Ready to Make Sausage!

I've got a grinder (KA attachment), a 5# vertical stuffer, and some random casings showing up tomorrow. I even bought a better knife.

I can't wait. I think I'll be cutting a boston butt, freezing it, adding spices, grinding it (maybe twice, dunno yet), then stuffing in various casings.

I will probably split the meat into a traditional brat recipe and an Italian sausage recipe.

I'll take pictures. It will undoubtedly be a disaster.

Thanks you f-ers for getting me into this. I place most of the blame on the upcoming carnage on this HBT thread.

Don't actually freeze the meat. You only want it to start to get a little crunchy.

You'll want the meat semi-frozen. If you freeze it, let it thaw about half way.

A lot like brewing your first batch of beer, it will probably be the best you've ever tasted, but maybe a little different than you expected until you tweak it to your taste.

Remember, too that sausage needs some fat, so don't trim the fat off of that puppy.

Moose

(nodding in agreement)... don't freeze it.

Also.. with the KA attachment, I've found it is a lot easier to run a butt through it if you cube the pork up into pretty small cubes (maybe 1 inch cubes).

For italian... andouille... even breakfast sausage, I just run the butt through the larger cutter once. That seems like a good enough grind.

Thanks guys. I'm hoping my casings are on my doorstep right now.

I'm lucky, I actually have two grocery stores within a mile of my house that carry casings.

That said... my Instacure 1 and instacure 2 are being delivered to my doorstep tomorrow morning!!

I tried my local Publix (grocery) and no luck. I'll keep asking around, but my casings did show up today!

I also got some Mortons Tender Quick, which is 0.5% Sodium Nitrite, and 0.5% Sodium Nitrate. I'm not sure I'll even mess with this as I'm going to refrigerate my stuff, but I bought it for a possible pepperoni or something. Yea, I've no idea what I'm doing but I can tell you it will be fun, and messy.

Get the book Charcuterie and read it

(nodding in agreement again).

Dataz is wise in the ways of sausage. Adhere to his advice.

Got that book for xmas and its tremendous... hence the instacure 1 and instacure 2 coming tomorrow. Five lbs of each.

5 lbs each? Good lord man! Plan on making a lot of sausages? I think you should send me some.

"1 lb. Insta Cure™ will process approximately 480 lbs. of meat."

How much ****ing sausage are you going to make?

I dont wanna run out.

Friggin' sausage fest at Cape's house. As per usual.

And I heard something about a bird bonin' party earlier.

I'm a little afraid to go to Utopias 3 now....

dataz722 said:

Get the book Charcuterie and read it

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Yep, it's on my wish list. I don't buy many books anymore since my Kindle, so I don't get the regular shipments from Amazon.

Also, the one from the Kytel or Rytel or similar book. Those two seem to be the favorites.

passedpawn said:

Yep, it's on my wish list. I don't buy many books anymore since my Kindle, so I don't get the regular shipments from Amazon.

Also, the one from the Kytel or Rytel or similar book. Those two seem to be the favorites.

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You mean this one? It is on my list to get soon but I haven't read it yet. I have heard some mixed reviews about it. My understanding is that is just sausage and mainly just recipes too. Charcuterie is about all sorts of meat processing and also much more info and knowledge than just recipes.

dataz722 said:

You mean this one? It is on my list to get soon but I haven't read it yet. I have heard some mixed reviews about it. My understanding is that is just sausage and mainly just recipes too. Charcuterie is about all sorts of meat processing and also much more info and knowledge than just recipes.

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Yes, that one. Rytek, I believe, is the purveyor of TheSausageMaker website and online store, which was referred to above.

There's always a better and worse book, but where obsession is concerned there are never too many books :rockin:

dataz722 said:

You mean this one? It is on my list to get soon but I haven't read it yet. I have heard some mixed reviews about it. My understanding is that is just sausage and mainly just recipes too. Charcuterie is about all sorts of meat processing and also much more info and knowledge than just recipes.

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Actually the Rytek Kutas book has as much about other meat processing as it does sausage making. I would bet that it and Charcuterie are nearly the same book, probably not necessary to have both (although I do want to look at Charcuterie).

Moose

MenkeMoose said:

Actually the Rytek Kutas book has as much about other meat processing as it does sausage making. I would bet that it and Charcuterie are nearly the same book, probably not necessary to have both (although I do want to look at Charcuterie).

Moose

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Hmmm, then, which one has better pictures? I love pictures of food. I almost ALWAYS choose the recipes with pictures from my cookbooks.

Hardly any pictures in the Rytek Kutas book, and the few that are there are in black and white.

passedpawn said:

Yes, that one. Rytek, I believe, is the purveyor of TheSausageMaker website and online store, which was referred to above.

There's always a better and worse book, but where obsession is concerned there are never too many books :rockin:

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Exactly, and I do plan on buying Rytek.

Sausagemaker.com does seem to have kind of high pricing to me on many things. I haven't really heard anything good nor bad about that spice kits but I do want to try at least a couple though.

MenkeMoose said:

Actually the Rytek Kutas book has as much about other meat processing as it does sausage making. I would bet that it and Charcuterie are nearly the same book, probably not necessary to have both (although I do want to look at Charcuterie).

Moose

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Ok, I was just saying what I heard about it.

MenkeMoose said:

Hardly any pictures in the Rytek Kutas book, and the few that are there are in black and white.

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Charcuterie doesn't really have many good pictures either. From what I remember those it does have look hand drawn for the most part.

Cape Brewing said:

(nodding in agreement again).

Dataz is wise in the ways of sausage. Adhere to his advice.

Got that book for xmas and its tremendous... hence the instacure 1 and instacure 2 coming tomorrow. Five lbs of each.

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data loves his sausage!

claphamsa said:

data loves his sausage!

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What are you doing here? You don't even cook. This isn't the sausage fest you were thinking when you read the title.

Not too many pics in Charcuterie either, but Michael Ruhlman and Brian Polcyn have a proven track record. This book is inspirational. I got it about two years ago and every once in a while, I pull it out and try something new. I have done the house made bacon a few times, Merguez, Italian, pastrami, and a few others.

The recepies in the book are solid which is unusual for a cookbook. Believe it or not.



AND: you should read a bit about the procedure before you give it a go. It takes a good bit of time, and is not cheap, and it would really be a bummer to make mealy, stick to your tounge, flavorless poop in a casing for your first effort.

Luck, and ask questions.

Well, I think the major ideas I've gleaned from this site, and others, are:

• Fat helps. Choose a cut of meat that makes good sausage. 20% fat is right, and a boston butt is a good cut for that.
• Cold meat grinds. Warm meat is a mess.
• Stuffing is a 2-person job. Lube the casing. Take your time. Prick if air pockets have formed.
• Add spices before grinding as it helps to mix them better
• Keep meat cold.

I am a great acceptor of failure, and I don't give up easily. I'm also an obsessive studier, so you can believe I've done a bit of research on this. I do wish I had bought a book, but I'm just gonna jump in and get my mistakes out of the way on a 3.5# half-but. Any further info anyone has, please!

On-On!

Make a test patty and fry it up before you do the stuffing to check flavor and seasoning.

Once you have ground the meat, be sure to stir/beat/mix it with a bit of ice water to create the emulsification.

Sean said:

Once you have ground the meat, be sure to stir/beat/mix it with a bit of ice water to create the emulsification.

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Not all sausages are an emulsified type. The ice water is actually more for keeping the meat mixture cold while you're processing it. Most of the sausage I make isn't emulsified and yet Ice water is added. Actually, I usually mix the spices into the ice water and then mix it all together by hand.

PP, it sounds like you have a solid understanding, and you're going to make some great tasting sausage! Just have fun and... Don't Worry, Have A Home Brew, and a Home Wurst!

Moose

You're right, not all are emulsified type. Sloppy terminology on my part. But the beating with ice water is also important for developing the texture and cohisiveness of the sausage. It can mean the difference between a meatloaf like texture or a firm sausage like texture.

Not lookin for a debate by any means but I never keep my ground meat chilled in an ice bath or anything like that. I dont think the constant chilling is a BAD thung by any stretch but I'm not convinced it is 100% needed either. I never do it an my sausage always comes out with a great consistancy and not mushy at all.

At the end of the day, making sausage really isnt rocket science. Ya try a few recipes, you fund some you like, others you don't. You tweak some, you learn little short-cuts... It's not hard.

RDWMSS (relax dont worry and make some sausage).

Also, I've never had two people for stuffing the casings. Again, its not that hard. I alao dont use casing lube... Warm water works fine for me.

Oh... And one last thing... On the Boston Butt.. Leave the fat cap rught on it and grind up the fat with it. Dont toss all of that great fat away!

Cape Brewing said:

Also, I've never had two people for stuffing the casings. Again, its not that hard. I alao dont use casing lube... Warm water works fine for me.

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My daughter is a foodie... I don't think I could keep her away, so it'll be a 2-person job. Regarding lube, yea, I'm using warm water too.

Dropped off boy at soccer practice and picked up 6.7# bone-in Boston butt. Cut out bone, diced into 1" squares. In fridge now. Will be curing and freezing in the next day or two to prepare for grinding.

Is $1.99 per # a decent price? This is our most expensive grocery, so I assume not.

Some pics for the voyuers:

For a grocery store 1.99 isn't bad at all. I always get mine at BJ's and their prices just went up a few weeks ago. I think it is either 1.29 or 1.39 now. It used to be .99.

They took the fat cap off! Bastids. Grocery stores will do that sice most people dont want the fat. BJs (thats where I get mine too) leaves it on cause they're hard core.

Passedpawn... What kind of sausage are you making?? For brats and italian... Not sure you need a cure. I've never used one for sausage i am not dry-aging.

For my andouille, i make it fresg, toss it in the smoker, refridgerate it and then cook it within a few days (or freeze it)

Brats and italian don't need any cure. Just meat and seasoning.


Cape, have you ever bought a full case of butts at BJ's? I have heard they will do a discount and am looking to be buying a case soon.

I havent. All i have done is the twin-packs.

My cure was supposed to show up today and then i have two other guys who are going to a hard core butcher shop with me soon. We're getting pork bellies (for bacon an pancetta) a pile of butts for assorted sausage and i havent decided what else.

I think the fat cap was on there. There was a 1/3" thick layer of blubber on the bottom of it. I chopped it up. It's in there.

I baked the bone for 20 minutes and the dog is chomping on it outside right now.

passedpawn said:

I think the fat cap was on there. There was a 1/3" thick layer of blubber on the bottom of it. I chopped it up. It's in there.

I baked the bone for 20 minutes and the dog is chomping on it outside right now.

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I bet he loves you right now.