Summer Sausage

Unknown

Found a recipe for summer sausage that I thought might finish up nicely on the Egg. The recipe calls for Morton's Tender Quick curing salt. Can I avoid using this? What's the difference between this and Pickling Salt?
Thanks,
Hank

thirdeye

Hank,[p]Pickling (or canning) salt is about the same grind a table salt it just does not have any of the additives in it.[p]Tenderquick is a quick cure and has the following: Salt, sugar, 0.5% Sodium Nitrate, 0.5% Sodium Nitrite and Propylene Glycol. It adds flavor, changes the texture slightly and gives the sausage the nice pink color. Nitrates and nitrites also protect against botulism but tenderquick has low quantities of them compared to other curing powders, so you want to keep your sausage refrigerated.[p]~thirdeye~

Unknown

thirdeye,[p]Thanks. I guess I was hoping for an alternative to Tender Quick that didn't have nitrites. I'd also like to leave out the antifreeze! Damn!! Remind me to read the packages in the store more closely.[p]I may just try this with a salt/sugar mix. Worst thing is I lose a couple of pounds of ground beef, I guess.

Unknown

thirdeye,
Also, I was going to offer up the sausage at a holiday party this weekend, so I'm not all that worried about preserving it. It either gets eaten or not and the rest goes in the fridge or the garbage, I guess. I was just wondering if leaving the Tender Quick out would still give me an edible, slice-able product.
Hank

thirdeye

Hank,[p]What recipe (flavor profile) are you following and what cooking method, (times and temps) are you going to use. Curing agents are not always necessary in sausage. Fresh sausage does not use them at all, only seasonings. You can also go with 25% pork to bump the flavor somewhat.[p]The good news is, other curing powders like Prague #1 and Instacure #1 are 6.25% nitrite and tender quick has .5% of each nitrite and nitrate.[p]I guess we should stay away from the MSG issue too. LOL[p]~thirdeye~[p]

thirdeye

Hank,[p]Edible, no problem. Shelf life will be less without curing agents. Slicing/firmness usually depends on how fine you grind and form it. What are your plans there?[p]~thirdeye~

Unknown

Hey thirdeye,
Sorry. Got called away last night. If you're still watching this, the recipe was simply:[p]2 lbs. ground beef or venison
1/2 c. water
1 tsp. mustard seed
1/4 tsp. garlic salt
3 tbsp. Morton's Tender Quick
2 tsp. liquid smoke
1/4 tsp. onion salt[p]Mix together and roll in 2 sheets of tin foil. Refrigerate overnight. Next day poke holes on one side of foil and place on rack (with the drip pan underneath) and bake for 1 1/2 hours at 350 degrees.[p]As I said, I've never tried this. Thought maybe finishing them a bit lower and slower on the Egg...maybe leave out the liquid smoke and use the real thing. *shrug*[p]Thanks,
Hank

thirdeye

<p />Hank,[p]icemncmth posted a similar recipe in the last week. His was all beef and also had tenderquick, was cooked in the oven but was cooked without the foil. He also had some seasoning options.Link is below.[p]http://www.biggreenegg.com/archives/2006/messages/321709.htm[p]Where I live folks make this summer sausage all the time. I think you can leave the tenterquick out of this if you wish. The cook time is so short and the temp is so high the only benefit of the tenderquick would be color and some texture change. Before foiling, wrap the logs into plastic wrap, tie a knot in one end and twist the other to tighten the log and chill for a couple of hours. Then gently REMOVE the plastic and wrap in foil and refrigerate overnight. I think I would add some pepper and garlic powder to the recipe. You can also season the outside of the log with pepper too.[p]You are making a fatty of sorts and these are wonderful cooked on the egg. Then you can leave out the liquid smoke too. See link below. With fatties you can buy store-bought logs or make your own sausage from scratch. If you need some recipes to get started, I have some good ones.[p][p]~thirdeye~

[ul][li]Fatty[/ul]

Unknown

thirdeye,
Excellent! Many thanks.
Hank