Just had to tell somebody I made my first sausage and it turned out! Well, I've made patty-sausage before. Today I bought some hog casings ($1.89 for 50 feet-a lot) and batched up a new recipe "Boudin Blanc", made with chicken and pork. I didn't have a sausage stuffer, so I used my Pampered Chef cookie press. I never make those kinds of cookies so I am glad it came in handy. It worked very well and I will definitely start doing this again. Now I can easily smoke the sausage in links, since bulk sausage can't easily be smoked. Hope another beginner finds this and sees how easy it really is. Controlling the fat/salt/flavor is great.
Yes, definitely congrats. I purchased a sausage stuffer about 3 years ago and learned how to make different sausages. It's great to be able to make a variety of sausages such as Hot Links, Summer Sausage, Polish Sausage, or just buy bags and stuff your own breakfast sausage.
I used to work in a meat joint and we made thousands of pounds of sausage a week, mostly for smoking. I always loved stuffing and spinning sausage the best. There's just something cool about pinching off six inches or so of casing and spining it to make a slightly bowed but ever so wonderful piece of meat. I still wouldn't mind having a tiny specialty sausage shop, where I could grind, spice, stuff and smoke sausage for myself and others.
Bout 3 weeks ago, me and a neighbor did 60 lbs of breakfast sausage. It turned out pretty good. Next time I'll use a little bit more spice and red pepper. I like a little bit of heat. Specially in the winter time.
I want to make some breakfast link sausage myself. I hear that you twist the sausage into links as they get stuffed but what keeps them twisted? Do they come untwisted??
Oregonsparkle we always stuffed the whole casing and then pinched and twisted whereever needed. Is this how you do it bare? Bare, also if you have this much experience in sausage making why don't you try making various venison sausages for the deer hunters? There is a big demand for it here in my neck of the woods. They bring the meat, you grind it and add beef or pork plus seasonings, stuff it, and charge them for your service.
I'ts a pretty tough go anymore to build a new meat facility for inspection, especially federal inspection, which you have to have if you sell your product. Even custom processing like you mention r.h., requires stiff state inspection. That's why existing meat joints are worth so dang much money. They are already grandfathered into the programs. Yep, that's how you do it. Just squirt all your sausage into the casing which will coil up in a neat pile, then grab one end, hold it closed, move your fingers up as long as you want your sausage, pinch it and sorta toss it overhand, like you were spinning both ends of a jump rope. If the meat is loosly stuffed, just keep spinning it until it compacts, otherwise on a well stuffed casing you only need a few spins. Then repeat until your casing is a series of links. They don't come untwisted. For some reason, it is very satisfying to me to look at a tub of neatly twisted sausage. It's pretty hard to screw it up and you feel like a professional. Before you put them in the smokehouse, you want to poke the casings with a fork in a couple places to let some of the grease leak out or any air bubbles turn into grease pockets. Snuffy, it always amazed me, how much cayenne or pepper you have to add to make hot sausage. Once you have added what looks like way too much, double it!
Bare, thanks for that advice about poking them before smoking them. Have you ever thought of just hiring on for x hours a week at a restaurant to make their week's sausages right there? Their kitchen would have to be licensed anyway, and you would need a food-handler's card, but seems like it would work. They would order and have ready the ingredients and you would custom blend for them. You provide the know-how and labor. That kind of sounds like fun. I have searched and searched looking for a simple hand stuffer. The kind that is just the funnel and you yuse your hand to force it in. I don't have $60 for a new small stuffer. Guess I will start looking in the local penny saver. I am looking to try curry sausage (like in Munich) and a fruit/meat sausage. Anyone have any flavorful recipes? I have looked all over the web--just wanted to know what you found 'tried and true'.
I got an Oster food grinder with a sausage attachment several years ago. I think I got it through "Northern Tool". Anyway it was around 100 bucks and really has been worth it. My latest sausage adventure has been Beer Brats. I'm in search of the perfect Beer Brat recipe.
Cowgirl, have you tried any sausage seasoning kits from Allied Kenco or Eldonsausage co.? It does cost a little more especially since you have to pay for shipping too but some are very tasty if you ask me.
No r.h., the only kit I've tried was a slim jim kit, it was from a different company. I like to buy my spices in bulk, I make dry rubs for grilling and smoking meats so I keep lots of seasonings on hand. The kit I used had everything in it, casings and all. They turned out pretty good too. Pretty handy to have it all in one box.
