BWCA Dehydrating summer sausage Boundary Waters BWCA Food and Recipes
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08/01/2012 01:15PM   (Thread Older Than 3 Years)
Has anyone ever tried dehydrating venison summer sausage? I was thinking of slicing thin and trying it.
Thanks
 
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MeatHunter
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08/01/2012 03:26PM  
Never done it or thought about doing it. You are wanting to do this to take into the backcountry?

Is this sausage you already made? Or are going to make?

 
fraxinus
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08/01/2012 05:42PM  
Never tried drying summer sausage, I'm lucky enough to have a little ole German sausage maker in the area who makes great sausage and landjaeger that travels well in the summertime. I'm not sure what makes it stable unrefridgerated,maybe the smoking and the casing. Usually in dehydrating meats like jerky and burger, you look for the leanest cuts because fats are what can cause problems as far as being safe to pack for multi day trips. I'm not sure how well the fats in a slice of summer sausage would dehydrate.
 
08/01/2012 09:16PM  
Seems to me it would be like jerky, but not as good :)
 
08/01/2012 09:54PM  
Yes, venison summer sausage we made. Darn tasty stuff! Yeppers, looking to take it into the back country. I figure since it is smoked it is pretty much cooked and dehydrating it would just get rid of the moisture and preserve it a while. I see what you mean about the fat though but if only for a week do you think it might work?
I figure the sausage is already like shooting ground meat through a gun to make jerky sticks but again, good point about the fat.
Any other ideas or thoughts out there on this?
When I do make venison jerky I do so using the thick hind quarter meat, however, there is usually some strings of tendon in that.
It's a thought and I might give it a try for next weeks trip
 
mr.barley
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08/02/2012 05:53PM  
I see no need to dehydrate summer sausage. That's why it called "summer" sausage. We bring sticks in all the time.
 
MeatHunter
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08/03/2012 02:04PM  
You could try to dehydrate some and see how it turns out, would be just like making jerky, but you still have the fat content to deal with. Fat will not dehydrate but will go rancid.

Summer sausage was traditionally made during the Winter months and consumed in the Summer. BUT, sausage that was made like that back in the day went thru a much longer drying time then what most people who make their own do these days. Driving out the added moisture is one thing helped keep it from going bad, not to mention the heavy use of salt.
Today, most SS is made, smoked then either eaten right away or wrapped and put in the freezer until needed.

Unless the sausage one makes was dry cured, semi dry cured or fermented, homemade Summer Sausage it is still a meat product and must be treated as such, no different than say a cooked hamburger or steak. Would one take a hamburger, cook it, then set it out or keep it at room temp for a few days then eat it?

If interested, there are a couple ways to make your next batch of sausage totally safe for extended trips into the back country.
I have a couple recipe I would be happy to share with you or anyone for that matter and you may be able to incorporate it into your existing recipe.

Now I know some people will see this and say, "well my dad or grandpa or whoever" used to it this way or that way and no one ever got sick or food had poisoning. That's all fine and dandy. Allot of things have changed since the days of the old smokehouse behind gramps shed. Hell, Salt Peter was used back then as well!!!!!

My interest in curing meats started many years ago and has since evolved into the more complex curing methods. Many things I thought I knew where based on hand me down recipes and outdated information.

 
08/07/2012 10:42PM  
Thanks Todd. I would like to see some of your recipes if you don't mind sharing.

 
08/12/2012 08:50PM  
quote fitgers1: "Thanks Todd. I would like to see some of your recipes if you don't mind sharing.


"




Me too
 
08/12/2012 11:06PM  
quote mr.barley: "I see no need to dehydrate summer sausage. That's why it called "summer" sausage. We bring sticks in all the time." Yep. Depends on how it was done. Trditionally and origionally made for no refrigeration. There was none. That was the whole point. There are alot of modern shortcuts (tenderquick, etc), but old school relied on salt and time.
 
kylef
  
09/20/2012 04:25PM  
quote fitgers1: "Has anyone ever tried dehydrating venison summer sausage? I was thinking of slicing thin and trying it.
Thanks"


Yep, my wife and I did this last summer for two different trips. It makes the sausage less fatty, less smelly, and lighter. We basically cut it into about 1/8" slices and dried it overnight. After it was dried we stacked the slices and the fit perfectly into the snack sized ziplock bags.

Kyle
 
10/17/2012 12:34PM  
Thanks for the info kylef
 
Beaverjack
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12/28/2012 11:15AM  
Note: Summer sausage is not sold in the refigerated section of your local grocery.

I figure this is due to the nitrates, which is similar to the salted meats pioneers took in wagons across the plains. We always take two small sticks of summer sausage, leaving one in its airtight wrapping until needed.
 
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