I know nothing other than what I've read and that typically leaves a few loose ends.
Here's where I am.
I have the KA stand mixer with grinder and stuffer. I've used the grinder but never the stuffer. I have the book Home Sausage Making. My daughter got me this kit: http://www.butcher-packer.com/index.php?main_page=product_info&cPath=210_211&products_id=346
I've read through this post from OS and found it helpful. http://forum.bradleysmoker.com/index.php?topic=12333.0 I'm in pretty much the same situation.
I'm looking for comments here.
The KA stuffer has 3/8 and 5/8 inch feed tubes. The collagen casing is something like 30mm. I'd assume I'd use the 5/8 inch stuffer. The 'instructions' such as they are, are for grinding 5 pounds of pork, mix in the seasoning, stuff and cook. I like simple but I'm wondering if there's a bit more to it.
Keep the casing dry? Add some oil or grease to the feed tube? Mix in some beef? The kit is for "Fresh Sausage" but it includes a Kielbasa mix. I never thought of Kielbasa as 'fresh'. Am I missing something?
Any help and explanations for this endeavor would be appreciated.
The casings - if they are natural, usually need to be soaked in water for about 1/2 hour, then rinsed off (inside and out). It's a good idea to keep a small 1" bubble of water on the inside of the casing while trying to get it on the horn, it makes it slip on much easier.
You don't need to use meat other than pork, but depending on the recipe you may want to.
Fresh sausage just means you need to cook it again. I have unsmoked fresh sausage (Italian & Polish), smoked fresh (Italian & Polish). Then there are the dry sausages like salami, summer, and pepperoni, these are the ones not considered fresh.
I'm sure NePaS will get you squared away - he's the sausage guru!
Sounds like the kit you have Arnie is for fresh sausages. If so, it really is grind, mix, stuff and cook.
The collagen casing are used dry. I have not used them, but use the largest tube for stuffing that they fit on easily. It will make stuffing easier with a larger tube.
Try a small batch with your Kitchen Aid to see how well it works stuffing for you. I used a grinder one time and it was slow.
And yes, kielbasa can be a fresh sausage. Made some many years ago and it was pretty good. Does seem like smoked is more common though.
Fresh sausage generally means uncured sausage. I use the KitchenAid grinder and it does a good job; but I never had a grinder to compare it with. With the KithenAid it is best to cut the meat in strips that are no wider then 1 inch, and set the speed to 6 or 7. This make the grinding go faster then trying feeding small cubes of meat through it. If you have the 5 quart or larger, you can use the KitchenAid to mix your sausage start with speed number 1, then increase it to #2 until the meat is well mixed and sticky.
Fresh sausage is non cured and usally non smoked. Grind, mix ingredients, stuff in casing or make patties, double wrap and freeze or cook and eat within 3 days of stuffing.
If the smoke is what you desire add some good liquid smoke to the mix.
In a sausage like your making i would use natural casings, Hog casings if your using pork.
Rinse well inside and out, soak in warm water 1/2 hour in a bowl and add 2 Tbs clear vinegar to the water (soak while getting things together) This will make the veins clear and give a better appearance in the finished sausage.
Good advice here with some great forum sausage makers.
nepas
Thanks for the advice guys. It does sound pretty simple. Any suggestions on the best cut of pork to use? I figured loin might be too lean. Maybe a butt or shoulder?
I have made sausage out of both butt and loin.
The butt is probably a better cut to use, but the loin is easier.
I've only used pork butt for sausages. I would think loin would need some extra fat added to it.
Ditto on the butt.
Yep, butt is best for sausage. Gives a good fat content. Or, if the price is right, buy pork blade steak (butt cut into steaks). Use a boning knife to remove the bone, cut into strips--I find the steaks quicker to cut up than a butt because its already sliced.
Beef Chuck roast is the pork butt equivalent.
Cutting into long strips is a great idea. It helps most grinders feed better.
I used the KA grinder attachment for several years, and it will grind about 1 lb a minute. Last year I upgraded to a Cabelas 1/2 hp Commercial. Wow. 25 lb in about 7 minutes.
KA grinder as a stuffer--I did that once, then got a Cabelas 11 lb stuffer. Grinders make really poor stuffers.
Yes, sausage is easy. Just remember, fresh means it doesn't go in the smoker. If you want to smoke sausage, you need to add a cure, such as Insta Cure #1 (the pink stuff) to keep bad things from growing as it slowly heats up to 152 deg.
One thing I do to simplify sausage making is I mix the spices into the meat before grinding. I add enough water to make it slimy, put it in the freezer for at least an hour, then grind. The grinder mixes the spice in real well. I've done this on every batch since '03, and it works great for me. The 3/4" by 3/4" by ~5" strips are small enough to let the spice mix in as the grinder plate does its thing. This may not work on bigger grinders w/ bigger meat chunks.
get smokin
drano
The main thing is to keep th emeat as cold as possible. The freeze partially then grind will make your grinding experience a whole lot easier. IMHO
Thanks again for the interest and advice.
It looks like this is the week. Fresh Boneless Pork Butt, $1.49. I may have to get a few of those puppies ;D ;D
Yep, very, very important.
Sounds like you got all the info and fixens to make your maiden voyage into sausage land. I will be waiting to see and here how things go for you my friend.
Follow up. I finally got around to the sausage. Thanks again everyone for your advice.
The 'kit' my daughter got me contained a number of seasoning packets good for 5 pounds of pork along with matching collagen casings.
I had hoped to get a couple of butts around 5 pounds each. No dice. So I got this monster (just shy of 10 pounds, boneless), thinking I'd make 2 batches.
(http://i738.photobucket.com/albums/xx21/ArnieMauer/Sausage1.jpg)
Cutting up about 5 pounds worth turned into 'work'. Eventually hand-mixed in the seasoning packet (sweet Italian) and it went into the fridge overnight.
(http://i738.photobucket.com/albums/xx21/ArnieMauer/Sausage2.jpg)
Got going today. I put the pork in the freezer for about 45 minutes while I got the KA grinder set up. The pork was partially frozen and the grinder worked well (coarse grind).
(http://i738.photobucket.com/albums/xx21/ArnieMauer/Sausage3.jpg)
I made a patty for taste-testing and put the ground pork back in the fridge. My wife and I thought the patty was great.
Then, disaster struck. The KA stuffer has two size tubes - too big and too small. The big tube wouldn't fit in the collagen casing. The small tube is more like for breakfast sausage. I had to use the small tube. My wife and I working together managed to turn out the equivalent of 2 links in about 15 minutes. We gave up.
So, the balance will turn into sausage patties and bulk sausage meat. Oh well.
That's terrible. You'd think they'd give you at least 3 sizes. Every grinder/stuffer I've bought I got 3. At least it didn't go to waste.
Did you smoke the two links you made?
At least you got a nice Butt to smoke! ;D
Every thing was sounding like a good day of sausage making till the stuffing tube shortage, one to big one to small, bummer.
I find that I tend to use Italion sausage more in bulk than as sausage links. I like to brown it and add to lasagna and spaghetti in place of the GB.
I hope this little set back dont keep you from making some more killer sausage.
What a hassle. I only used my KA stuffer once, but was using natural casings. But being innovative and having a second set of hands comes in handy. If you buy butt bone-in you need to purchase at least 7 pound to get a good 5 pounds.
One tip when you are using the grinder. Fit the KA bowl into a larger bowl, fill the area between the two bowls with ice, and position the bowls so when you grind the meat falls in the KA bowl.
Quote from: classicrockgriller on January 13, 2010, 01:24:09 PM
Did you smoke the two links you made?
At least you got a nice Butt to smoke! ;D
I didn't smoke 'em, they're fresh - no cure.
Yeah, I have half of the 'sausage' butt plus another 6+ pounder I got when they were on sale
Quote from: OU812 on January 13, 2010, 01:34:48 PM
I find that I tend to use Italion sausage more in bulk than as sausage links. I like to brown it and add to lasagna and spaghetti in place of the GB.
Actually, had some GB in the fridge. Added some of the sausage, browned it all up and added the tomatoes and spices. Had it with Penne pasta last night. It came out good and we still have enough sauce left for two more meals.
Quote from: Habanero Smoker on January 13, 2010, 01:53:38 PM
What a hassle. I only used my KA stuffer once, but was using natural casings. But being innovative and having a second set of hands comes in handy. If you buy butt bone-in you need to purchase at least 7 pound to get a good 5 pounds.
One tip when you are using the grinder. Fit the KA bowl into a larger bowl, fill the area between the two bowls with ice, and position the bowls so when you grind the meat falls in the KA bowl.
I agree that natural casings probably would have worked. Next time.
Thanks for the tip on the ice.
Arnie
Whens round two?
I'm really lookin froward to seein some sweet lookin sausage from ya.
Quote from: OU812 on January 14, 2010, 08:26:47 AM
Arnie
Whens round two?
I'm really lookin froward to seein some sweet lookin sausage from ya.
Thanks for the encouragement OU. I don't know when round 2 will be yet, but it sure won't be 5 pounds worth! I'll also use natural casings.
Arnie,
Try some Italian Sausage. I made up some sweet italian sausage last month and boy was it good! Stuffed some and left some bulk to use to make some sausage pies - boy they were tasty.
Before long, Arnie will be writing a Charcuterie book!
Quote from: Caneyscud on January 14, 2010, 12:11:36 PM
Arnie,
Try some Italian Sausage.
That's what it was.
Before long, Arnie will be writing a Charcuterie book!
It'll be the quickest read you ever had!
Well, today was round two. I've gained an awful lot of respect for you sausage makers based on my experience so far.
Used natural casing this time and it fit the larger of the two KA stuffer tubes. I used one pound of sweet Italian sausage mix to experiment with. It took some time but I got six sorta lumpy links out of it. I scraped, pushed and proded what was left in the machine out. Wow, 1/4 pound :( So, I had a 1/4 pound patty for lunch ;D
Cleanup took much longer than stuffing; sausage stuck in every nook, cranny and screw thread. Certainly doing a larger batch would improve the ratio of stuffing to cleanup time.
I'm proud of my lumpy links. At least you can tell they're home made ;D
Round three, probably next week.
You go Arnie...
I'm waiting in the wings... watching... learning....
FLBR,
I'm on the bench right next to you brother.
KyNola
To help clean the grinder run a couple of pieces of bread through it. Also an assortment of brushes really cuts down on the work of cleanup.
Thanks Habs. Boy, you know all of the tricks.
I just ordered the 5 pound LEM vertical. The KA stuffer goes into the trash.
I'm looking at casings from Syracuse Casing Co. They're up in your neck of the woods, sorta. Did you ever deal with them or hear of them?
Thanks
I've never purchased any casings from them through the internet. I believe they only sell casings, and I generally will buy my casings when I am ordering other supplies. You can buy a small 12 ounce tub of their hog casings in most major grocery stores in my area. The only problem I have with the packaging is that they don't give the casing size. They are well known for their quality.
I'm glad you are giving up on your KA stuffer.
Arnie, that stuffer will make you a stuffing machine in no time.
The KA is a good little grinder but aint worth a sh** for stuffing sausage.
The next time you make sausage you will ask your self
"self why didnt I get a stuffer sooner?"
Habs - I have the 12 Oz tub. My son-in-law picked it up at a grocery (Price Chopper I think). I was kind of flustered that it didn't even say what kind of casing it was let alone what size. It kinda looks like a ball of worms when you take it out; difficult to untangle. Is that the way they all come?
OU - I'm sure you're correct. But, it does add quite a bit of $/pound to the sausage ;)
Quote from: ArnieM on January 20, 2010, 03:36:17 PM
OU - I'm sure you're correct. But, it does add quite a bit of $/pound to the sausage ;)
As you make more sausage, the price keeps going down! :D
You will like that LEM stuffer. I've got the same one and it works great.
Like I say there is a reason the call it a grinder and not a stuffer!! You will love the vertical stuffer Arnie
Quote from: ArnieM on January 20, 2010, 03:36:17 PM
Habs - I have the 12 Oz tub. My son-in-law picked it up at a grocery (Price Chopper I think). I was kind of flustered that it didn't even say what kind of casing it was let alone what size. It kinda looks like a ball of worms when you take it out; difficult to untangle. Is that the way they all come?
OU - I'm sure you're correct. But, it does add quite a bit of $/pound to the sausage ;)
A new Super Wal-Mart was just built close by and I have checked that store, but Price Chopper and Shop Rite in my area sells them in the small tugs. I agree they are poorly labeled. I haven't looked at them in a while, but I thought I saw either the word pork, hog or pig on the label. The way you received them is the common way they package salt packed casing, but they should have been more like folded into the tub with some tangling. Where the ends starts is difficult to find, so it is easily to get them tangled up. I find if you let them get to room temperature, they untangle a little easier.
Quote from: ArnieM on January 20, 2010, 03:36:17 PM
OU - I'm sure you're correct. But, it does add quite a bit of $/pound to the sausage ;)
Just that expensive first batch. After that - free :D :D :D
Quote from: FLBentRider on January 21, 2010, 04:01:11 AM
Quote from: ArnieM on January 20, 2010, 03:36:17 PM
OU - I'm sure you're correct. But, it does add quite a bit of $/pound to the sausage ;)
Just that expensive first batch. After that - free :D :D :D
I'm with FL on that ;D.... It makes such a difference!
Quote from: deb415611 on January 21, 2010, 04:09:30 AM
Quote from: FLBentRider on January 21, 2010, 04:01:11 AM
Quote from: ArnieM on January 20, 2010, 03:36:17 PM
OU - I'm sure you're correct. But, it does add quite a bit of $/pound to the sausage ;)
Just that expensive first batch. After that - free :D :D :D
I'm with FL on that ;D.... It makes such a difference!
My wife said she'd better see PLENTY of sausage around here soon - draped over doorways, hanging from the ceiling fan, etc. :o
Quote from: ArnieM on January 21, 2010, 05:57:08 AM
hanging from the ceiling fan, etc. :o
Get pictures of that!
After that first high dollar batch of sausage, that will come out perfect, you guys will be pumping out some killer sausage and looking for more recipes.
Arnie
I had no place to hang the salami and pepperoni I made last Sunday
Being smarter than the average bear, I took over the laundry room
Emptied off the honkin dowells that are a make shift close line and voila, sausage central LOL
Talk about using the whole house
Now they are in the garage drying out a bit, they are both cooked but I like a firmer texture
I have to be thinking about how to better hang and and store this stuff
I saw a laundry hanger at Costo last week. Wife says that would make a good sausage hanger, wouldnt it ?
Things that make you go hmmmm
It just might happen, especially with my vertical stuffer in transit to me
HI OS,
Yeah, the clothes hanger may work for you. In my environment (3 cats) the sausage wouldn't last 20 minutes. Hmmm, maybe I could string some clothes line in the living room. :D
Quote from: ArnieM on January 21, 2010, 10:39:18 AM
HI OS,
Yeah, the clothes hanger may work for you. In my environment (3 cats) the sausage wouldn't last 20 minutes. Hmmm, maybe I could string some clothes line in the living room. :D
How many bathrooms you have?
Make 'shower curtains' out of them and close the doors..
Now sausage curtains is a hell of an idea
Arnie;
Yesterday I was at Price Chopper. I could not believe my eyes, they made the packaging worse then I last looked at them. As you stated, there is no labeling to indicate what type of casings they are. Not a good way to do business.