Homemade Sausage

Just did up my first batch and it is fabulous! I just did fresh sausage and will eventually get into cured, but you have to start somewhere. SWMBO and I went over to a local sausagery (if that is a word) and picked up some casings, Jalepeno sausage and a smoked pigs ear for the dogs. Then we went to the grocer and grabbed about 4.5lbs of pork butt. At home we chopped up the meat and threw it in the freezer to make grinding easier. Then we ground it nice and course, added a bunch of seasonings and then stuffed them into the casings. Then we vac sealed eight, bagged up another ten and then hopped on the bikes to the inlaws and gave them a good quantity. Super delicious and relatively easy.

Here is a picture of the finished and soon to be frozen links.

We make moose Italian sausage all the time. I have a killer book by Rytek Kutas "Great Sausage Recipes and Meat Curing".. .just cut back on the salt in all his recipes.

yum.

looks good, making my my mouth water

I followed the recipe from the home sausage making cookbook. It turned out well, but I have to say that we were like, the recipe is good and we will make it better. We added more meat, more salt, more seasoning, and different flavors. Fresh sausage tastes good! I think that we could make some fantastic aged sausage with the space that is cool. Need to make a space that is cool and then we will worry about the aging.

For anyone thinking about it, you should do it. It tastes great and all it really is is ground pork with flavoring. Then you put the flavored meat in the casing and you call it sausage, otherwise it is sausage patty.

What kind of sausage is it? And what did you use to stuff the casings?

As a hunter of many years, I enjoy making sausage (Hot, Breakfast, Blood and Brat) each year using a portion of the venison we harvest. It is surprising how easy it is once you understand what needs to go into the recipe and the equipment (minimal) you need.

I think now that you have made your first batch of sausage, it will be like your first batch of beer........ many more will follow.

Salute!

I agree, it will be like the beer. I am for sure going to make more in the future. I don't know what to call it, but I call it excellentsausage. It is kinda Italian and kinda not. So if you make your own, then it tastes great. If not then...

Store bought sausage can not compare to what you make yourself. That is unless you have a really great Butcher or Meat Market in your area. I typically have 20 to 40 lbs. of sausage frozen per year and usually I am running low by the time the new hunting season opens up.

Congrats on your first batch.

Salute!

Thanks sir, thanks.

I missed adding that I used hog casings, about 5ft worth. I used my kitchen aide mixer attachment and would totally tell people to get it for a good starter kit. If I ever had to do up more than just a weeks supply, I would invest in a more industrial type of grinder and stuffer. I remember using one that was a ninety degree bend and had a large handle on it and was a super stuffer. Blew the casings if you pushed too hard.

The Kitchen aide attachment is just fine, though if you look really closely you can see that the name of the sausage is Breakup Sausage because SWMBO and I always argue and get angry with each other when we cook stuff together. So be patient with whoever is helping you out and know that it only goes so fast. We took about two hours from the time we got home from the market till we had sausage in the foodsaver.

I have the KA attachments too. I use the grinder all the time and have made loose sausage but never used the stuffer. I had heard it really sucks. I am considering just buying a vertical stuffer.

I wouldn't say that it sucks all that much. It is just a nipple that you put on the grinder attachement. The only problem that I had was it didn't all just flow right out, air pockets kept happening and then SWMBO would push the sausage in and when she pulled out the stuffer wand, it would pull the sausage out too and then more air would get in.

Honestly, it takes practice to get the skill level to a point where the sausage flows properly and fills the casing. Busted or ruptured cases are something we all fight with. Air pockets may be caused by the size of your grind or the ratio of fat to lean meat. Try going one disc size down the next time. Also if your mixture is too cold, it will not flow properly through the machine (KA and other major brands experience quirks).

Salute!

The main problem I have heard about the KA stuffer is it the meat slipping on the screw and not going smoothly into the casing. I guess since I have I really ought to just give it a shot. Worst case I end up with loose sausage like I normally make.

there you go! It is way way better than getting the store bought stuff as it is litterally fresh.