Homemade Sausage Making

Hi I am going to make 25 lbs of hot dogs and was wondering how much water I can add to the mix? I am going to be stuffing them into sheep casing and was going to use a smaller horn and I just wanted stuffing to go easier. Also I was going to add non fat dry milk powder to the mix for a binder and was wondering how much of that to use? Thanks

Well this should give you some ideas on amounts. I made them once. Turned out OK.

http://lpoli.50webs.com/index_files/Hot%20Dogs-Rudy.pdf

You can add up to 3% of NFDM, maybe a bit less if you are using phosphates. And if you are adding NFDM and using beef, you could probably add 20% water. Beef will absorb water more than pork, and some formulations even call for 25% water. But 15% might be enough, so make the decision as you are emulsifying of fine grinding 2-3 times. Make sure that your meat is semi-frozen, and if you are grinding, refreeze between grinds. Rather than water, use crushed or shaved ice. The volume of ice is easy to convert to weight, as one litre of water weighs 1kg (1000g) so 15% would be 150g of ice.

Take a look at this formulation for amounts used. Rudy is quite meticulous in his creations so you could certainly take the proportions from him.
http://wedlinydomowe.pl/en/viewtopic.ph ... ht=wieners

It's been a while since I made hot dogs, and I have to make some soon. I bought a bowl chopper last spring but used it only twice!

It would be great if you could post your recipe and pics of the dogs.

I'm still a relative rookie with emulsions but for the batch of venison hot dogs I made last fall my notes show using 3% NFDM and 25% ice/water. Aside from some air pockets where the ice didn't completely melt during emulsifying they turned out great.

Great thanks a lot for the help guys!!