1st try at making sausage

[Sailor]

I received my grinder last week and my stuffer came today so I thought I would make up some sausages to grill.  I wanted to make 5lb of Hot Italian and 5lb of Garlic.  I went to a butcher and I asked for enough casing to make 20 pounds and he came out with a plastic tub and said 4 bucks.  I paid him and thought that it was pretty expensive but I wanted to make sausage today.  I bought a picnic shoulder for $1.04 a pound and when I got home I proceeded to carve it up.  It was a 13 lb shoulder and I figured that would be plenty to make 10 pounds.  Wrong!  When it was all carved up and cut up in chunks I had 5 1/2 pound of meat.  That bone was heavy.  So that 5 1/2 pounds cost me about $2.70 per pound plus all the time it took to butcher it.  I run to Publix and talk to the meat manager and he does not have any ground pork but said he would grind me some.  He ground 5 lbs and charged me $1.79 per pound.  That is $1.00 less than what I paid for the shoulder plus all the work to cut it off the bone and to grind it.

I mix my spices for each batch and start with the Hot Italian.  Load the new stuffer and and thread the casing onto the tube.  What?  only 1 long casing?  I figure I will just cut the casing when I am finished with the Hot Italian and pull off the remainder and retread for the Garlic.  

That one casing was just enough to make my 5 lbs of Hot Italian.  I got 20 links out of that 1 casing using my 5lbs of meat.  Had to vac seal the other 5lbs and now wait until my casings that I ordered arrive.  I don't think I will ever do business with that meat market again and I do think that I will give him some free advertising.

New stuffer.  I am excited to try it out.



New grinder and finished with what I thought would be 10 lb of meat.


Ready to go into the fridge overnight.


I have a lot to learn about stuffing but as I finished up the last pound or 2 I started to get the hang of it.  I fried up what was left in the stuffer and it was pretty good.  

[squirtthecat]

My first attempt is coming soon...   I've got the same stuffer in my attic, and a very similar grinder in the trunk of our 'winter' car.  (doubles as a POD)

Looking forward to hearing how yours turn out!

[drano]

Sailor,

Looks like you're off to a great start!  I don't use real casings, but from what I've read, soaking them in a bit of vinegar will help remove the veins (or whatever the thread-looking stuff is on the casings).  They still taste the same, but some like to improve the looks.  If I've got this wrong, no doubt a natural casing guy will straighten me out soon.  

You'll love sausage.  Fresh, smoked, snack sticks, etc.  Its all great.  Do you have Great Sausage Recipes and Meat Curing by Rytek Kutas?  If not, its a great book to have.  Gives the background of making sausage, and has lots of recipes.  

If you don't want to stuff casings, you can buy egg cooking rings at cooking stores, or hamburger patty formers, and form patties.  Buy patty separating plastic/wax paper sheets, stack them up, wrap them up, and throw in freezer.   Takes time, but cheaper than casings.  And no stuffer to clean in the end.  

get smokin
drano

[NePaSmoKer]

Rinse the casings and run water through them Place casing in cool water with 1/4 cup vinegar for 30 mins. Mix your meat the last 10 mins of your soak. If you mix before the 30 mins the salt and spices will start to bind the meat and make it harder to crank thru the stuffer.

Have fun  ;D

[Sailor]

I may have screwed this up and want to make sure what I made will be edible.  That casing that the butcher gave me was in a liquid.  I put it in a bowl and rinsed with warm water several times but I did not run water thru the casing.  I did not soak in vinegar either.  Should I pitch the batch because I did not rinse the inside of the casing?  What a learning experience  for me.  When I pay for an education I seem to remember very well.  LOL

Another question since I don't yet have a Bradley is it possible to put the links in the oven at 190 degrees until the IT is 152?  I did not put cure #1 in the mix so I am a bit concerned if doing an oven cook will be safe.

[classicrockgriller]

What you made is probably considered "fresh" sausage.

I think it would be safer to cook over a hot fire or on top of stove in a skillet.

You can freeze them as is and cook latter using the fast high heat method.

I'm sure someone else will chime in here.

[Quarlow]

From what I have been reading sofar, what you made is considered fresh sausage like Sonny said. Which is fine but you should not try to smoke it for finished product. Don't quote me but you could smoke them on high heat if you are going to cook them right away. Otherwise you can cook them on the stove or whatever method (grill) or you can vacpac and freeze to cook later. My brother and I just got the same stuffer but with a different name on it (Princess Auto) and a heavy duty hand crank meat grinder. I got the hand crank kind cause I think I can rig a motor to it later on like I seen someone else do and it gives me something to tinker with. So next weekend which is a long weekend(victoria day) for us will see us making sausages also. I have to go get casings and I am going to p/u rytek's book too. Good luck with your sausages.

[Habanero Smoker]

They look better then my first try. You may want to get something that has a point on it and prick the sausage where you see air bubbles or pockets. It makes the sausage look better when it is cooked, or if you freeze them raw it will prevent freezer burn in those areas. I have a sausage pricker, NePas uses an corn cob holder, toothpicks work well also.

It is unsafe to roast them at 190°F. I make fresh sausage most of the time, because I often don't like the way sodium nitrite alters the taste; so I rarely smoke sausage. The lowest safe temperature is 225°F, but I have had very good luck roasting sausage in an oven at 350°F until they reach 150°F - 152°; this will make brown and serve sausage. Or I will also saute them on a low flame, or simmer them in 180°F water until they reach 152°F (yes! 180°F water - it has to do with the way heat is conducted through water vs air). The cooking method I use depends on the sausage and how I intend to use them in the future. Freezing them as they are and cooking them later is also fine.

Fresh casing packed in brine are always more expensive then by buying them in hank (bundle). They save you a lot of prep work, but on the other hand that was about 11 feet of casing. Also Sausage Maker mentioned in one of their newsletter about the price of casings going up. Not rinsing the inside of the casing is alright, the sausage may be a little on the salty side.

Only getting 5 1/2 pounds out of 13 pounds of shoulder is unusual. You must have purchased a whole shoulder with the skin on. I don't use fat back, and I generally use the fat that I trim from the butt area (not from the picnic area) so I don't have as much loss.

[Sailor]

Yep, the picnic had the skin on. It was an education for sure.  Thank you all for the replies as I gleaned a lot of information.  It is one thing to read the forums and thinking that you have an understanding than to really be doing it and learning that you really have no clue.  I will heat some up today and post the photos.

[pensrock]

I always use pork 'butt' not a picnic for making sausage. Your sausages look great for a first timer.

[Tenpoint5]

I am a Pork Butt / Boston Butt sausage man as well. You know what the best part about this whole thing is? Now you get to do it again!! Some great looking sausages for the first time out of the gate. To rinse the inside of the casing I hold it under the faucet and get about a 6 inch bubble then squeeze it through the casing.

[Sailor]

Thanks for the tip on washing out the casing 10.5.  I will have to put this in the old memory bank.

I took Hap's recommendation about cooking them in 180 degree water.  I went shopping for a hot oil thermometer and found one at Target for $9.69.  I got the water temp to 180 degrees and left it there to make sure the stove top setting would maintain 180 degrees.  Then took 1/2 of the batch and plopped them into the water.



Kept checking the IT and after about 10 min or so the IT came to between 155 and 160 and I took them out and plunged them in an ice bath to stop the cooking and laid them on a rack to bloom.  The wife did not think it necessary for me to install a 2x4 across the top of the kitchen cabinets and place hooks to properly bloom the sausage.  No sense of humor today.



Had to cut one open for the money shot.



Since it was already cut open it seemed only natural that I would have to try one.



I have to admit that these were a lot better than the test patty that I fried up last night.  I'm sure that the over night stay in the fridge helped.  I don't know what a hickory smoke would do to them but I will make more using the water method.  It sure did not take long to cook them and they are 100% better than any store bought.  They are ready to be vac sealed and will do the Garlic when my casings get here.

If anyone wants the Hot Italian recipe that I made I will gladly post it. 

[classicrockgriller]

Isn't it nice when a plan comes together! ;D

End results looks mighty nice.

Post the recipe, We all want to take a listen.

(Buckwheat from Spanky's Gang use to say that)

[Sailor]

Fresh Hot Sausage

U.S. Ingredient Metric  Percent
5 lb.  Pork shoulder  2270.0 g 88.0
6 Tbs. Hot sauce* 90.0 ml 3.5
5 tsp.  Salt 36.5 g 1.5
2 Tbs. Onion powder 16.0 g 0.6
2 Tbs. Paprika  12.5 g 0.5
4 tsp.  Sugar 12.0 g 0.5
1 Tbs.  Pepper, cayenne 7.5 g 0.3
2 tsp.  Garlic **  6.0 g 0.2
1 tsp. Pepper flakes, red 3.0 g 0.1
½ cup Ice water 125.0 ml 5.0
       
5 lb.   Totals   2.6 Kg 100%

This formulation is based on metric measures; U.S. measures
are approximate!

* Use a hot sauce of your choice--I used Tabasco and it has a bit of a vinegar twang to it.  I think I will use a different hot sauce next time.

**  I think I may opt out of using the garlic on the next batch or at least cut it back by 1/2.  I want the hot spicy flavor and not so much of a garlic under tone.
Method:

1. Partially freeze, and then grind the meats through a fine plate [3/16" or 5 mm]. 
2. Reserve the red pepper flakes and hot sauce, but grind the remaining ingredients in a spice mill
until powdered. 
3. Mix hot sauce, powdered spices, and red pepper flakes into the 1/2 cup of cold water and let sit to allow the red pepper flakes absorb some water.  I let mine sit for about 1 hour.  The mixture was a bit pasty but it blended very well when I mixed the meat.
4. Stuff into 32 mm hog casings and tie off into 6-inch links.
5. I cooked by bringing a pot of water up to 180 degrees and made sure the water temp would hold at 180.  Put the sausage in the water and let cook until IT is 152 to 155 degrees. About 10 minutes seemed to be the amount of time.  Time may vary so keep checking the IT. 
6. Put in an ice bath to cool and then bloom.
5. Prepare by grilling, pan fry or microwave. 

[classicrockgriller]

Thanks Sailor.

I have it book marked.