Homemade Sausage Making

Started some Landjager today. Going to be dry cured.

The dry ingredients


Bactoferm T-SPX
Assists in moisture removal and the breaking down of Nitrate into Nitrite for more efficient curing and will help lower aW.


7lbs. of ground pork, 3lbs. of ground 80/20 beef and 1/2lbs. of back fat.


Using the hand crank and stuffing into 35-38MM hog casings



Down to the basement to ferment for 3 days @ 58-62°F


And my patent pending Landjager press


After the three day fermentation they will get cold smoked (< 20° C, 68° F) for 3-4 hours to prevent mold growth.
Into the dry cure cabinet at 60-54°F, 85-80% humidity. In about six weeks a shrink of 30% should be achieved.

Just curious since you have that nice Hanna unit. What were the PH readings before and after fermentation?

redzed wrote:Just curious since you have that nice Hanna unit. What were the PH readings before and after fermentation?

Never took a reading at the start and fermentation is still happening so I really could not give you a answer

Devo wrote:

redzed wrote:Just curious since you have that nice Hanna unit. What were the PH readings before and after fermentation?

Never took a reading at the start and fermentation is still happening so I really could not give you a answer Image

Hmm, if you are no longer using the Hanna, I know a guy on the wet coast that would love to have one!

Devo

I love the Patent Pending Landjager Press!

Looking forward to seeing the results.

Mike

Devo,
While I'm sure this sausage will turn out wonderful, it is not really Landjager. It seems you used the recipe by Marianski. Real Landjager uses caraway seeds for the predominate spice which the Marianskis' have listed for their Kantwurst recipe.

Also, you should have achieved a 40% weight reduction in about 10 to 15 days. Just make sure you start checking the weights sooner than you think. While I like my LJ's on the drier side, most of my friends like 'em with more moisture.

Anyway, you will love the results, I've made both.

Also, when I get some time, I'll post a pic or two of my Landjager press which does 20 lbs at a time.

CW: how do I add umlauts to my posts? I keep wanting to add them over the 2nd "a" in Landjager.

Just so you know I DON'T LIKE CARAWAY SEEDS

Landjäger

On a PC (Windows):

Number Lock should be ON
Use the left-side ALT key (for most keyboards; try the right if it doesn`t work)
Hold down the ALT key and type a number on the number pad as follows (while holding the ALT key down). When you release the ALT key, you will have the following character:

ALT 0223 = ß
ALT 0228 = ä
ALT 0246 = ö
ALT 0252 = ü
ALT 0196 = Ä
ALT 0214 = Ö
ALT 0220 = Ü

Devo wrote:Just so you know I DON'T LIKE CARAWAY SEEDS

The strange case with me is that I always hated caraway seeds when I was a child and simply stayed away from anything tainted with the stuff for decades. In the last couple of years I have reluctantly used caraway in some of my sausage products and have discovered that as long as I don't over do it, caraway is wonderful! Amazing how our tastebuds evolve and mature!

Devo wrote:Landjäger

On a PC (Windows):

Number Lock should be ON
Use the left-side ALT key (for most keyboards; try the right if it doesn`t work)
Hold down the ALT key and type a number on the number pad as follows (while holding the ALT key down). When you release the ALT key, you will have the following character:

ALT 0223 = ß
ALT 0228 = ä
ALT 0246 = ö
ALT 0252 = ü
ALT 0196 = Ä
ALT 0214 = Ö
ALT 0220 = Ü

Thanks for the info. I doubt I'll remember next I need to do this.

As to caraway, I agree it's a spice not liked by too many. I tend to use it sparingly.

Caraway or not, I look forward to seeing these finished!


Kevin

Here's two pics of my LJ press. They are made from 1/2" plywood (the good stuff with no knots) and measure 24" x 48". The spacers are made from 1" x 2" strips with the thickness planed down to 5/8". This allows 20 lbs of LJ's to be pressed at one time.



I wiped all the surfaces that are in contact with the sausage using food grade mineral oil (like used for butcher blocks). Works great for me.

Can't wait to see the Landjäger coming out of that press.

The press looks very well made.

Had to look at the Landjäger today and check the PH with the Hanna PH meat tester. The reading as of this morning was 5.3, I really want it closer to 5.1 to be on the safe side so they will get another day before the cold smoke happens.

Heres a pic of how flat they are getting, think the press worked out OK

Devo,
I've found that T-SPX only gets the pH down to about 4.9 to 5.1 using the recommended times and temps. It does not produce a sourly product so don't expect pH below what I mentioned. Give it another day and you should be good to go.

BTW, your LJ's look great so far. Did you have much liquid that oozed out? I normally have some that does and it makes a mess with my presses.