Homemade Sausage Making

Devo wrote: If you knew the price of pork around here you would choke. And don't even try to buy prime rib. I would have to sell my house
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Yea I hear Ya Devo. At least pork came back down around here I just ordered some butts at 1.79 lb...last summer they were up to 2.90.

Beef is out of site!!!!!

As I mentioned earlier, I bought 10 boneless pork butts at the Bellingham Cash and Carry for 1.57. Today I will be processing them by removing the coppa cut from each, will cure two coppas, brine one for a Polish baleron (cottage ham), and vac pac and freeze the remaining seven. In about a month I'll cure another two. As for the rest of the meat from the butts, I cut it up, classify and vac pac Class I in 2kg portions, Class II in 1.5kg. portions and Class III in 1kg portions. I also save the trimmings with significant connective tissue and emulsify it and add it to sausage. Cuts with connective tissue have excellent binding properties and actually taste good. That way, very very little of the pork butt goes into my green bin.

Red, about the Class I, II, and III - you know doubt use your experience with your Dad to be able to do that by eye - but what about is green horns? Tell us more, please

redzed wrote:As I mentioned earlier, I bought 10 boneless pork butts at the Bellingham Cash and Carry for 1.57. Today I will be processing them by removing the coppa cut from each, will cure two coppas, brine one for a Polish baleron (cottage ham), and vac pac and freeze the remaining seven. In about a month I'll cure another two. As for the rest of the meat from the butts, I cut it up, classify and vac pac Class I in 2kg portions, Class II in 1.5kg. portions and Class III in 1kg portions. I also save the trimmings with significant connective tissue and emulsify it and add it to sausage. Cuts with connective tissue have excellent binding properties and actually taste good. That way, very very little of the pork butt goes into my green bin.

OK you bought pork BUTTS
Coppa is a muscle of the pork right behind the back of the head, at the top of the shoulder. Lets get this right for those who don't know. I'm I missing a page on cutting up pork??
Most pork butts dont have this cut from what I have seen

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=utfdbqCVmyE

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-FQ61QZM9Gg

http://curedmeats.blogspot.ca/2007/10/c ... t-one.html

Hope this helps Devo!

Shuswap wrote:Red, about the Class I, II, and III - you know doubt use your experience with your Dad to be able to do that by eye - but what about is green horns? Tell us more, please

Hi Phil, it's all here:

http://www.meatsandsausages.com/sausage ... on/classes

It's a very good system, and Polish recipes use it. So a sausage recipe would say 3kg Pork Class I, 1.5 Pork Class II, 1kg beef Class II, etc. In some recipes it is also stipulated from what part of the carcass the meat class is to come from. Much better system in maintaining consistency and integrity of the sausage than instructions like "5lbs of butt" or "3lbs of fat pork". My dad has his own system when he prepares meat for sausage. He almost always uses pork picnics and divides it into Class I, and all the other classes go into the same lub. The meat is cured for 48-72 hours then Class I is ground through a 12mm plate and the rest through a 6mm plate. He made several hundred pounds of sausage before this past Christmas and will be 91 this year.

Red
Pork butts around here don't have that cut and if you want that cut than you have to go to a butcher shop which costs you a lot so you might as well just ask him to cut you out a coppa.

redzed wrote:He made several hundred pounds of sausage before this past Christmas and will be 91 this year.

No pressure there, eh Chris Thanks for the link

Devo wrote:Red
Pork butts around here don't have that cut and if you want that cut than you have to go to a butcher shop which costs you a lot so you might as well just ask him to cut you out a coppa.

If it is a whole pork butt then it has to have the top (neck) part. But for the life of me I don't know why retailers in Canada don't sell whole pork butts. And this is strange since dishes such as pulled pork have become so popular. In the US they are available in every grocery store. Here I see them in on the shelves in portions and sold as pork shoulder roasts and pork shoulder "steaks". If you have a good eye you can sometimes buy a coppa cut as a pork shoulder roast. I did that a few time when they were on sale. I have also bought whole butts from a local wholesaler, they come in a case of four packs with two butts in each pack, weighing around 65-75 lbs. But they were pricey. Now for sausage, I buy American pork picnics by the case from Costco.

Shuswap wrote:

redzed wrote:He made several hundred pounds of sausage before this past Christmas and will be 91 this year.

No pressure there, eh Chris Thanks for the link

Well they say addictions are hereditary.

Ya thats another thing I wish we had here. No Costco Stores with in 500 miles. Hell we just got Walmart like about 8 or 9 years ago.

Its been two weeks since I put the coppa in a vac sealed bag to equalize. Cut it open this morning and it smelt wonderful. Used the the big hobart to slice some thin slices. After taking the pictures I ate one and just could not stop eating the rest. The slices where so creamy and just melted on my tongue. I still think it could have gone a bit longer drying out but all in all I'm very pleased with the turn out.

Devo, that coppa looks perfect. Brilliant colour and no dry rim! I'll be right over!

redzed wrote: I'll be right over!

Better have your long johns on as it's -33°C with the wind chill

When we lived on Vancouver Island we only used long johns for Christmas styockings

Devo,
That Coppa looks great. Make 2 or 3 next time, from experience I can tell you that the first one always disappears in a couple of days. Did you like the Len Poli spice combination?
Cheers,
Jan.