Summer sausage is the general term for any
sausageA sausage is a prepared food, usually made from ground meat , ground pork fat such as fatback, salt, and spices . Typically the sausage is formed in a casing. Traditionally, sausage casings are made of animal intestines, though now some casings are synthetic...
that can be kept without the need of
refrigerationRefrigeration is the process of removing heat from an enclosed space, or from a substance, and moving it to a place where it is unobjectionable. The primary purpose of refrigeration is lowering the temperature of the enclosed space or substance and then maintaining that lower temperature.The term...
. Summer sausage is usually a mixture of
porkPork is the culinary name for meat from the domestic pig . The word pork often denotes specifically the fresh meat of the pig, but can be used as an all-inclusive term which includes cured, smoked, or processed meats It is one of the most-commonly consumed meats worldwide, with evidence of pig...
and other meat such as
beefBeef is the culinary name for meat from bovines, especially domestic cattle . Beef is one of the principal meats used in the cuisine of Australia, Europe and America, and is also important in Africa, East Asia, and Southeast Asia...
and/or
venisonVenison is the culinary name for meat from the family Cervidae. Deer meat, whether hunted or farmed, is termed venison.-Etymology:The word derives from the Latin vēnor...
. Summer sausage can be either dried or smoked, and curing ingredients can vary significantly, although some sort of
curing saltCuring salt, also known as Prague powder #1, is a combination that is 93.75% salt and 6.25% sodium nitrite or sodium nitrate. It is used in the preserving and curing of meats, and in sausage making. The nitrate component inhibits the growth of bacteria, specifically those which cause botulism,...
is almost always used. Seasonings may include
mustard seedsMustards are several plant species in the genera Brassica and Sinapis whose small mustard seeds are used as a spice and, by grinding and mixing them with water, vinegar or other liquids, are turned into the condiment known as mustard...
,
black pepperBlack pepper is a flowering vine in the family Piperaceae, cultivated for its fruit, which is usually dried and used as a spice and seasoning. The fruit, known as a peppercorn when dried, is a small drupe approximately five millimetres in diameter, dark red when fully mature, containing a single...
,
garlicAllium sativum, commonly known as garlic, is a species in the onion family Alliaceae. Its close relatives include the onion, shallot, leek, and chive. Garlic has been used throughout recorded history for both culinary and medicinal purposes. It has a characteristic pungent, spicy flavor that...
salt, or
sugarSugar is a class of edible crystalline substances, mainly sucrose, lactose, and fructose. Human taste buds interpret its flavor as sweet. Sugar as a basic food carbohydrate primarily comes from sugar cane and from sugar beet, but also appears in fruit, honey, sorghum, sugar maple , and in many...
.
Summer sausage, like many types of sausage, makes use of leftover scrap meat and organ meat that would otherwise be wasted.
A particular kind of summer sausage is popular in
North DakotaNorth Dakota is a state located in the Midwestern region of the United States of America; on the Canadian border halfway between the Pacific and Atlantic oceans. North Dakota is the 19th largest state by area in the U.S.; it is the 3
rd least populous, with just over 641,481 residents as...
, occasionally containing cheese in addition to meat.
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Summer sausage is the general term for any
sausageA sausage is a prepared food, usually made from ground meat , ground pork fat such as fatback, salt, and spices . Typically the sausage is formed in a casing. Traditionally, sausage casings are made of animal intestines, though now some casings are synthetic...
that can be kept without the need of
refrigerationRefrigeration is the process of removing heat from an enclosed space, or from a substance, and moving it to a place where it is unobjectionable. The primary purpose of refrigeration is lowering the temperature of the enclosed space or substance and then maintaining that lower temperature.The term...
. Summer sausage is usually a mixture of
porkPork is the culinary name for meat from the domestic pig . The word pork often denotes specifically the fresh meat of the pig, but can be used as an all-inclusive term which includes cured, smoked, or processed meats It is one of the most-commonly consumed meats worldwide, with evidence of pig...
and other meat such as
beefBeef is the culinary name for meat from bovines, especially domestic cattle . Beef is one of the principal meats used in the cuisine of Australia, Europe and America, and is also important in Africa, East Asia, and Southeast Asia...
and/or
venisonVenison is the culinary name for meat from the family Cervidae. Deer meat, whether hunted or farmed, is termed venison.-Etymology:The word derives from the Latin vēnor...
. Summer sausage can be either dried or smoked, and curing ingredients can vary significantly, although some sort of
curing saltCuring salt, also known as Prague powder #1, is a combination that is 93.75% salt and 6.25% sodium nitrite or sodium nitrate. It is used in the preserving and curing of meats, and in sausage making. The nitrate component inhibits the growth of bacteria, specifically those which cause botulism,...
is almost always used. Seasonings may include
mustard seedsMustards are several plant species in the genera Brassica and Sinapis whose small mustard seeds are used as a spice and, by grinding and mixing them with water, vinegar or other liquids, are turned into the condiment known as mustard...
,
black pepperBlack pepper is a flowering vine in the family Piperaceae, cultivated for its fruit, which is usually dried and used as a spice and seasoning. The fruit, known as a peppercorn when dried, is a small drupe approximately five millimetres in diameter, dark red when fully mature, containing a single...
,
garlicAllium sativum, commonly known as garlic, is a species in the onion family Alliaceae. Its close relatives include the onion, shallot, leek, and chive. Garlic has been used throughout recorded history for both culinary and medicinal purposes. It has a characteristic pungent, spicy flavor that...
salt, or
sugarSugar is a class of edible crystalline substances, mainly sucrose, lactose, and fructose. Human taste buds interpret its flavor as sweet. Sugar as a basic food carbohydrate primarily comes from sugar cane and from sugar beet, but also appears in fruit, honey, sorghum, sugar maple , and in many...
.
Summer sausage, like many types of sausage, makes use of leftover scrap meat and organ meat that would otherwise be wasted.
A particular kind of summer sausage is popular in
North DakotaNorth Dakota is a state located in the Midwestern region of the United States of America; on the Canadian border halfway between the Pacific and Atlantic oceans. North Dakota is the 19th largest state by area in the U.S.; it is the 3
rd least populous, with just over 641,481 residents as...
, occasionally containing cheese in addition to meat. This type of summer sausage is smoked rather than dried and is generally best kept and eaten cold, though it can be cooked.
Traditionally, summer sausage is a fermented sausage with a low pH to slow bacterial growth and give a longer shelf life and give it a tangy taste that can be copied using citric acid as a shortcut to keeping cultures to ferment the following batch.