Process and an apparatus adapted to carry out the process steps for producing sausage products, which includes the following steps: Comminuting raw meat with fat, adding seasoning, salt and further additives, mixing in order to produce a raw sausage mass, forming the raw sausage mass, warming and fermenting the formed raw sausage mass, warming the formed fermented sausage mass to a temperature of approximately 57° C., and incubating at approximately 57° C. for germ reduction, immediately subsequently cooling the cooked fermented sausage mass to −1° C. or below with reduced pressure being applied, in order to produce a dried and cooled cooked sausage mass.