Chef John's Summer Sausage

1. Smash celery into juicy bits using a mortar and pestle. Combine with ground beef in a large bowl. Add mustard seeds, kosher salt, garlic powder, paprika, sugar, 1 teaspoon black pepper, curing salt, and cayenne pepper. Mix by hand until thoroughly combined.

2. Transfer sausage mixture onto a large piece of parchment paper. Use damp hands to shape into a 4-inch-thick log. Roll up in the parchment paper, compressing it as much as possible. Twist ends tightly to seal. Place on a paper towel-lined baking sheet and refrigerate for 24 hours.

3. Preheat the oven to 275 degrees F (135 degrees C).

4. Cut ends off the parchment paper and unwrap sausage. Mix liquid smoke with water and generously brush over sausage. Roll sausage back up in the paper, then again in aluminum foil, sealing it tightly and twisting the ends in opposite directions.

5. Line a baking sheet with a wire rack and place sealed sausage on top. Poke 5 or 6 holes across bottom for excess moisture to drip out.

6. Bake in the preheated oven until a probe or instant-read thermometer inserted into the center reads 150 degrees F (66 degrees C) and no higher, about 1 1/2 hours.

7. Let sausage cool in the pan until room temperature, at least 30 minutes. Give ends a tighter twist, then refrigerate at least 8 hours, or overnight.

8. Unwrap sausage and slice in half. Coat outsides with 1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper, place on a plate lined with crinkled foil, and let dry in the refrigerator for 24 hours.

   

Chef's Notes:

You can get freshly ground beef from your butcher.

The salt is best measured by weight, if you have a scale. Use 20 grams.

Use a probe thermometer if possible; it will ring an alarm as soon as the temperature is reached.

Feel free to spice this any way you want, but it will help if you include a pinch of pink curing salt.