Adding Cheese to Summer Sausage: Complete Guide

Making your sausage is an incredibly satisfying experience. You have the option to choose the type of meat and seasonings that you want.

Many people think adding cheese to summer sausage is a bad idea because it ruins the flavor. However, adding cheese helps retain the flavor of summer sausage.

Sausages and cheese complement each other well in a meal, so why not mix them up to enhance their flavor? You might not be sure where to start if you have never done it before.

I will tell you everything you need to know about adding cheese to summer sausage and which cheeses are the best.

What Kind of Cheese Do You Put in Summer Sausage?

It’s easy to decide whether or not you want cheese in your sausage. It could be a more difficult decision to pick a variety of cheese.

It is possible to argue that it is OK to use the cheese you usually like to eat with sausage but should be the only criteria.

That depends on who you are talking to. Sausage makers often blend all kinds of cheese with different meats and seasonings to give them a variety in their sausages.

It is up to you if you are an enthusiast of summer sausage.

The cheese won’t melt as fast, so sticking to harder cheeses with less fat percentage is a more convenient option.

Do I Need a High Temp Cheese for Summer Sausage?

The question of high temp cheese arises when it comes to adding cheese to summer sausage.

Mixed with meat products is what high-temp or high-temperature cheese is supposed to be.

You can mix high temp cheese with sausage meat by buying chunks that are labeled high temp.

A high temp cheese won’t change shape, it won’t melt, and it won’t hold its consistency under heat.

If you place them on the grill, they will hold up their shape, even if you place them directly on the grill.

Several types of high temp cheeses are excellent for summer sausage.

Sharp Cheddar

We usually evoke the distinct color and flavor that goes well with all types of food when we think about cheddar cheese.

There are only a few types of cheese that come in mild, sharp, and extra-sharp varieties, and cheddar is one of them.

As the cheese ages, this gradation shows how the cheese flavor changes.

Between three and six months old is the age at which sharp cheddar cheese is. This is one of the best options for sausage making in the summer.

Provolone

The key to success with Provolone is to stick to harder, high-quality pieces.

A variety of shapes and sizes can be found in provolone, a semi-hard cheese from Italy. It has a smooth flavor, with hints of nuts and salty undertones.

If you are making it with pork, it pairs well with summer sausage.

Halloumi

This semi-hard cheese comes from Cyprus and is made from goat and sheep milk.

It has an incredibly high melting point, which makes it a phenomenal grilling cheese and a perfect homemade summer sausage option.

It is not the cheapest of cheeses, but if you are making small batches of summer sausage, you might decide to spend more.

Pepper Jack Cheese

Pepper Jack is a spicy American cheese that is a descendant of Monterey Jack. There is a semi-soft variant with a memorable flavor.

Pepper Jack is a great option if you want to make a lot of summer sausages.

It is a high-temp cheese that has a lot of kick with habanero chilies, garlic, rosemary, and sweet peppers in the mix.

When you think that the flavor will overwhelm you, it ends with a soft butter taste.

Can You Use Regular Cheese in Summer Sausage?

Sometimes high-temp cheese is too expensive or not readily available, that is the issue with it.

Sausage making is quicker because the manufacturers sell them in convenient packages, but that may not be what you are looking for.

Maybe the cheese you have at home has a low melting point, and you don’t know whether to use it in your summer sausage.

Regular cheeses are sometimes referred to as low-temp cheeses.

Many people have successfully used regular cheeses, even though they are not the best option for summer sausages.

Swiss cheese is included in this category as well as Cheshire cheese and mozzarella.

It wouldn’t be the best choice for summer sausage to have a cheese such as brie that is too soft.

How Much Cheese Do You Put in Summer Sausage?

How much do you use for summer sausage, including the cheese of your choice, if you find yourself with all the necessary ingredients?

You can experiment with the amount of cheese you use, unlike some ingredients, like curing salt, where the amounts should be very accurate.

Adding too much cheese will overwhelm it, even though adding too little will not affect the flavor. I don’t recommend using more than 1 pound.

There is a cheese for about 12 lbs. That’s about all of the meat.

The perfect balance of flavor and texture is what this tends to be. The cheese should not be more than 10% of the meat’s weight.

How to Put Cheese in Summer Sausage

All you have to do is mix the cheese chunks with the meat if you have bought pre-packaged high-temp cheese. It is important to grind the meat before eating it.

The first thing you should do if the cheese is not sliced is made small cubes of cheese. If you mix the cheese and other ingredients by hand, you will get equal distribution.

If you want to make this process even easier, you can freeze the cheese cubes before adding them to the meat mixture.

They will keep their shape longer and mixing them with meat will go smoothly if they do this.

Conclusion

Adding cheese to summer sausage is as easy as possible. The only thing standing in the way of getting over it is choosing the right cheese.

Is it a good idea to go with regular cheese or high temp- cheese? If all you care about is the taste, high-temp cheese will hold up better during the cooking process.

It is best to stick with dry and semi-hard cheeses if you want to avoid cheeses with too much moisture.

It is up to you if you want to have Pepper Jack, sharp cheddar, halloumi, or something completely different.