My Virgin Journey into Sausage Making (long with clickable pics)

[standles]

Well thanks to all you folks I got an itch and had to scratch it.   I decided to collect the tools of the trade and expand my abilities with the Bradley smoker.   First up was a 15# batch of andouille.   Below I kinda walk through it and sprinkle in lessons learned and concerns.   Sad part is I have not had a chance to make the red beans and rice yet.

Feel free to offer constructive criticism.  Next Upppppppppp   Snack Sticks.

BTW there is a question at the end for ya'll.  Kinda make you look at my whole post LOL!

Thanks, Steven




Well we needed something to stuff this mess into so I went with the old standby it seems.   Little did I know what horror lay in that little bucket.



I have seen cats playing with yarn and thought it was cute.  No More!   ;D



Patience tested I ended up with several little neat piles.   Two of which (coming from the longest hog on earth) I used the rest I repacked in Kosher Salt.  

Lesson Learned: A little bit of water helps them slide.



All snug in their little bucket to soak overnight.    Now on to meat prep.



1 of 2 pork butts (on sale for .99cents per pound) to disassemble.



Now deboned and chunky style.



A grinding we will go.. A grinding we will go...   Man I am glad I am not hand cranking this ting.  This is the northern Tools grinder.

Lesson Learned:  If I had it to do over again I would go ahead and buy the #22 stainless model.  This is cast AL with carbon Steel Plates.  It did not like the dishwasher nor the soak in Clorox water which forced a rewash.  Notice the dull grey color.   The plate I learned how to CLEAN RUST  from it early in my career.



Sausage Maker Seasoning with Insta Cure #1 and Soy Protein in it ready to go.



All mixed by hand because I DID NOT want to clean the mixer I bought.  I was cleaning burnt out by this time.



And here we go..  Getting the feel of the stuffer and how much tension to hold.  Also trying to get a feel for strength of the casing.  

Lesson Learned:  This would be much easier with 2 folks.   Also buy Butcher paper that is poly coated.  The paper only stuff gets wet and sausage sticks to it.  Eventually I had to replace it as it was pilling up and getting on the sausage as I slid it across.



Sad first attempt with under filled casing and other issues.  Still good in soup though.







By the third 5# load into the stuffer I was getting fairly good consistent stuffed casing.   NO BLOWOUTS until the last 6 inches.   I was trying to stuff the last bit into a casing rather than just save it and fry for breakfast the next morning.



Loaded up in the smoker.  I used a rack inverted and hog rings (unclamped) to hang the sausage from.  2 hours at 120 degrees to dry to a tacky feeling.  The 2 hours of hickory at 150 degrees followed by an increase to 170 and wait till internal temp hit 152.  Pulled and cooled.

Lesson Learned:  Get some dang sticks next time.  easier and my way the sausage touched to much  affecting smoking.



And the final product ready for vacu packing.   I lost 5 pounds before I even got it out of the smoker.  Dang nosy buddies of mine. ;D

Lesson Learned:  Prick the sausages to let air out.  I did not and had some casing separation issues.


Now a question for you guys..



Is this the same as Fermento?  I thought I read where Fermento was a buttermilk culture.  Thoughts?

[marauder11]

The fermento i have from THE SAUSAGE MAKER is made from cultured whey protien and cultured skim milk. Hope this helps.

[NePaSmoKer]

Nice job there with the sausages.

And yes you can use buttermilk powder. I use 5 oz to 10 pounds of meat


nepas

[Habanero Smoker]

Nice work. Another thing that helps the casings slide over the tube easier is to switch to stainless steel tubes. I've just started to change my plastic tubes to stainless steel and found a big difference in how they slide on.

Powdered cultured buttermilk is the same as fermento. If it wasn't for shipping fermento is a better deal, then buying powdered buttermilk in small containers at the grocery store. If you have to restock, Sausage Maker is offering free shipping for all orders over $125.00. The offer ends 12/31/09.

[BigFella]

Looks good!  What stuffer do you have there?

And for those that are "in the know" am I better off investing in a stuffer with a foot pedal?  Or can the wife just crank for me? :)

[standles]

Thanks for the feedback guys. Hopefully I can do the taste trials this wekend with some gumbo or red beans and rice.    

Big Fella:  The stuffer is the 5# version from northern tools.   I wanted to get in cheap as possible but still have functional equipment.   The stuffer worked good.  I had one issue where the oring slipped while in use.  Sausage oozed out.  A quick clean and lube solved the problem.

I definitely will upgrade the grinder and look for a quality slicer for other things.

Steven

[drano]

Steven,

Wow, looks like you aced it on your first batch!  Gonna be tough to improve w/that kind of success. ;D

Yea, toys make the job even easier.  I started w/ a Kitchen Aid mixer grinding attachment for several years, but went straight to a Cabelas 11 lb commercial grinder after about 2 attempts using the mixer grinder to stuff.
Last winter I got the Cabelas 1/2 hp commercial grinder.  Wow, its great. 
As you progress thru your purchases, ask where you want to be in the long run, so you can minimize intermediate upgrades.
get smokin
drano

[Hopefull Romantic]

That looks great. I cant wait to get my stuff from Cabela to start.

HR

[standles]

Well I discovered another cruel twist of sausage making.

I now have none of my big batch.  After I gave a few pcs away for a tasting panel I was descended upon by "friends".   I am now going to have to make another batch  since my 6 month supply came no where near that.

At least Christmas Presents were easy this year :)


Again, thanks for all the help form everyone and this forum.

Steven