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.