Ah, Sausage Making--A Noble Endeavor

[fin29]

Our friend bagged a little Bambi while bow hunting a few weeks ago. He yielded about 30 lbs. of the most succulent meat you can imagine. Yesterday, we turned most of Bambi into about 20 lbs. of sausage--about 6 lbs. of straight venison chorizo (a spicy Mexican sausage with lots of cumin, cloves, cinnamon, ginger, garlic, etc.) and a basic link, half pork and half venison, with a worcestershire/hot sauce/green onion seasoning base.

We used the Kitchenaid food grinder attachment with the sausage nozzles and purchased hog casings. It was the first time any of us had made sausage before, and it really was a snap, so if you're on the fence about whether to try your luck at it, give it a try! What a productive way to spend an afternoon with friends.

[cowgirlone]

Yum Fin, that sounds good!
I have to get busy and make some soon, I made venison summer sausage last week and hid it in the freezer so it wouldn't disappear so fast.

I'm also sold on electric grinders and stuffers. I got mine a couple of years ago and now it doesn't take all day to make a batch like it used to with the old hand grinder. I also got a slicer......sure has me spoiled!

[ratherbefishin]

I have a kitchen aid and the grinder attachement-making sausage sounds like a good idea.Up to now I've just made patties.Are the hog casings hard to find?and-has anybody tried to use deer casings?

[fin29]

You need to order the sausage attachment for the grinder. I think I paid about $12 for them on eBay. The kit comes with two widths of sausage tubes and a little plastic piece that goes where your grinder blade and dies would go. I ordered my casings from www.sausagesource.com. I ordered Monday morning and they were here Tuesday afternoon--great service. I ordered hog casings (the ones they carry will make an italian sausage-sized sausage) and I ordered collagen casings as well, though I haven't used them. The hog casings come packed in salt in apx. 5 or 6 foot lengths, and there was enough to probably make 30 to 40# of sausage. You find the opening at one end, run water through them to open them up, and slide them onto the sausage tube and go to town.

[bubbba]

Right on.
This is on my list of awsome things I must learn, I love sausage all sorts of different types dems good eats

[bethlaf]

theres a book called home sausage making, im not sure if its still in publication or not, it was from storey books, its a great book full of recieps
ive doen some, and invented my own , i personally love ground pork and turkey sausage, it makes GREAT meatballs !

home made sausage is a rewarding thing to learn , casings, if you dotn make your own , are still cehap and easyt to get, if you have a butcher in the area . otherwise ask the local grocery if you can order some through them , ususally a local store will be happy to order in something , if they know its gonna sell .

there was sort of a rennasaince in the mid 80's of home sausage making, it got really popular,
but then like all things it died out ....

[longshadowfarms]

We've done quite a bit of sausage, from simple patties to "smoked" salami types. Great fun and you sure can't beat the flavor! We get supplies from
http://www.sausagemaker.com/ and have also seen the casings at our local grocery stores. We have an extra copy of Rytek Kutras' book if anyone wants a serious sausage "bible." There are a lot of good recipes available on the web as well. Venison alone is great and we've mixed pork and venison with great results as well. Still waiting for hubby to get a deer this year so we can make some sausage too! We're all out of home made at the moment. For those using the Kitchen Aid to grind, I've heard it can be hard on the motor - any thoughts???

[Tinker]

We love homemade sausage!!!!! I find deer sausage a little dry on its own, so we usually mix about 5 pounds of semi-fatty pork chops in with 20 pounds of deer meat. I like it with lots of fennel and snise seeds and garlic.

I usually can find the casings in the smaller grocery stores, in with the hams and variety meats.

I sometimes fire up the bbq grill in the middle of winter and cook up a bunch of homemade sausage--it tastes just fine reheated.

[agmantoo]

Here is another site with meat processing equipment and supplies. http://www.alliedkenco.com/Store.htm
The prices here seem to be more attractive and I have bought from them and the products were good.

[Bluecreekrog]

Your local slaughter house may also sell you some casings.
Rog