Any sausage makers out there?

Question

I would like to know what makes that "tang" taste in summer sausage and how it is done.
Is there some kind of cultures or something that is added to the meat like they ad to cheese?

Summer sausage is like hard salomi.

Answer 1

Noted sausage maker Bruce Aidells has this to say in his sausage cookbook "Hot Links and Country Flavors" that the tang in summer sausage comes from a natural fermentation that develops as the sausages cure. He says that it takes a couple of months for this to fully develop. He does offer a quick method that involves a warm smoke process to speed things up. He also notes that commercial sausage makers add a lactobacillus to jumpstart the fermentation.

Answer 2

My husband and I have been making homemade sausage for several years now but we haven't tried summer sausage yet. There is a product called "fermento" that is added to the meat to give it that tangy flavor. I was looking in my book "Great Sausage Recipes and Meat Curing" by Ryteck Kutas and it sounds like a long and sensitive endeavor. I wish you the best of luck. You maybe able to get fermento from your butcher or maybe a sporting goods place like Gander Mountain.
Check out sausagemaker.com. Maybe you can even order it and/or other sausage making equipment. We still do it the old fashioned way, with a hand grinder and all that fun stuff!

Answer 3

I don't know what summer sausage is.

When I make sausages, I buy good quality minced meat and for the most usual sausages, which are of course pork, I add ground up pickling spice. This spice mixture includes pepper, chilles and cloves.

I use very little if any salt.

Answer 4

I am not sure if this will help you but a friend of mine makes summer sausage. She uses several different ingredients to give it a rich full bodied flavor, like curing salt, cracked pepper, liquid smoke and steak seasoning. I have tried it, and like it very much...hope this helps!