Penrose hot sausage recipe.

[lotsnlots_o'bbls]

Ottis, THANK YOU so much for posting this. I had not had these in years and for some reason suddenly had a major craving. I was SO sad when I found out they stopped making them (I knew when Amazon didn't have them, something funny was up).

I tried a variety of sausage-type things and the ones I thought closest to the Penrose were the Hebrew National all beef hotdogs. The only ones that didn't work were the Usinger's (I'm guessing because of the natural casings?)

I did vacuum seal the jars (thanks DSLDUB81) and the majority were ready within 2 days, though after 4 they were just a bit better (I was SUPER impatient). It definitely speeds up the process (except the Usinger's, I'm not sure if they'll ever be ready)

I actually made some with the 97% fat free Hebrew National as well, and they were also surprisingly tasty!

I did link this thread on my blog with results of the different sausages I tried.

 

[Horseflesh]

Your blog link went missing but I checked it out from the forum email, nice writeup. Thanks for testing so many sausages.

 

[aimee takach]

Question... Is this recipe supposed to be like the original penrose in a jar? Was there a spicy version and if so is this the spicy version? I love the original but don't remember them being spicy as I don't like spicy and was nervous about making this until I got confirmation. I just don't wanna waste if this is going to be spicy. Thanks so much!
Aimee

Penrose Hot Sausage Recipe.
Vs 3.0

This recipe is about as close as I've come so far.
Penrose (later bought by ConAgra Foods) mixed the spices into the sausage before cooking and pickling. So, in order to achieve the desired level of spicy goodness the brine needs to be VERY spicy!

This recipe makes a one quart jar of pickled sausage. Scale up or down as desired.

__- 1/2 cup water
__- 2 cups white vinegar
__- 1/2 tbs Ground Cayenne Pepper
__- 1 tbs red pepper flakes
__- 1 tsp minced Garlic.
__- 1 tbs dried minced onion
__- 1 tsp Paprika
__- 1/2 tsp white pepper
__- 1 tbs salt
__- Lg pinch all spice
__- 28 oz pkg Hillshire Farms 'lil Smokies, or other precooked link sausage, cut in two. (MUST be precooked!) Kielbasa sliced about 1/2 inch thick works also. Hot dogs just don't work.
__- Or, use to pickle Boiled Eggs!


Directions

1* On medium-high heat, combine the water, salt, vinegar, and spices.
2* Bring the mixture to a boil. Cover and simmer for 5 minutes in a well ventilated area.
NOTE: when you're simmering the brine, make sure you have a ventilator fan running or a window and door open, the vinegar and Cayenne pepper boiling is kinda' hard on a the eyes! Almost like mace...
3* Place precooked sausage into a 1 qt sterile jar. Fill jar but don't pack tightly.
4* Pour the hot vinegar mixture in with the sausage, If there isn't enough, add some vinegar. Secure the lid.
5* Let cool, then place in the 'frige. keep Refrigerated after opening.
6* Ready to eat in 5 to 7 days.

When opened for the first time, there will be a layer of fat on top and the underside of the lid, remove if you want too.

-------------------------------

Formulated by Otis with sampling and input from Don.

The original;

 

[SgtBunny]

I ran upon this thread back in September 2020 and decided to try v3.5. I used lil smokeys and then discovered by reading around that some people didn't find the texture of the lil smokeys to be too great nor did they think they took the flavor very well.

Let me tell you that at 30 days in the frig, they were right....

But at 90 days they were getting close and then I forgot about them. Oops. They ended up getting pushed into a back corner of the frig and forgotten.

I found them the other day and tried them again. They were 5 months old and lasted all of 3 days. SPOT ON as far as flavor and texture.

V3.5 is what I will be staying with AND using Lil Smokeys.

 

[Meraxes]

I've been meaning to post this for years and never somehow got around to doing it.

I altered Penrose 3.5 to Penrose Enhanced; It has all the flavor, but it is richer and deeper with a better mouthfeel. Details below.


Penrose Enhanced:

Recipe makes a one quart jar of pickled sausage. I usually just make a gallon jar, so multiply by four (ish. This is not baking nor is it a formula).

Brine, but don't mix this in advance:
- 1/2 c. water
- 2 c. apple cider vinegar
- 1 tbsp. sea salt

In each 1 qt jar:
- 1/2 tbsp. cayenne pepper
- 1/2 tsp. coarse ground black pepper or black peppercorns
- 1 tbsp. Aleppo pepper flakes (the Aleppo pepper makes quite a difference, use it)
- 2 large garlic cloves, crushed, and soaked in the juice of one lemon for ten minutes (soaking the garlic in the lemon takes the harsh bite out of the garlic)
- 1 small diced white onion
- 2 sliced Serrano peppers
- 1 tsp. Hungarian paprika

Sausage:
- 16 oz package of Dietz and Watson Cheddarwurst, sliced on a hard bias, about 1/3" thick. I lop a few mm off of the ends, too. Depending on your jar and how you slice, you may be able to get another single sausage in there. When I make the gallon, it takes four pounds of D&W, plus usually three extra single sausages. Obviously other sausages would work, use what you like. I like the fact that the D&W doesn't have added sugar/corn syrup as so many of them do, and the cheese rounds out the flavor very well.

Directions:
1. Place 1/2 of the sliced sausages in the jar.
2. Place 1/2 of the onions and Serrano peppers in the jar.
3. Place the remainder of the sliced sausages in the jar.
4. Add the remainder of the Serrano peppers and onions into the jar.
5. Add everything else on top. Basically the salt and spices and the just dump the garlic/lemon juice mixture in, too.
6. Add the cider vinegar and the water. I don't really measure it: I fill the jar with cider vinegar 4/5th of the way, shake it a bit to get any bubbles out, and then fill it the rest of the way with water.

I leave this on the counter for a week (such a sad, sad time), then from then on it goes into the refrigerator. This is pickling so don't hyperventilate about pulling the jar and knife out of an autoclave or boiling the brine or any of that noise, but of course make sure everything is clean and prepared correctly.

Enjoy!

 

[BrewDrinkRepeat]

I've made these numerous times over the years since this was first posted, but I usually eat them really quickly. (Because they're so frikkin' delicious LOL)

This time I ended up with one jar that has been in the fridge for almost two months.

How long do these last? The pickling process obviously helps preserve the meat, but at the same time I'm not sure it's penetrating all the way to the middle of each sausage, so is that still OK?

 

[tld6008]

Just eat them and then tell us

 

[KHPOWER]

tHIS IS REVIVING a old post but the issues folks are having is using the wrong sausage ..you need a very firm sasauge so a snack stick works better , not s;lim jims but the larger snack sticjs tyoull see at gas stations and walmsrt .. let them dry out for a few days the pickle. penrose sausage aint got nothing on this recipe

 

[Toolman61]

I've made these numerous times over the years since this was first posted, but I usually eat them really quickly. (Because they're so frikkin' delicious LOL)

This time I ended up with one jar that has been in the fridge for almost two months.

How long do these last? The pickling process obviously helps preserve the meat, but at the same time I'm not sure it's penetrating all the way to the middle of each sausage, so is that still OK?

I can't answer your question directly, but in the future just put some slices in the casings before jarring them. For Smokies, I put 3 slices in the casings, each about a 1/3 of the way around and about a 1/2 long slice that's centered. It helps get the brine thru and thru those sausages.

 

[Toolman61]

I've been happy with the versions (original and 3.0). Today I'm doing v3.5 and I expect it should be as good, just not sure which process I like best yet. I did a qt of Hillshire Smokies (pork) and another qt jar of Hillshire Smokies (beef). Had room left over so I added Hillshire jalapeno hot sausage to each mix. We'll see in a week how they are. Appreciate the recipes given here. May try others later.