The first summer sausage I ever made, years ago, was the high mountain brand. I bought the kit from academy. I was less than impressed with it. In fact it was bad enough I couldn't eat much of it and actually threw most of it out this year after it sat in the freezer for several years. I did about 10 pounds of it. It was before I bought my electric smoker so I cooked it in the oven. That could have been the issue as the smoke flavor really makes it good. Maybe I got a bad batch of seasoning who knows, and they may have changed the mix by now. My suggestion would be to fill one casing and cook/smoke it to see if it turns out the way you want it. That way if you have a bad experience like I did you don't have a bunch of wasted meat. I mix my summer sausage with 70 percent deer and 30 percent pork fat. My favorite seasoning for summer sausage is LEM brand Trail Bologna. It is summer sausage seasoning with slightly more spice. Sometimes I add diced jalapenos to it without the seeds. You can also mix in regular course grated cheddar if you want. You don't have to use the over priced high temp cheddar as long as you don't over cook it. I get the internal temp up to about 160 give or take in an electric smoker.
