First attempt

[KDX]

I was thinking of making some sausage with a Hi Mountain kit (first time making sausage) and was wondering which would be easier to make, a snacking sticks style, a sausage style or one of the salami sized styles? I was thinking of using ground beef and possibly ground pork and don't know what would be a good ratio. The ground beef I buy locally is very lean and would burn in a pan if you weren't careful cooking it. I was just going to buy some ground pork from a butcher. I only want to do a 3 or 4 pound batch to start and thought a kit would be a good way to go. I'll be using Maple for smoke. I'll also need to buy a thermometer and was wondering what a good one would be, preferably with a remote as I have my smoker in my shed. I'm using one of the original smokers. My preference for eating would probably be a smokie style sausage with possibly some cheese added. Thanks in advance.

[pmmpete]

For your thermometers, a good way to go is digital thermometers with the probes on wires.  You should be able to find this kind of thermometer at discount stores for about $15 apiece, and at fancier stores for about $25 apiece.  Before you use the thermometers, you should waterproof them at the point where the wires enter the back of the probes with silicone or some other flexible sealant.  Squish the sealant as far as you can into the back of the probes.  If you are going to bring your sausages up to temperature in your smoker, you'll only need one thermometer, but that takes a long time, and if you crank up the heat on your smoker too much above 160 degrees, you risk melting the fat out of your sausages.  You can get your sausages up to temperature in a hot water bath a lot faster, and with a lot more control, but you'll need two thermometers for that, one for the sausages, and the other for the hot water bath.

How are you planning to stuff your sausage casings?

[KDX]

Thanks for the reply. I have a friend who has a stuffer and he said he would gladly lend it to me if I wanted to use it.

[RAF128]

Most, if not all, Hi Mountain kits come with casing you need for the style of sausage you buy.   

[KDX]

That's what I was thinking. I just don't know what would be the easiest to start with. I think I might try the one that looks like smokies and go from there. 2/3 beef and 1/3 pork to start with a 3 pound batch.

[RAF128]

I've used the Hi Mountain kits a number of times.    In the package there are instructions.   Seems to me the kit has enough spices and casing for 25 or 30 lbs of sausage.   In the instruction there is a chart that tells you how much spice for smaller batches.    Again, I'm going from memory but I think the smallest is 5 lbs.   
All kits are easy to do.    Just read the instructions and follow them to the letter.   The summer sausage takes the longest.    IMO the easiest is the snacking sticks.    THere are several different styles so it's up to you to pick what you'd like.