Difficulty Level of Making Sausage

oakville smoker · November 04, 2009, 09:56:49 AM

Hi all

Had my Bradley since about July. I was obsessed with making bacon and now I am making tons. I have smoked nearly every animal part that can be eaten LOL I just found a place to buy curing supplies and low and behold, I see a bunch of sausage making stuff. I srcatched my bacon itch ( I now have people lined up to buy whatever I will make ) and my new itch is sausage.

How difficult is this? Do I need to be a chemist? Do I need to invest a ton of money to do this? I have a Kitchenaide mixer and I am thinking I could buy the meat grinder attachment and stuffer as a start. I do have the professional pasta making accessories and they are great.

I dont even know what kind of sausage I want to make. Some tips and advise for a virgin sausage maker would be good as well.

FLBentRider · November 04, 2009, 10:04:14 AM

I've got the same itch, no time to scratch it.

I have the KA mixer grinder attachment and the stuffer.

I've used the grinder, I have not had a chance to use the stuffer. From what I hear using a grinder as a stuffer is not worth the effort.

The sausage I did make I just made up as bulk sausage, I did not have the stuffer attachment at that time.

I made the ginger pork sausage from Charcuterie, it was good, next time I'll cut back on the ginger a little. It was very strong.

Smokin Soon · November 04, 2009, 10:08:27 AM

Not difficult at all. It could be a very frustrating experience if you try to do it with attachments, as I did not have much luck with it. If you jump in with both feet it can be a bit pricey. I stocked up on all if the necessary supplies and equipment before even starting. A decent grinder and a stainless 5 pound stuffer is the way to go.

dbondy · November 04, 2009, 12:22:55 PM

Hi oakville smoker. I did my first batch of summer sausage last weekend, and it was easier than i thought it was going to be. As far as the attachments go for the kithaid, my buddy has the meat grinder and it works very good. He hasn,t tried to stuff with it yet. I still use an old number 10 hand grinder, its works ok but going to get a dedicated electric grinder soon. I also use a old stuffer that works great. Since I did that last batch of sausage , I can,t wait to try it again. I think a little investment in equiment is worth it, by the way my wife also agrees now since she try the summer sausage i made. I think she already gave 5lbs to her family. As far as tips go, these guys here are a great help and are full of info. I also have the Rytec book, if you go the sausage maker web site you can order the book or a dvd to help.
By the way can you tell me where you are getting your cure and sausage supplies. I live in southern Ontario and it seems hard to come by, unless I have it shipped from the US. The brookerage fees are a killer.

mikeradio · November 04, 2009, 12:45:40 PM

http://www.stuffers.com/

This is a good site I have ordered a number of items from them. They are in Vancouver BC.

Mike

dbondy · November 04, 2009, 12:50:49 PM

Thanks Mike I will check them out. ;D

Habanero Smoker · November 04, 2009, 02:11:32 PM

I have the KitchenAid meat grinder attachment and stuffer. The grinder works well if you are making batches of 5 pounds, and occasionally I've made 10 pound batches. I generally set if in the speed range of 5 - 7, depending how well the grinding is going.

The stuffer does not work well. After using it once I purchased a Dakota water stuffer, then a 5 pound verticle stuffer. The KitchenAid stuffer extrudes the sausage too slowly, and because it sits so high up your arms get tired. So if you use the stuffer it is easier if you have a double sink. Put the KitchenAid in one sink (if it fits), making sure the stuffing horn protrude over the other sink. This will bring the stuffer down to a more comfortable height.

oakville smoker · November 04, 2009, 02:21:21 PM

Dbondy

I too had trouble finding supplies.
Someone here told me a bout a place in Edmonton called Halford hide.
They are excellent and it does not cost more to ship the stuff than its woth.
Just moved about 20 pounds of goodies for about 20 bucks
Customer service is phemomenal as well

dbondy · November 04, 2009, 02:52:45 PM

Thanks oakville smoker, I will ckeck them out. :)

Caribou · November 04, 2009, 05:09:51 PM

Hi Oakville Smoker,
Do not be afraid to try sausage stuffing esp. with all the tech support you can glean from this forum and a great supply store to help.
I started making sausage because a friend got me the KitchenAid grinder and stuffer. I still use the grinder attachment but the stuffer attachment slowly drove me crazy because of slowness that HS mentions.
I now use a 5 pound LEM stuffer that I an very pleased with.
No, you don't need to be a chemist either :D
I have a BS in biochemistry and haven't applied it to sausage making yet ;)
Carolyn

HawkeyeSmokes · November 04, 2009, 05:22:42 PM

I would use the Kitchen Aid for grinding as I'm sure it would work well. For stuffing I agree with the others that using a small veritical stuffer is the way to go. Tried a grinder once for stuffing and did not work well for me.

oakville smoker · November 05, 2009, 03:55:00 AM

Oh the itch is geting worse now and the scratching woill happen soon.
I need education on this and will pick up a book or 2 to gain some more knowledge.
Thats not to say that the knowledge here is not abundant, but a book might be good and I'll bet it even has pictures !

I was looking at the Waring Pro Grinder / Stuffer. Looks like it might be a good entry point. The reviews are quite favorable. The price is not bad. Anyone have any experience with this machine or would I be wasting my money? I dont think the KA solution is going to work from comments so far.

Tenpoint5 · November 05, 2009, 07:56:39 AM

OS,
This website should be enough to get you started in scratching your itch. http://home.pacbell.net/lpoli/
I have the Grizzly 5lb vertical stuffer ($69) and a #32 Grinder ($50) that I modified into the most UNSAFE contraption you can ever use, but it works for me. Invest in a hand crank stuffer I will guarantee you it will be worth every penny considering the aggravation trying to use a grinder as a stuffer will cause you. AHH that's why they call it a Grinder not a Stuffer.

muzzletim · November 05, 2009, 08:00:34 AM

I agree 100% with TenPoint5.

OU812 · November 05, 2009, 08:15:16 AM

If you have an Kitchen Aid mixer the grinder attachment will work for a start with little invested. I still use mine when doing small batches of 5 lb or so. The first thing to invest in would be a stuffer, I have an 11 lb vertical with a motor and a foot switch to keep both hands free to deal with the sausage. Then as you learn and start making more and bigger batches move on to a grinder. If you really get into it then a mixer might be the next purchase, I only use my mixer when I do batches over 10 lb.

To get started there are many kits out there that have every thing in them and good directions to walk you through the whole proses. I have used the High Mountain kits with great results. Now I buy in bulk from Frisco Spices, cheaper that way. Then as you get more addicted you can buy all the additives to start from scratch and add your own taste to the sausage you make.

Good luck and most of all HAVE FUN