Wow, this got pretty hairy pretty quick! Kind of like discussing politics and religion. I am on board with Sawhorseray. Rytek's book is just like my King James Bible, full of notes in the line, worn thin and shabby. I have no comment on Fermento and dried buttermilk powder as my son is deathly aller...

I have, from the first day of sausage making done it myself without help. I grind all the meat, mix it and toss it in a 15 lb. ( actually holds closer to 18 lb.) vertical Dick stuffer. I can usually push out a full load of fresh type sausage in 35mm casings in 3-4 minutes, then twist, weigh and bag....

Wow, I learn so much from this "Chuck Wagon" dude. I always assumed (oops) cold smoking was anything under 90 degrees. Just for my info and future....when you guys smoke a cured Polish like in Rytek's book, is your initial smoking temp like 90 degrees?

In the Rytek Kutas book there are two different cooked Salami recipes at least. There is Cotto Salami and Cooked Salami. I usually make the one named Cooked Salami as it has the whole pepper corns in it. I've made them both and they are both real good. I kind of like the "Cooked Salami" on a little ...

I get my fibrous casings from Carlsons's Butcher Supply in San Francisco CA. Don't know where they are made though.

That is some beautiful Mort. I have not made Mort. I have made many kinds of Salami and some bologna. Even made some hot dogs. That is very inspiring.

I use soy protein in my Polish Sausage. I does a nice job of blending the sausage and retaining moisture during he smoking/cooking time. The only thing I don't like about using it is the cost. It costs more than the meat!. I definitely like the product better with it.

Oh, by the way, the phone # for Carlson's Butcher Supply is (415) 648-2601. They have two breakfast sausage types. Southern, with some red pepper flakes and country, is the same with no red pepper. They also have spices, any kind you want, West Failian Meat Cure ( same as Prague Powder #1), Casings ...

No web site at Carlsons. You just get to know them by what they tell you over the phone

In case anyone is interested I have a couple tips regarding breakfast sausage. First tip is....Hmmm, I buy a mix from a company called Carlson Butcher Supply in San Francisco CA. I know this may sound like cheating and I suppose maybe it is. But I don't buy it because I am to lazy to mix my own seas...

I actually bought a tilting, 25# LEM mixer. I went with the 25# model for the very reason you mentioned. I am taking a gamble that the Cabella's grinder will mate up to it. I did a fair amount of research and found that the "drive" or the shaft that Cabella's motor and the drive on the LEM motor is ...

Thanks, there's a lot to look at there!

I will still have to learn a little with my new set up. It cooked so much faster at the same temp I over cooked my hams this year. I would like to do something with my thermometer set up. One of these days I will learn how to load pictures.

I have been using a # 10 from the Sausagemaker that is a Polish made unit. Very high quality, bought it like 20 years ago for $300.00-ish. Just bought a Cabella's # 22 and the meat mixer to go along with it. I have 15# Dick type stuffer. I used to make between 1000-2000lbs a year and sell it to my b...

Hi all, here is a tip for your smoker. My smoker is an old fridge with an enamel interior. I was suspecting some cold spots in my smoker during the "cooking time". Some sausage would be cooked and some not. So I put a 4" duct from the bottom front to the top rear with a "duct booster". Takes the hot...