The convenience-store jar: smoked beef sausage cut in pieces and packed in a hot, red-tinted vinegar and salt brine, then refrigerated at once.
Untested: not yet made in this kitchen. It is part of the collection’s pickled batch and is adapted from the source named in the Notes.
Ingredients
- 4 cups water
- 4 cups distilled white vinegar
- 2 tablespoons salt
- 10 drops red food coloring
- 10 links fully cooked smoked beef sausage
Directions
- Check a quart jar for cracks and its ring for rust. Sterilize the jar in simmering water for 5 minutes, and wash a new lid and ring in warm soapy water.
- Bring the water, vinegar, salt and food coloring to a boil in a large pot over medium-high heat.
- Cut the sausage links in halves or thirds, depending on size.
- Pack the sausage into the jar, pour in hot brine to fill it, lid it, and refrigerate immediately. Serve after 2 days.
Notes
Source Adapted from “Pickled Sausage,” Allrecipes (user-submitted, not test-kitchen developed). The source calls it “a convenience store treat.”
On the brine The source makes 8 cups of brine for a single quart jar, far more than the jar holds; half or a quarter of it is plenty at the same proportions.
Food safety: pickled meats There is no tested home-canning process for any pickled meat, sausage or hot dog; the National Center for Home Food Preservation’s pickling index has none. The closest authority is its guidance on pickled eggs, the case the CDC has actually documented: “There are no home canning directions for pickled eggs. All of the following pickled egg recipes are for storage in the refrigerator,” and “Home pickled eggs stored at room temperature have caused botulism.” The CDC adds that botulinum spores need no oxygen, low acidity (pH above 4.6), warmth above 39 °F (4 °C) and moisture, and that refrigeration during pickling is advisable for foods the acid reaches slowly. So: start with fully cooked meat, sterilize the jar, refrigerate it the moment it is filled, never keep it on a counter or bar, and do not prick the meat. No authority gives a keeping time.
The photo The photograph is an Allrecipes member’s photo of this recipe.