Pickled, I will have to try that.

@tarp Yup, you made the right decision! Some of the seasonings can set up but if you are using water in your product it isnt too big of a deal. If you have a brick of seasoning and you are wanting to use it to make a fresh product and you aren’t adding any water a few minutes in a hi-powered blender will do the trick.

@megajunk I wouldn’t let the stories about ECA stop you from trying Encapsulated Citric Acid. Lowering the pH is what I think makes a summer sausage a summer sausage, and that is most often done with ECA. When used properly, it is extremely effective and reliable at achieving a predictable pH drop. The lower pH also inhibits microbial growth as well. I’d argue that a true summer sausage cannot be made without using something like ECA to drop the pH.