The temperature that you smoke sausage is 225 F which is the ideal temperature for smoking sausages at.
If you're using a smoker that can't be set to a specific temperature, strive to maintain a range between 225° F and 240°F.
It takes around 3 hours to smoke sausage at 225 F degrees.
On average, larger sausages like brats will take about 2 to 3 hours to smoke, depending on the sausages you choose.
Sausages that are thinner will take 1 1/2 to 2 hours.
Cooked sausages, found in the prepared meats section, should only be smoked for 30 to 45 minutes.
When smoking summer sausage you don't need to use a water pan but you can if you want too.
The water pan basically acts as a heat sink when smoking the summer sausage.
It takes around 4 hours to smoke summer sausage.
You don't want to overcook summer sausage, which can cause it to become dry and crumbly.
You want to cook the sausage until it reaches an internal temperature of 155 degrees.
This usually takes about 4 hours.
You can smoke summer sausage at 200 degrees.
When smoking the summer sausage, keep the smoker temperature down if possible, to between 180-200 degrees.
At that temperature it should take around an hour or so to bring the summer sausages up to the correct internal temperature, which is 160 degrees.
Cooking them any hotter will cause the juices to run out, and they'll be dry and mealy.
To cool summer sausage after cooking place the hot summer sausage into some cold water for 5 to 10 minutes after cooking.
When the summer sausage comes out of the smoker, get it into an ice bath immediately.
You want to drop the temperature by about half.
Cooling the summer sausage in an ice bath halts the cooking process and sets the casings.
Leave the summer sausages in the bath for 10-15 minutes to get the temp down.
When you cook summer sausage you're just basically heating the summer sausage up.
It's fine to cook summer sausage in a skillet or add it with soups and stews as nothing will happen to the summer sausage when cooked other than it heating up and cooking some more.
The difference between summer sausage and salami is in the moisture content.
Summer sausage is a semi-dry sausage; it loses around 15 percent of its original moisture during aging.
While salami is considered a type of summer sausage, it generally loses about 25 percent of its original moisture during aging, making it a dry sausage.
Summer Sausage does eventually go bad.
Summer Sausage when unopened is usually good for around a year past it's expiration date but even then it may be okay to eat.
Just smell it or look for any signs of mold or bad things about it.
Once opened the summer sausage is good for around 6 months in the refrigerator but it's best to eat the summer sausage within a month or two of refrigerating it.
To store summer sausage that has not been opened the summer sausage can be kept in the pantry or on the counter.
Once opened though the best way to store the summer sausage is to seal the wrapping back up and refrigerate it.
To maximize the shelf life of opened dry summer sausage, place the opened package inside a resealable plastic bag or wrap tightly with aluminum foil or plastic wrap.
How long does opened dry summer sausage last in the fridge?
Opened dry summer sausage will maintain best quality for about 3 weeks in the refrigerator.
Summer Sausage is okay for weight loss as well as long as you only eat a few slices of it during your weight loss diet.
Summer Sausage is healthy in moderation but it can be unhealthy when eaten in excess due to the sodium and other unhealthy ingredients in the processed summer sausage.
Summer Sausage is pretty low in carbs
A slice of summer sausage contains around 2 net carbs per slice and around 200 calories per slice.
Unopened summer sausage can be left out as it's cured and preserved and mean to last at room temperature.
However once opened the summer sausage should not be left out longer than a few hours.
After opening the summer sausage it should be stored in the refrigerator and eaten within a week or two.
Summer Sausage is called summer sausage because of the fact that the summer sausage requires no refrigeration and can be kept without refrigeration even during the hot summer months.
Summer sausage got its name from the fact that when made the sausage needed little or no refrigeration, thus the sausages could be kept for eating in the usually warmer summer months.
Summer Sausage was made in Europe for hundreds of years (or longer) and immigrants brought their recipes to the new world.
2 slices of summer sausage is a serving of summer sausage.
One serving of summer sausage is considered 2 slices of summer sausage.
However of course you can serve more than 2 slices of summer sausage for person if you want too but 2 slices of summer sausage are considered one serving of summer sausage.
Summer Sausage does have a lot of sodium.
A summer sausage contains around 550 mg of sodium which is quite a lot of sodium so if you need to watch your sodium intake then you should eat summer sausage sparingly.
Summer Sausage does not contain or have any milk in it.
Although some processed meats have milk but summer sausage does not have milk.
Summer Sausage is most often dried sausage that goes through a fermenting and curing process using curing salt.
Although some types of summer sausage are also smoked summer sausage as well as cured sausage.
Summer sausage is fermented, and can be dried or smoked, and while curing ingredients vary significantly, curing salt is almost always used.
Seasonings may include mustard seeds, black pepper, garlic salt, or sugar.
Summer Sausage bought in the store does not need to be cooked.
The summer sausage bought in the store is already cooked and ready to eat.
You can eat summer sausage cold.
Summer Sausage is cooked and not raw.
You can slice up summer sausage and eat it without heating it up and eat it cold if you want too.
Normally summer sausage is served cold right out of the package.
Although some people may want to warm the summer sausage up there's no need to heat the summer sausage up.
I eat summer sausage right out of the package sometimes myself and don't heat it up first.
I've eaten a whole summer sausage myself although I always say that I'm saving some for later but it's so delicious that I keep a knife at my desk and will eat through the summer sausage within 10 to 20 minutes.
Summer sausage is meant to be eaten right from the package and it's not raw.
Just remember to remove the paper wrapper from around the summer sausage before you eat it.
If you've bought summer sausage from the store or your local butcher's shop, there's no need to cook or prepare it in any way.
Summer sausage can be served straight from the package and is an excellent pairing for any charcuterie board you want to serve at the next dinner party.