Summer sausage is a smoked, semi-dry sausage that’s perfect for taking on camping trips, hikes, or keeping in your fridge for quick snacks It has a smoky, rich flavor and dense texture that sets it apart from other sausages. While you can easily buy summer sausage at the grocery store, making your own allows you to customize flavors and ingredients Smoking summer sausage on a pellet grill results in incredible flavor.
In this step-by-step guide, I’ll walk you through everything you need to know to make mouthwatering smoked summer sausage at home using a pellet smoker.
Benefits of Making Summer Sausage on a Pellet Smoker
There are several advantages to making summer sausage on a pellet grill rather than the oven or stove
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You can infuse deep, smoky barbecue flavor into the sausage. Pellet grills impart a lovely smoky essence.
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The low, slow, and steady heat of the pellet smoker evenly cooks the sausage. This prevents fat pockets and gives the sausage a uniformly dense texture.
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Pellet smokers allow cooking at precise low temperatures for long periods. This extended low-heat smoking dries and cures the sausage properly.
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You don’t have to constantly monitor the temperature like you would on the stove or in the oven. The pellet grill maintains steady heat on its own.
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Making your own sausage allows you to control the quality of ingredients. You can use high-quality cuts of meat and customize flavors.
Ingredients Needed
Making summer sausage requires just a few key ingredients:
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Meat: Use a combination of pork and beef, ideally with a 80/20 lean to fat ratio. The fat content is important to prevent drying out.
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Curing salt: This is used to prevent bacterial growth and give the sausage its characteristic red color. Use InstaCure #1 or Prague powder #1.
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Spices and seasonings: Go with classic summer sausage flavors like black pepper, mustard seed, garlic, and coriander. Or get creative with your own spice mix.
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Casing: Use fibrous casings to allow smoke to penetrate and for easy peeling before eating. Soak casings beforehand.
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Smoker pellets: Opt for cherry, apple, hickory, or maple wood pellets. Fruit wood pellets pair nicely with sausage.
Step-by-Step Instructions
Follow these steps for incredible homemade summer sausage with your pellet grill:
1. Prepare the Meat
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Cut the pork and beef into chunks. Keep the meat very cold while working with it.
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Grind the meat through a 4.5mm grinder plate. Grinding twice makes for the best texture.
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Mix the ground meat by hand, adding 1 cup of cold water and massaging it into the meat until sticky. This helps extract proteins.
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Chill meat in the fridge for 30 minutes until the meat firms up. The colder the meat, the better it grinds.
2. Add Seasonings
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Weigh out 1 teaspoon of curing salt per 5 lbs of meat. This is crucial for food safety and flavor.
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Add your favorite summer sausage dry rub or spice mix. Massage spices thoroughly into the meat.
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Grind the meat a second time to fully incorporate seasonings.
3. Stuff into Casings
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Use a sausage stuffer on the largest setting to fill the fibrous casings with the seasoned meat.
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Leave 2 inches of empty space at the end and tie off with butcher’s twine.
4. Apply Smoke
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Preheat pellet smoker to 180°F using your choice of wood pellets.
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Place stuffed sausages directly on the grill grates. Close the lid and smoke for 2 hours.
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Increase heat to 200°F and smoke until internal temp reaches 165°F, about 3-4 more hours.
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Use a meat probe thermometer to monitor the internal temperature of the thickest sausage.
5. Finish and Rest
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Remove sausage when it hits 165°F and place in ice bath for 10 minutes to stop cooking.
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Let cool completely, then refrigerate overnight. This allows flavors to fully develop.
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For serving, remove casings and slice into rounds. Enjoy!
Tips and Tricks
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Keep meat very cold during preparation. This makes for better texture.
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Use a mix of pork and beef for balance of fat and flavor.
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Make sure to use curing salt for food safety and color.
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Use fruit wood or hickory pellets for best flavor.
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Go low and slow. Long, gradual smoking works best.
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Use a cool down period after smoking to prevent overcooking.
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Let sausages rest overnight before serving for fullest flavors.
With the right techniques and ingredients, you can make restaurant-quality summer sausage right in your own pellet grill. Experiment with different wood smoke flavors and spice mixes until you create your ideal homemade summer sausage. Serve it straight out of the fridge or take it along on your next camping trip.
Smoked Venison Summer Sausage on a Traeger
FAQ
Do you use water when smoking summer sausage?
How long to smoke summer sausage at 165?
How to cook summer sausage in a pellet smoker?
A temperature of 175 –190 degrees is what you want to finish the summer sausage at in the pellet smoker. The summer sausage’s final internal temperature should be no less than 160 degrees when it is done smoking. Mix all ingredients and pass through the grinder twice. Rest in refrigerator for 12 hours to complete curing
How long do you smoke Sausage before slicing?
Allow the sausages to rest at room temperature for 4 hours. Place in the smoker at 130 degrees for 2 hours. Turn up the heat to 170 degrees and continue to smoke for 4 hours or until the sausage has reached an internal temperature of 160 degrees. Allow the sausage to rest for 2 hours before slicing and serving.
How long does summer sausage last in a smoker?
First, preheat the smoker to 145°F and slowly turn up the heat to 165°F. You know the summer sausage is done when the internal temperature of the sausage reaches 155°F. This process can last anything from 4 to 10 hours. Getting that perfect summer sausage doesn’t only depend on the smoking process.
Can you cook summer sausage on a pellet grill?
If you’re cooking in the winter or cooler months, you may need to adjust the P settings to help keep the temperature stable. A pellet grill works great for smoking summer sausage as they have the ability to cook at a low and slow temperature and give you more control than a traditional gas and charcoal grill.