Unsmoked secret hillbilly pepperoni pork summer type sausage (damn still too short)

[curious aardvark]

So I've made a few of these big old summer sausages now.
And the first few I've cooked in the smoker.

But once you remove the fibrous casing, there just isn't any smoke flavour to the sausage. It just doesn't penetrate the casing. and if you poke holes in the casing you get leaks. And it still doesn't taste smokey.

So I decided to cook this one in the oven.








Well it looks the same as the smoked one, tastes the same and the texture is perfect. A really firm, easy to slice bouncy sausage.





Recipe is pretty simple.
3lb lean pork shoulder. Ground once through medium/small grid.
4 oz beer
small handfull oats
and tips secret hillbilly pepperoni seasoning.

Took 2 hours at around 180.

Another reason I wanted to see how well they'd cook in the oven is looking towards the future.
Not everybody likes smoked food and what's the point going to the effort of smoking something if you can't taste that extra effort.
Once I'm on a commercial basis, I can see my selling at least as much unsmoked as smoked sausage.

Given how succesful and simple this was and how little smoke flavour penetrates the fibrous casing. I'll probably concentrate on developing unsmoked slicing sausage in the future.
BUT I'm going to start smoking a lot more of the standard spice ingredients.

If most of the seasonings have been smoked and the sausage oven cooked. There's a pretty good chance it'll taste a lot more smokey than a smoked sausage with fibrous casing and unsmoked seasonings.
Plus looking to the future, it's a much quicker, cleaner and simpler operation.

I'm not going to go down the liquid smoke route, smoked spices might give a more mild smoke flavour, but it's more honest :-)

I ought to point out that you can't buy summer sausage in english supermarkets. You get a variety of continental salami and french garlic sausage that looks, feels and tastes like rubber.

If I can't sell this stuff I won't be able to sell anything lol

Given that NOBODY in the uk is selling fibrous casing (no not even on ebay)
There is serious scope for the Curious Aardvark Artisan food company to create it's own market.
You can't even buy snack sausage that hasn't been made in poland and is 30-40% fat.

Optimism - it's a wonderful thing

Now I just need a lot of money, premises, equipment and a licence.
But in the meantime, recipe, process and product development can't hurt :-)

[Hannibal]

Looks good enough to eat.

[Richtee]

Dang...nice stuff. But what's those funny li'l flakey things in there anyway??

Some paprika would not be a bad thing color-wise. And you can smoke that too :{)

[Fishawn]

Looks great Alex!... Cure in it?.... I've done snack stix and jerky in the oven with good results and I think having a product line that is not smoked is good marketing.

[ALX]

Very nice as usual.....

[minnbill]

Looks damn good and I have to agree about the smoke not penetrating the casing's.I thought it might just be me doing something wrong and was going to star cooking them another way to

[Critterhunter]

If you want to go that route Alex.Buy some powdered hickory smoke from B-P.It is comparable,It is what they add in there Summer Sausage kits.Just an Idea

[Whisky Fish]

I'm on the same track as you Alex, just a couple years behind you. Funnything is that the emerging markets here are for European style sausages. I can't compete with Hickory Farms and Johnsonville on summer sausages. Not without some major flavor changes and great marketing.
Good to know about the smoke penetration thing. (When I get there I won't be thinkin I screwed something up) Great post Alex and I love the optimism.

JT

[curious aardvark]

Buy some powdered hickory smoke from B-P.It is comparable,It is what they add in there Summer Sausage kits.Just an Idea

And a very good idea too.

However b&p don't ship to england and my usual way (get rich or gunny to buy and post for me) is bloody expensive.

Again looking to the future I need to be able to keep costs down and produce as much of my seasonings as I possibly can - not only will it make it difficult for anyone else to easily duplicate my products, but it looks good in the blurb and keeps costs down and you don't run into the situation where your seasonings haven't yet arrived and some awkward buggers just put in a decent order.
As soon as I manage to get the 44lbs of oak dust I have smouldering, I'll start cold smoking seasonings of a decent scale :-)

And yes it's cured - that's why it's pinkish in hue :-)
Paprika - yep I'm thinking about that. Tips mix is killer in beef but lacks a little punch in pork, I think the sweetness of the pork dilutes the savoury taste down a little.
Next batch I'll up the peppercorns and add some paprika.

[Uncle-Honky]

That is some damn good looking sausage, Alex!! I'm also with ya, on the non-smoked selling as much as the smoked. Not my personal preference, but others want it that way. Now on to the mustard!!!! Where's the crackers and mustard bud?¿?¿

[lynsey123]

could I get tips secret hillbilly pepperoni seasoning?
I want to make this, this week.

[Gunslinger]

And a very good idea too.

However b&p don't ship to england and my usual way (get rich or gunny to buy and post for me) is bloody expensive.

Again looking to the future I need to be able to keep costs down and produce as much of my seasonings as I possibly can - not only will it make it difficult for anyone else to easily duplicate my products, but it looks good in the blurb and keeps costs down and you don't run into the situation where your seasonings haven't yet arrived and some awkward buggers just put in a decent order.
As soon as I manage to get the 44lbs of oak dust I have smouldering, I'll start cold smoking seasonings of a decent scale :-)

And yes it's cured - that's why it's pinkish in hue :-)
Paprika - yep I'm thinking about that. Tips mix is killer in beef but lacks a little punch in pork, I think the sweetness of the pork dilutes the savoury taste down a little.
Next batch I'll up the peppercorns and add some paprika.

Guys I use perforated casings and get a real nice smoked flavor.
Alex, send me your wish list of items you need from B & P and when I order my big fall order, I'll add yours and save you that shipping anyway.

[curious aardvark]

lynsey you'll have to ask tip.

I said I wouldn't tell and I'm not gonna :-)
I will say he has a serious palate, novway would I have come up with this mix myself. But it makes the most amazing beef pepperoni.

Gonna need a little extra poke for the pork - but still a truly fine spice blend.

Gunny thanks mate, but I'm actually okay for the forseeable future.
My dad cleared out the basspro shop in vaughan, ontario of summer sausage casings, last month - plus I've still got a bunch rich sent over.
Are you convinced that beer and a few oats happily replace all the binders and soya stuff yet ?
To be honest I'm sure it's the beer that does the trick. When you mix it in you can instantly start feeling the meat getting sticky (the myosin being brought into operation) and I'm sure that's what really helps bind it all together. That and not grinding it too fine so that the muscle fibres are long enough to intertangle during mixing and bind during cooking.
The oats mainly stop the fat and liquid leak out when it's cooked. It doesn't make a lot of difference but you do notice it when you forget to stick it in (lol)

My dad also bought a rather nice ghillie suit, about half the price it would have cost over here :-)
Them pigeon and rabbits had better watch out ! Swamp-things stalking the staffordshire fields

ps.
Oh yeah, for those of you who remember my foray into superglue and permantly attached sausage fingers I'd just like to point out - it was a one off, now I use cable ties.