Homemade Sausage Making

Well we did a proper taste test for lunch today and I think I did use too much fat. Still tasty but a lesson learned. A couple of pis below from the grill and end result. For some reason the cold smoked Hungarian cooked a lot faster than the Italian, and I overgrilled it.

Five Italians and two Hungarians meeting on the Weber.

IdaKraut wrote:

redzed wrote:When it came to rinsing and flushing the casings, to my horror, they were a tangled knotted mess!

That's why I only buy casings that come pre-flushed and tubed on plastic sleeves. Makes life so much easier.

Hey, that's an unfair advantage! I thought that we were put on this earth to suffer a bit.
BTW, where do you get them casings?

Well, I'm on-line tonight to warn you about a major hazard. This afternoon, I was getting my Italian sausage ready to stuff, as well as a test batch of sausage for "Chorizo Corner." Beloved Wife comes charging in and says, "How about s'ketties for dinner? Hey- - is that the Italian sausage recipe that you mentioned? I WANT that." [grab]

I didn't have enough left to stuff. She fried it up and added it to the sauce. I sneaked a bit, and it tasted great. ...so I stuffed the chorizo instead, and pretended I was finishing my "Project B" assignment.

Beware! It could happen to you!

Hi Redzed, you wrote:

CW, fat estimate is not exactly scientific, but I think I'm close. I was working with 13lbs of carefully trimmed meat from a butt and loin, (probably 95% lean) and 4 lbs of fat with a bit of meat in it as well. So using simple math, I came up with 30%. One half of the meat was used for the Italian and and one half for my Hungarian Paprika sausage to which I also added 1.5 lbs of lean beef. Maybe a bit too much fat in the Italian, but what a tasty finish! It is probably on the "hot" side and I'm a bit concerned that it may not be for everyone, but after a day on the mountain trails they should be hungry to eat anything.

Hey Red, That is scientific enough and without an inspector`s electronic equipment, we must use simple math - nothing wrong with that. Heck, I was just curious. Fat is where the flavor is. In the United States, pork sausage can contain up to 50% fat. That`s why you often see a lot of grease in the bottom of the pan when you fry up commercial sausage - especially commercial breakfast sausage. On the other hand, in beef sausage, we are allowed to only use 30% maximum fat. You`ve made some great looking sausage pal, and I`m sure it is very tasty. My question is... did you learn anything while making it?

Best Wishes,
Chuckwagon

Thanks CW. As far learning something in making the Italian, of course I had a lesson the stuffing the thinner casings and will soak them differently next time. The recipe is excellent. I was happy with the addition of the chli flakes. But I might try using a 6mm plate rather than the 10mm for grinding, and will use less fat.

Off on a hiking trip to Whistler tomorrow morning. Will start working on the Kabanosy on the weekend. I bought an old all fridge and have the cold and hidity controller as well as a humidifier so I will be able to dry them properly. While I have eaten a lot of these tasty snack sausages, I have never made them. Will be using collagen casings for the first time.

I'm running behind on my project B assignments. Taking the day off from work today to run some errands. I plan to make the breakfast sausage as well. Got the sheep casings from Sausage Maker and will be using them for the first time
I have plenty of experience with the larger hog casings and collagen casings of several sizes so this will be an interesting exercise. Will report later tonight on the results.

I am behind as well in my sausage making, but I have been keeping updated with everyone else's progress. I will likely be making 3-4 different types all in one day when I am ready (which looks like Saturday at this point!)

tooth wrote:I am behind as well in my sausage making, but I have been keeping updated with everyone else's progress. I will likely be making 3-4 different types all in one day when I am ready (which looks like Saturday at this point!)

Are you a movie fan? I am reminded of the Ahnold Swartzeneggar movie where he returns to Mars disguised as a rather large woman, pulls the prosthetic head off when discovered, and the head says

"Get ready for a Big Surprise!"
...and then blows the place to shreds.

Take your time and go step-by-step, so there won't be too many "surprises." (Read that as "measurement mistakes, equipment malfunctions, forgetting to keep things cold, dropping clean utensils onto the floor, 'blow-outs,' [insert your own creative ones here!]" ) ...like I always make.

We're trained to view these as "learning experiences," and judging by that, I'm learning a lot!

Best of luck.

tooth wrote:I am behind as well in my sausage making, but I have been keeping updated with everyone else's progress. I will likely be making 3-4 different types all in one day when I am ready (which looks like Saturday at this point!)

I knew a butcher who backed into his bandsaw and got a little behind in his work.

Ross, I think I know that butcher, only it was the grinder here. He now sells "Finger Food"

Getting confused on the kabanosy recipe. Stan's says to cube the meat and add the cure and salt. Let it sit in the fridge for 72 hrs then grind and no mention of when you add the pepper,nutmeg, caraway. I would assume after the grind, before stuffing. So far I prefer the CW's cactus jack recipe. In reading that recipe, I would assume back off the 1 cup water as much as possible. You know what they say about assume it makes a ass-u-me. There must be different editions of Stanley Marianski book, my breakfast sausage recipe is on page 236 and Italian page 243, kabanosy page 259. The recipe I mentioned above is on the forum and different from the book I have. My solution is to fallow Chuckwagon's recipes on this forum.

grasshopper you should really presume the answers to questions and assume the leadership when the opportunity allows.

Tooth,
It`s good to hear from you. I`m glad you`re still reading the material. Three or four days will be fine, and I suspect many others will be grindin` and smilin` on Saturday too. Everyone has different time limitations and schedules. The last thing we`d like to do is rush anyone. Enjoy sausagemaking - don`t ever let it become a chore.

Grasshopper, I`ve got to ask Stan about the difference in pages when he returns from Poland. I`ll be sure to let you know what is going on.
I really enjoyed the photo you posted. I`m glad you like Cactus Jack`s version. Believe it or not, his real name was Fred and he wandered in from Alaska. I always thought the law might have been after him, but I never asked. Ol` Cactus Jack died a few years ago. I spent a lot of time with him and we rode together often. He liked "snack-stix" with as little water added to the recipe as possible. Later I found out why. The collagen casing won`t tolerate much water in the sausage or it will become gummy. Also, with less moisture in the sausage, the sticks will be ready to eat in as little as two days, once they have developed a pellicle. Thanks for your remarks Grasshopper! I very much appreciate your feedback. I realize that "purists" would faint if they saw us using collagen rather than sheep casings, but the danged things are just too expensive. A lot of folks just have trouble slappin` down two Andy Jacksons for one hank, and I`m one of them. However, I wanted those who could afford sheep casings, to at least try them in order to make up their own minds. I`ve enjoyed sheep casing all my life on many sausages. They are tender and pleasant - just can`t afford `em anymore. Each year, there are fewer and fewer folks interested in "manufacturing" them.

Best Wishes,
Chuckwagon