausages as you will use
during the next week, and store the rest in the freezer.

To serve smoked sausages as a meat course, cook in a small amount of
water (about enough to come halfway up the sausage) until heated
through.
OK, get over it, you lost. God bless America

http://s235.photobucket.com/albums/ee175/ChileFarmer" target="_blank
Lots of Sub folders to.

http://curingandsmoking.blogspot.com/" target="_blank
pony express USER_AVATAR
Pony Express
Outlaw
Posts: 1350
Joined: Tue Jul 28, 2009 4:38 pm
Location: Seguin, Texas
Contact:

Re: Dry Sausage

Postby Pony Express » Tue Aug 17, 2010 7:10 pm

I hear ya brother. We did the same thing when I was younger.
Most places sell decent "dry sausage" but it is still soft. It just takes more time and it will be hard like your remembering. They sell it soft because it weights more is what I'm thinking.
But I hear ya.
Charmglo gasser,
New Braunfels offset smoker
Custom trailer pit offset smoker

Git-er done
GIG EM
papa tom USER_AVATAR
Papa Tom
Deputy
Posts: 6769
Joined: Sat Jun 30, 2007 9:40 am
Location: Oak Point, TX
Contact:

Re: Dry Sausage

Postby Papa Tom » Tue Aug 17, 2010 9:15 pm

The "dry" sausages you buy today are almost all semi-dry sausages and many are very well made. Science has taken over much of the process even though the procedure is very similar to what is traditional. Semidry sausages have for the most part a better texture and better taste than the old dry sausages. However you can definitely buy dry sausage and some of it is really good.
PapaG I'm sure I have recipes for what you remember I'm not going to recommend them but I'll see if I can find ya one.
tarde venientibus ossa....
papa tom USER_AVATAR
Papa Tom
Deputy
Posts: 6769
Joined: Sat Jun 30, 2007 9:40 am
Location: Oak Point, TX
Contact:

Re: Dry Sausage

Postby Papa Tom » Tue Aug 17, 2010 9:38 pm

Here we go...Some old style sausage recipes. The newer style dry cure sausages are inoculated with a bacteria culture and controlled fermentation occurs during the cure. This fermentation lowers the Ph of the sausage preventing the growth of bad microorganisms and providing that nice tart tang characteristic of good dry sausages.

NOTE: Prague powder #2 is now called Modern cure #2

Dry Cured Sopressata

Sopressata can be made of either fresh hams or pork butts. It sometimes is made using beef, but pork is the traditonal meat used. In either case, the fat and sinews should be removed before starting.

Ingredients

10 lbs. lean pork 9 tbsp. salt
1 oz. powdered dextrose 2 tbsp. whole black pepper
2 tbsp. ground black pepper 3 ozs. corn syrup solids
2 level tsp. Prague powder No. 2 1 tbsp. hot cayenne pepper (optional)

Grind all meat through 1/2" or 3/4" grinder plate. Add all ingredients and mix well. Remove meat to tub container, packing meat tightly (not over 6-7" high) and refrigerate for 48 hours. Remove from cooler, grind meat through 1/4" plate and stuff into hog middle 8-10" long. Sausage then is held for 48 hours at about 55 degrees F. and then is placed into smokehouse. Sausage is smoked for 48 hours with cold smoke until color is obtained. Remove from smokehouse and keep at 50-60 degrees F. with humidity around 70-80%. Hold about 8-10weeks. Product will be ready when it loses about 30% of its green weight.

This recipe is for 10 lbs. of meat and calls for 2 level tsp. of nitrate. Adjust accordingly.


CAPICOLA - DRY CURED

INGREDIENTS FOR 25 LBS.
1 lb. salt
3 ozs. powdered dextrose
1 oz. Prague Powder No. 2

MEAT

Lean boneless pork butts that are 3-4 lbs. apiece and well-trimmed should be used. The internal temperature of the butts should be chilled to 34-36 degrees F. before use. About 25 lbs.

PROCESSING

Rub all the pork butts very well with the above dry cure mix. Lay down a layer of this cure mixture in the container; place the first layer of pork butts inside. Leftover cure then is sprinkled in between each layer, and butts are placed into the cooler at 36-46 degrees F. for not less than 25 days. After 10-12 days, the pork butts should be over hauled; the top ones placed on the bottom, and the bottom ones placed on top.

Be sure you have additional spice-cure mixture ready to lay down in between each layer. After 25 days, the pork butts are removed from the cooler and washed lightly. Allow to drain; then rub with Spanish paprika and red ground pepper. The pepper to be rubbed in depends on individual preference. The pork butts are then stuffed into beef bungs.

After stufffing, there will be many air pockets; be sure you pin prick these air pockets to allow the entrapped air to escape. Hang on smokesticks, properly space.

SMOKING


Pork butts are placed in a preheated smokehouse at 90 degrees F. with the dampers wide open to dry the casings. Hold at this temperature for 10 hours. During this period, you may close dampers to 1/4 open after the casings are dry, applying a light smoke; continue to smoke for another 15-20 hours at 90 degrees F.

Butts then are removed from the smoker and dipped in hot boiling water momentarily to shrink the casing onto the capicola. Then place in dry room at 70-75 degrees F. with a relative humidity of 65-75%. Capicola must be held in dry room not less than 20 days before using.






PEPPERONI

7 pounds pork butt, cubed
3 pounds beef, cubed
8 tablespoons coarse salt
1 tablespoon sugar
2 tablespoons cayenne
3 tablespoons Hungarian paprika
1 tablespoons crushed anise seed
1 teaspoon garlic, very finely minced
1 cup dry red wine
2 teaspoon ascorbic acid or
1 teaspoon saltpeter
6 feet small (2 inch) hog, sheep or fiber casings
cotton twine

1. Grind the pork and beef through the coarse disk separately.
2. Mix the meats together and then mix in the remaining ingredients.
3. Spread out the mixture in a large pan, cover loosely with waxed paper, and cure in the refrigerator for twenty four hours.
4. Prepare casings.
5. Stuff the sausage into the casings and twist off into ten-inch links.
6. Using cotton t wine, tie two separate knots between every other link, and one knot at the beginning and another at the end of
the casing.
7. Cut between the double knots. This results in pairs of ten inch links. The pepperoni is hung by a sting tied to the cent er of
each pair.
8. Hang the pepperoni to dry for six to eight weeks. Once dried the pepperoni will keep, wrapped, in the refrigerator for
several months.

Summer Sausage

Mix together 66 lb. of finely ground beef.
34 lb. finely ground lean pork
3 lb plus 1/2 cup salt
1 lb brown sugar
4 oz black pepper

Cut 2 fine bulbs of garlic and cover with hot water in a cup. Let stand for
several hours. Add the liquid to the sausage. Mix very well. Stuff the sausage
very tightly into plastic sausage bags. Have a few small ones and some medium
sized ones. Tie the ends with a good strong string or twine. Let it hang in a
cool place (but don't freeze it) for a day or two, then smoke it. Skip a day or
two and then smoke it again. This keeps very well in a cool place. We used to
leave ours hang in the smoke house all summer, but it is better to have it in a
cooler place.


Summer Sausage

6 pounds beef chuck including about 1 pound fat, cubed
4 pounds pre frozen or certified pork including about 1/2 pound
fat, cubed
5 Tbsp salt
2 Tbsp sugar
1 Tbsp white pepper
2 tsp crushed coriander seed
1 Tbsp black pepper
1/4 tsp nutmeg
1 cup dry red wine
1 tsp prague powder number 2
4 feet large casings

Flavoring solution

1/4 cup water
1/2 cup sugar
2 Tbsp white wine vinegar
1 Tbsp pure maple flavoring
1/2 tsp ground cloves
1 tsp pure lemon extract

Grind the ingredients. Make the flavoring solution by boiling the
ingredients as listed. As soon as it comes to a boil, turn off the
heat and allow to cool. The when cooled mix it into the meat with
the other ingredients. Cure in the fridge for 24 hours. stuff into
casings and tie off into 6-8 inch links. Smoke the sausage with a
cool smoke (80-90 degrees) for about 12 hours. (Use hard wood to
smoke like from fruit trees and nut trees. Do not use pines or you
will ruin your sausage.

Increase the smoke temp to about 120 degrees and continue to smoke
for another 4-5 hours or until the sausage is firm. Allow the
sausage to hang in a cool place at least 2 weeks before eating.



Summer Sausage Mennonite
Yield: 99 Pounds

66 lb Fine ground beef
33 lb Fine ground side meat (pork/venison)
4 lb Salt
1/2 lb Black pepper
1/2 lb Saltpetre
3 lb Sugar

Mix well, stuff solidly into muslin casings, and let hang in a cool dry
place 38-40F for 2-3 days. Then smoke for 24 hours with maple smoke at
90F. After smoking allow to dry in a cool dry place for 8-12 weeks 38-40F degrees.

Muslin casings should be unbleached, and cut/sew 8"x13" into tubes. Make sure there are no air pockets when stuffing casings.

I am going to replace all the salt with Morton's Tender Quick and omit the saltpeter. Does this seem reasonable to you?

DRY-CURED WESTFALIA HAM SAUSAGE

INGREDIENTS FOR 10 LBS.

2 1/2 lbs. lean beef 5 1/2 ozs. salt
5 lbs. lean pork 2 level tsp. prague powder #2
2 1/2 lbs. frozen fresh bacon 2 ozs. corn syrup solids
1/4 oz. ground black pepper 1/2 oz. good rum
2 ozs. powdered dextrose

Remove bacon rind and then freeze the bacon at about 26-28 degrees F. Then remove the bacon from the freezer and cube it into 1" squares. Grind the lean pork and beef through a 3/8" grinder plate. Thoroughly mix the frozen bacon and meat with the remaining ingredients. Then stuff into protein-lined fibrous casing (3 1/2" x 24") or a hog bung.

Let the ham sausage cure at 65-70 degrees F. for about 48 hours with a relative humidity of 70-80%. Put sausage in a cooler at 45-50 degrees F. with a relative humidity of 70-75%. Store sausage for 70-80 days before using.
tarde venientibus ossa....
papag USER_AVATAR
PapaG
Pilgrim
Posts: 25
Joined: Mon Apr 12, 2010 5:58 pm
Location: Caldwell, Tx
Contact:

Re: Dry Sausage

Postby PapaG » Fri Aug 20, 2010 2:42 pm

I was wondering if the sausage could be made in one of the pits with the large upright stacks(I am not sure what it is called)?
We did hang them from poles about 5' or 6' off the ground. I know we made at least 40 dry at one time. 80 or so just smoked on Oldest BIL is still alive, 67, middle one is 62 or so. But I live in the city (3000) or so people.. I have 1/2 acre so I guess I could try to build some kind of smokehouse. My Cajun cousin was always going to build one with a a/c unit on it his place.

We even scalded and scrapped the hogs. FIL even scrapped the ears :oops: Head sausage the wife loves, but I do not like it.

Wonder if I could dry some of the 1/2 dry stuff. Good jerky cost some $$$ if you buy it. Not store bought but small places.
To do it commercially would be impossibly if you had to buy new.

A cousin in Oregon used a old upright deep-freeze but all he was doing is smoking was fish.

Thanks all
gomer76825 USER_AVATAR
Gomer76825
Rustler
Posts: 123
Joined: Wed Jun 02, 2010 2:10 am
Location: Brady, Texas
Contact:

Re: Dry Sausage

Postby Gomer76825 » Wed Sep 01, 2010 6:50 am

great stuff on this thread, I have always wanted to try this and now I have the know how it give it a shot. Thanks fellers
Head cook for The Lost Gonzo Goat Scorchers
V.P. Culinary Services Choza Del Lago
txlnghrn USER_AVATAR
TXLNGHRN
Cowboy
Posts: 285
Joined: Thu Aug 12, 2010 2:45 pm
Location: Round Rock TX
Contact:

Re: Dry Sausage

Postby TXLNGHRN » Wed Sep 01, 2010 2:26 pm

whittington's in Johnson City has pretty good dry sausage in my opinion, but it's always more fun to make it yourself
papag USER_AVATAR
PapaG
Pilgrim
Posts: 25
Joined: Mon Apr 12, 2010 5:58 pm
Location: Caldwell, Tx
Contact:

Re: Dry Sausage

Postby PapaG » Fri Sep 17, 2010 6:29 pm

I have a old upright deep freeze 32 years old that works, but I do not use anymore. I have thought about using it as a smoker where I can use it anytime of the year. I could build a small firebox either to the side or underneath as a smoke generator and possible heat source. I could even rig a small fan too. A cousin uses a old fridge to smoke salmon and cheese in Oregon but the weather is much different there than in Texas.

Great recipes guys...
atcnick USER_AVATAR
atcNick
Outlaw
Posts: 1333
Joined: Sat Aug 08, 2009 7:17 pm
Location: Longview, TX
Contact:

Re: Dry Sausage

Postby atcNick » Sat Oct 16, 2010 8:13 am

http://www.wedlinydomowe.com/

This site may be useful.
-Nick

Custom R&O Offset
Lang 84D w/Chargriller SOLD
Weber Performer
22" Weber One Touch Gold Kettle
18" Weber Smokey Mountain
Weber Smokey Joe
chilefarmer USER_AVATAR
ChileFarmer
Forum Star
Posts: 6602
Joined: Sun Feb 18, 2007 6:18 pm
Location: Jacksonville,Texas
Contact:

Re: Dry Sausage

Postby ChileFarmer » Sat Oct 16, 2010 9:16 am

Good link Nick, Thanks CF :D
OK, get over it, you lost. God bless America

http://s235.photobucket.com/albums/ee175/ChileFarmer" target="_blank
Lots of Sub folders to.

http://curingandsmoking.blogspot.com/" target="_blank
papag USER_AVATAR
PapaG
Pilgrim
Posts: 25
Joined: Mon Apr 12, 2010 5:58 pm
Location: Caldwell, Tx
Contact:

Re: Dry Sausage

Postby PapaG » Thu Oct 21, 2010 3:05 pm

We always made ours in the winter, but wondered about using the freezer to make it anytime. We only had dear meat in the winter too.
wbbq USER_AVATAR
WBBQ
Bandolero
Posts: 788
Joined: Wed Jul 22, 2009 5:17 pm
Location: Longview, Texas
Contact:

Re: Dry Sausage

Postby WBBQ » Thu Oct 28, 2010 4:04 pm

Here is a cold smoker canister that you can add to the fridge rather than building a box. You just drill a small hole through the side and use a nipple to thread through the hole. You can use wood chips or pellets, you just light it with a torch. there is different sizes for different size smokers and lengths of time. I stumbled across this and I will probably purchase one in the future for smoking sausage.

http://www.smokedaddyinc.com/

Hope this helps,
Weldon
Weldon

Lone Star Grillz Large Cabinet Smoker
Old Country Pecos Smoker
Blaz'n Grill Works Grid Iron Pellet Smoker
Monolith BBQ Guru Edition Kamado Smoker
Sunterra 36" Santa Maria Grill
Weber Gas Grill
papag USER_AVATAR
PapaG
Pilgrim
Posts: 25
Joined: Mon Apr 12, 2010 5:58 pm
Location: Caldwell, Tx
Contact:

Re: Dry Sausage

Postby PapaG » Sun Dec 19, 2010 9:30 pm

Neat looking idea...
cheese meister
Pilgrim
Posts: 10
Joined: Wed Dec 22, 2010 6:30 pm
Contact:

Re: Dry Sausage

Postby cheese meister » Wed Dec 22, 2010 7:04 pm

Looks interesting!

Return to “Sausage and Cured Meats”

Who is online

Users browsing this forum: No registered users and 8 guests