This Summer Sausage Recipe is easy to make at home in the oven or on the smoker! It’s a million times better than store-bought too! Serve it with all different kinds of cheese and crackers for a quick and easy appetizer, or pack it in lunches for a fun alternative to sandwiches!
When I was growing up my mom would buy a Hickory Farms Summer Sausage to eat on Christmas Eve. After I started making this recipe she told me my grandma used to make this exact same recipe! Why didn’t I know about that?
After I got married my friend Jewel told me making summer sausage at home is easy! What? I’m always a fan of homemade vs. store-bought so I knew I wanted to try it. She was right it was easy and it’s the BEST summer sausage and there’s no way going to buy it in the store again!
This recipe has the perfect blend of spices I love knowing exactly what is going in my sausage too. It’s not filled with all those artificial preservatives. Plus it’s an awesome low carb, carb free, gluten free, sugar free, keto appetizer for when Justin’s trying to eat like that!
NOTE: This post was updated in December 2019 to include new images and text. The recipe remained exactly the same!
How to make summer sausage.
DIY summer sausage is easier than you think! You don’t need casings or any special equipment. If you have an oven you have shat you need!
You will need Quick Curing Salt. It’s kind of hard to find in stores so I suggest ordering Morten’s brand from Amazon. {Affiliate Link}
- Mix 4 pounds of ground beef with Quick Curing Salt.
- Cover and refrigerate overnight.
- Add garlic salt, cracked black pepper, and liquid smoke. I like this hickory liquid smoke {affiliate link}
- Mix together until combined.
- Divide the meat mixture into four equal parts.
- Shape meat into four sticks, or logs. Set on a roasting pan with a wire rack. If you don’t have one, set a cooling rack in a baking sheet.
- Bake at 225 degrees for 4 hours.
PRO TIP:LITTLE DAIRY ON THE PRAIRIE TIP:
How to make sausage without casings
I’ve never used casings to make homemade sausage.
- Cut a piece of plastic wrap about 18 inches long.
- Set meat on the plastic wrap.
- Shape meat into a fat stick.
- Wrap plastic wrap around the meat stick and twist the ends closed. Basically, you’ll twist it closed the same way a Tootsie Roll is wrapped up.
- Using your hand lightly press and roll the “meat roll” until it’s smooth.
- To make sure it’s the right diameter I make a circle with by touching my middle finger to my thumb and then run the “meat roll” through my fingers. That’s the perfect sized beef stick to fit on most crackers. Obviously, if your hands are bigger or smaller you may need to adjust.
- Remove plastic wrap and set it on the baking sheet.
How to cook summer sausage.
When Jewel shared this recipe with me it was written as an oven recipe. It works wonderfully! You’ll need to plan on baking it for 4 hours.
Since then I’ve experimented with cooking it on my Traeger. You guys, smoked summer sausage is divine! It adds that extra depth of flavor. Of course, you can use whatever flavor of wood you’d like. We’re in love with Hickory and Mesquite. I liked reducing the cooking time to 3 1/2 hours when I made it on my smoker.
How to store beef summer sausage.
When I make beef sticks I usually make lots of them because they last for quite a while.
How long does summer sausage last in the fridge?
Homemade summer sausage can be stored in the refrigerator for up to three weeks. It needs to be stored in an airtight container.
Can summer sausage be frozen?
YES! YES! YES! I love making it ahead of time and throwing it in the freezer! It lasts for up to three months stored in an airtight container.
Having a few sticks in the freezer is a great backup plan for those days when I don’t have anything in the house for making lunches. All I have to do is slice a few pieces of cheese, grab some crackers and their lunch is packed!
Ground beef summer sausage recipes.
Since we raise and harvest our own beef I have about three freezers chock full of ground beef. It’s probably no surprise that I make beef summer sausage and never experiment with other types of meat.
My boys do go hunting quite often though and have wanted to try and make this summer sausage recipe substituting elk, deer (venison), or some other wild game for the beef. Since I’m a tried and true beef lover I’ve never experimented with it before. I bet it would work perfectly if you’re into that sort of thing!
Other Easy Appetizers
Easy appetizers are super important whether you’re hosting a party, or just like to eat finger foods as much as I do! Be sure to check out my guide to eating cheese too.
Meat Appetizers
- Cheesy Pigs in a Blanket
- Crockpot Little Smokies
- Ham and Cheese Pinwheels
- Slow Cooker Mexican Dip
- BBQ Meatballs
- Pork Nachos
- Burrito Cups
- Slow Cooker BBQ Drumsticks
What else to serve summer sausage with?
We love beef stick with cheese and crackers. It’s also delicious with mustard sauce for dipping. {Affiliate Link}
It’s really good served with different kinds of fruit and fresh vegetables too!
Grab my Summer Sausage Recipe
I think you are going to love this recipe just as much as my readers have!
This recipe is delicious! I’ve made it several times already, and I was so impressed with how much it tastes like the summer sausage I used to buy at the store, but much cheaper and healthier. Thanks for this awesome recipe! You have saved me a lot of money!
Lady E
Homemade Beef Summer Sausage Recipe
Ingredients
- 4 pounds lean ground beef
- 1/4 cup Morten's Tender Quick Home Meat Cure
- 2 Tbsp Liquid Smoke
- 2 tsp Black Pepper course
- 1 tsp Garlic Salt
Instructions
- Mix 4 pounds of ground beef with Morten's Tender Quick Home Meat Cure. Cover and refrigerate overnight. If you don’t have one, set a cooling rack in a baking sheet.
- Add garlic salt, cracked black pepper, and liquid smoke. Mix together until combined.
- Divide the meat mixture into four equal parts. Shape meat into four sticks, or logs.
- Line a roasting pan with aluminum foil for easier cleanup. Set sausages on a roasting pan with a wire rack.
- Preheat oven to 225 degrees. Bake sausage for 4 hours.
- Remove from the oven and cool. Refrigerate summer sausage for up to three weeks, or freeze for up to three months.
- Slice and serve with sliced cheese and crackers.
Notes
- I like to use heaping amounts of garlic salt and pepper. You may also add mustard seeds, paprika, or taco seasoning instead if you’d like.
- Summer Sausage may be cooked on a smoker. It needs to cook at 225 degrees for 3 1/2 hours.
- Table salt was used instead of Morten’s Tender Quick Meat Cure to calculate Nutritional Facts, but I did use the tender quick meat cure NOT table salt.
Nutrition
Kelly Wehrle says
Added 1 tsp Worcestershire sauce to the mix. It really seemed to add some extra “depth” to the overall flavor. I read the comments about using venison, elk, etc. if you have a butcher shop process your game meat, have them add Suet to your ground meat. That has been a standard for us for a very long time and it really helps keep the meat from drying out nearly as bad.
Amy Engberson says
Great tips! Thanks for sharing!
Pat says
Can you mix everything together and let it sit overnight?
I forgot and added the pepper and garlic salt with the ground beef and tenderizer.
Amy Engberson says
I don’t think it will hurt to add them all at once, although I haven’t ever tried it. Let me know how it goes.
John says
My mother used to make a sausage like this, hers had a few more ingredients but basically the same. I’ve made hers and your recipe and love them both. she always wrapped hers in foil to get a tight log. I’ve tried it your way but can’t seem to get a tight roll. how do you put it in a log without foil and get it tight enough to not crumble?
Amy Engberson says
You could wrap it in foil to get a tight roll. I shape the meat first, then wrap in plastic wrap similar to how a Tootsie Roll is wrapped. Once it’s wrapped I roll it on the countertop to smooth it out. Lean ground beef doesn’t hold it’s shape very well so I prefer ground beef with a higher fat content. Hopefully, that helps!
Hank says
Has anyone tried adding jalapeño and cheese to this recipe?
Amy Engberson says
I haven’t ever tried it. Let me know how it goes if you try it!
Liz says
The tender quick says to use 1/2 T per pound so that would only be 2 T total. Just wondering if I can reduce the amount
Amy Engberson says
I haven’t ever tried reducing the amount of tender quick salt. Let me know how it goes if you try it!
Mary says
I have used this recipe for years (the one below) and love, love, love it but really didn’t want to have the oven on for 8 hours even at a low temp.. Everyone loves this summer sausage. My son-in-law smokes his and it’s great that way too. I posted so you could see the amount of salts I use in mine and it is never salty tasting. There are a lot of slightly various recipes out there so you do you but just thought this would help you with your Morton salt issue. I also added crushed garlic to mine as I love the garlic flavor but it was not in the original recipe, I also do garlic powder instead of garlic salt. Hope if you see this that it helps. Also am going to bake mine at 225 for 4 hours instead of the 8 .
SUMMER SAUSAGE
5 lbs. Hamburg (cheaper burger works best)
2 tsp. Salt
2 1/2 tsp. Liquid Smoke
5 tsp. Garlic Salt – NOW I USE GARLIC POWDER
1 tsp. Black Pepper
2 1/2 tsp. Mustard Seed
1 tsp. Red pepper
5 tsp. Quick Salt
4 CLOVES OF GARLIC, CRUSHED
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Mix and cover and refrigerate for 24 hours.
Mix again and refrigerate for another 24 hours.
Roll in logs and put on broiler pan. I usually make 6 logs.
Bake in a 180 degree oven for 4 hours , turn over and bake for another 4 hours.
Wrap in plastic wrap when cooled and then in tin foil.
Best when frozen and thawed.
I have searched the internet for baking times as I don’t want to bake for 8 hrs. Have seen 225 for 4 hours.
Amy Engberson says
Thanks for sharing. There are lots of variations of my basic recipe. I actually don’t have a problem with overly salty beef stick. It turns out perfectly every single time!
John says
4 lbs of hamburger = 4 tablespoons of tender quick. Does that equal 1/4 cup?
Amy Engberson says
Yes! 4 Tablespoons is equal to 1/4 a cup.
John Olson says
Thank you
Linda says
Can this be made with any other kind of salt???
Amy Engberson says
Unfortunately, you will need to use Quick Cure Salt. I have found it at my local grocery store and on Amazon.
Connie says
Great recipe! I used my sons beef (since he raises beef cattle), there seemed to be a bit more fat, but this turned out delicious! Like you said, Morton Tender Quick is a bit hard to find, at least in my area, but Kroger came through after much searching with the help of an associate
Will definitely be making this again!
Amy Engberson says
I’m glad you loved the recipe! The fat content in beef varies, and it’s hard to know what it is going to be when you raise your own beef. It’s worth it though because it’s so good! This is one of our favorite snacks or light dinners!
Beth says
Hello! I’m just starting to look around for beef summer sausage recipes, and I think this one is the winner! I love how simple and versatile it is!
Question: Do you think I could also use this recipe and make it with ground chicken or turkey? I would like to have a selection of meats and poultries to choose from, so I wondering if you thought any poultry substitutions would work.
Thank you!
Amy Engberson says
This recipe really is so delicious! I can’t wait for you to try it! I haven’t ever made it using chicken or turkey. I’m guessing it would be a little dry since the meat is so lean, but you could try it. Let me know how it goes!
Beth says
Thanks, Amy, for the note about the possibility of the sausage being a bit dry using chicken or turkey. I hadn’t thought of that! I will try to remember to track back here when I make it. 🙂
Amy Engberson says
Yes, I’d love to know how it goes if you try it!
Robert Cusick Jr says
What you can do is to save up your pork and beef fat trimmings and do your 80%-20% that way. I think you will like the results!
Amy Engberson says
That’s a great idea! Thanks for sharing.
Shelley says
You can’t really say this is sugar free, since the Tender Quick is about 20% sugar.
Amy Engberson says
Tender Quick salt does have sugar in it. But, it has such a small amount of sugar that it doesn’t even list added sugar in the nutritional content information. Besides that it is such a small amount of Quick Cure compared to the amount of ground beef used that it only has one gram of carb per serving. So, it does a tiny bit of sugar.
Gaylia Tschumperlin says
I know it says 78 calories. But does not say how many slices you can have per serving
Amy Engberson says
That’s a great question! I’ve never counted how many slices I typically cut a beef stick into. It will depend on how thick you make each slices. I usually cut them about 1/8 inch thick. I’m guessing there would be about 5-6 slices per serving, depending on the thickness of the slices. Hopefully, that helps!
Heather says
Wondering if I could add high heat cheese to this? I used to have a deer butcher make summer sausage and he always added cheese. It was amazing. I know regular cheese would not work well, hence the Hugh temp cheese.
Amy Engberson says
I’ve never tried adding a high-heat cheese to my sausage before. I’m guessing it would be fine though. Let me know how it goes if you try it.
Julie F. says
For those freaking out about the amount of Tender Cure in the recipe….
Tender Quick has far less nitrate or nitrite than Prague Powder #1 or #2. Morton Tender Quick is a pre-blended fast-cure mix so you can cure meat, poultry or game right in your own kitchen. It gives meats a tasty cured flavor and characteristic pink color. Works particularly well with small cuts of meat, such as pork chops, spareribs and poultry.
Morten Tender Quick contains:
Salt, Sugar, 0.5% Sodium Nitrate (Preservative), 0.5% Sodium Nitrite (Preservative), Propylene Glycol.
Compare with:
•Prague powder #1, which contains 6.25% sodium nitrite and 93.75% table salt (or sodium chloride.) Prague Powder #1 is recommended for meats that require short cures and will be cooked and eaten relatively quickly, like sausages.
•Prague Powder #2, also called Pink curing salt #2, contains 6.25% sodium nitrite, 4% sodium nitrate, and 89.75% table salt. Prague Powder #2 is recommended for meats that require long (weeks to months) cures, like hard salami and country ham.
Amy Engberson says
Thanks for sharing! This is great information!
John says
Nice recipe turned out good. Mine turned out a bit grainy, if adding a little water smooth it up a like store sausage? I did 2 lbs hamburger 1 lb ground pork. The directions on Morton’s Tender Quick says 1 tbls per pound of meat. I did use garlic powder and mustard seed. Next time some cheese and peppers.
Amy Engberson says
I’m glad you enjoyed it! I haven’t ever tried adding water so I’m not sure how that would affect the recipe. I’ve had a few other people mention they wanted to add high-heat cheese. Let me know how it goes!