Summer Sausage

Fire Jack Summer Sausage

Jalapeño Cheddar Style Summer Sausage

Fire Jack Summer Sausage is a summer sausage built on a 50% lean meat / 50% pork blend, using lean wild game or lean beef. Smoke at 130-170°F (54-77°C) and finish at an internal 155°F (68°C), stuff into 2.5-3 inch fibrous casing, grind at 1/8". Exact amounts scale to any batch weight in the DeepWoodz Smokehouse app for iPhone and Android.

The jalapeño cheddar version of the classic, and the one most people end up making in the biggest batch. High-temp cheese is not optional in a log this thick — ordinary cheddar renders out over the long smoke and pools in the bottom. Chill it through before slicing or the cheese will drag.

• Spicy
• Cheesy
• Smoky

Internal temp

155°F (68°C)

Smoker temp

130-170°F (54-77°C)

Casing size

2.5-3 inches

Casing

Fibrous

Bloom

2-3 hours

What goes in it

• Kosher Salt
• Cure #1
• Coarse Black Pepper
• White Pepper
• Garlic Powder
• Onion Powder
• Mustard Seed
• Coriander
• Ground Nutmeg
• Dextrose
• Jalapeño Powder
• Cayenne Pepper
• Ice Cold Water
• High-Temp Cheddar (1/4" cubes)
• Allspice

Amounts are calculated for your batch weight in the app — including the cure, which is held at a fixed, food-safe rate.

The meat

Lean Wild Game · Lean Beef · Pork Butt · Pork Shoulder

Bear or wild hog: take it to 160°F and hold 3 minutes. Freezing, smoking and curing do not kill trichinella — only heat does.

How it's made

1. Grind meat through a 1/8" plate.
2. Add dry seasonings (not cheese) to ground meat and mix to distribute evenly.
3. Dissolve cure in ice cold water, then add to meat. Mix thoroughly until very tacky with good protein extraction.
4. Fold in high-temp cheddar by hand — do not over-mix.
5. Stuff tightly into 2.5" fibrous casings.
6. Refrigerate overnight to let the cure distribute evenly. If using ECA, do NOT refrigerate overnight — ECA must be stuffed and smoked the same day, or the capsules release their acid early and turn the sausage crumbly and sour. (Fermento or plain versions rest overnight just fine.)
7. Next day, hang at room temperature for 2-3 hours to bloom until the casing feels dry to the touch, then smoke. If using ECA, skip both the overnight rest and the bloom — go straight from stuffing into the smoker the same day.
8. Place in smoker at 130°F for 1 hour, damper open.
9. Raise to 150°F, apply smoke for 3 hours.
10. Raise to 170°F until internal temp reaches 155°F.
11. Ice bath immediately — critical to prevent cheese blowout. (Optional — an ice bath is not required. It is personal preference; many just let them cool at room temp, or outside in cold weather. Just cool them down promptly.)
12. Refrigerate overnight before slicing.

Wood

Hickory · Cherry

Before you start

• How much Cure #1 per pound
• Summer sausage internal temp
• Venison to pork fat ratio