Let's talk sausage

[JanetGroene]

Rcommendations, please, for tasty sausages that do not require refrigeration. Most large U.S. supermarkets carry pepperoni, great chubs of summer sausage and the like but I'd love to hear more about great sausages that aren't too expensive or hard to find. Chorizo is sold here but from the refrigerator so I'm assuming it should be kept cold? Incidentally, here in Florida we can also find canned sausage and canned sausage gravy. Don't ask me about their health benefits. Homemade jerky is big and I've also made the homemade stuff that is made from ground beef bakes in the oven at low heat for many hours.

[azsailor12]

Look for any of the beef stick, summer sausage, salamis that are sold at room temperature. Personally, I don't think they are as good as hard salami that is refrigerated, but they are good when you have limited fridge space. Once you open them though, I wouldn't leave them warm for more than a day or so.

[tamicatana]

I should think a traditionally-made andouille sausage wouldn't need refrigeration

[tropicalescape]

My grandfather makes some sort of smoked sausage and hams that just hang around in the smokehouse,some are 2 yrs old and he eats it with no harm done...DVC

[Nemo55]

Salted and smoked and it will last a circumnavigation,,at least thats the way it used to be i hear.

[zeehag]

please, do refrigerate your chorizo.

[hellosailor]

"for tasty sausages that do not require refrigeration." That usually means hard sausage, aged sausage, and that's usually doubly expensive because as it ages and dries out, there's less product than there was when it was fresh. Even the companies that make most of the domestic product don't want to discuss unrefrigerated storage, probably out of liability concerns.

And it has been ages since the last time I found nice jaegerwurst, small aged sausages that usually were kept unrefrigerated.

Large hard salami, from the deli, hangs on racks and ages--but one you buy it all they'll say is refrigerate it.

[bobconnie]

If ya seal-a-meal Anduille sausage, it will out last you !!also Taso Cajun smoked Ham if sealed will last for ever and it sure do make a great pot a beans !! Gar en teed LOL

[ohdrinkboy]

A few in the Amazon.com grocery

[cheoah]

There are two major types of chorizo: MExican and Spanish. Mexican is a fresh sausage and must be refrigerated. If the Spanish is dry cured with nitrates it is stable at room temp. The cured salamis: sopressata, genoa, pepperoni, have lasted a year at my farm shop temps....50 -80 F, but the fat can separate.

Traditionally salt was used to cure these products, but nitrates have been used for a long time. Most progressive salami makers still use nitrates for curing, because they inhibit the growth of botulism...bad news, and just make a better product. Big muscles like hams, if properly handled, cure well with salt only. I use salt only on my guanciale, pancetta, bacon and hams because they use large muscles. Salamis are made from pork trim, and ground, and are aged at higher temps and humidity often, creating very good conditions for bacterial growth. This is why we use nitrates, and they are safe to carry around in the bilge for a year, if you start with a properly cured product.

Nitrates are not allowed in organic production, or in stores like Whole Foods, so applegate farms and other brands of uncured bacon or salami, use celery root powder or juice - which are high in nitrates. So are other veggies.. Same stuff, but harder to be precise with the amount of nitrate in your cure, which doesn't make much sense if the idea is to avoid nitrates. Purely marketing. Nitrates produce nitrosamines (believed to be carcinogen) when exposed to high heat, ie: bacon, which is why I make it without nitrate. Bacon with nitrate tastes way better, so when I do make it with nitrate for myself, I cook it low and slow, which is how decent pork belly should be cooked no matter what.

Get some nice salamis and vacuum seal them. If I were buying salami I would buy the best I could find (or make it), since it is not something you eat a lot of, but rather something you eat a few ounces of with bread, crackers, sandwiches cheese, fruit. Not that I'm telling you how to enjoy your cured meats, but that's how I use them.

Online you can find good salamis from Framani, Laquercia, or Fatted CAlf. Then there's Europe, where they've done this for a while MAybe you can find a local deli or salami maker, or even some stuff in the grocery you like. Just try them out and get the ones you like. My mouth is watering right now thinking about good salumi with peppercorns, garlic, wine. Snack time.

Sorry for all the shop talk, but now you know some of the ones that do well without refrigeration.

[bstreep]

Any traditional port/beef/venison link sausage can be "dried". Hang in a fairly dry environment for a few weeks, wipe them down with a vinegar soaked cloth if you get any mold. Here in Central/South Texas, dried sausage is a staple. It will keep almost forever if you don't let it get wet. I'm not a fan of traditional link sausage. Dry it, and I'll drive out of my way to buy it!

[onestepcsy37]

janet, you may be referring to the small salami's that publix sells for about three bucks and measure about 1.5 inches around and about four inches long. i've used them for snack crackers and they're not too bad. i suppose you could add them to various bean dishes to give them some added texture. haven't tried frying them up with eggs for breakfast yet - something we used to do as kids many years ago.

and they make a pretty handy quick snack just eating them right out of the wrapping...

[bobconnie]

Theres still some Liuquesia (spl) made in Marin County Cali, Its a Portugues saugage thats dry and lasts well when sealed The SF Bay area hard saliume makers are still in bizz, even if it's gotten so expensive ya can only afford a small piece !!

[AnnaMC]

My husband and I recently did a test and stored 2 fresh, dried/smoked kielbasa hanging on hooks in our galley. Over 2 weeks they dried nicely; their heavy casing stayed completely clean & mold-free; and the flies were not attracted to it, even with temps in the 90s and high humidity. We purchased ours at Kiszka in Greenpoint, Brooklyn, NYC. There is a beautiful online Polish specialty shop called sweetpoland.com which sells a similar sausage called Kielbasa Krakowska Sucha - Dry Krakow Sausage. There are several dry & semi-dry sausages on their site which they actually recommend in writing do not need refrigeration. If you are lucky enough to have a Polish butcher in your area, the website will give a good idea on the variety of sausages, then you can write the names down and purchase locally. Rock hard dried sausages can be reconstituted in boiling water which can be re-used for soups and smaller pieces can be thrown into your next pressure cooker pea soup for a zesty treat!

[S/V Alchemy]

Originally Posted by zeehag

please, do refrigerate your chorizo.

Sounds like something you'd say to an unwelcome advance in a South American bar.