First time doing the sausage thing

pjplovedog · January 01, 2014, 01:53:07 PM

I love making sausages, and everybody I feed them to goes nuts. I would recommend using fresh recipes, not a kit, once you get the hang of it. You'll be amazed. I have a couple of favorite books, one is sort of "text-book-like" and it is "Home Production of Quality Meats and Sausages" by Marianski, it is like the sausage maker's bible... The other one I like a lot is "Charcuterie" by Ruhlman, which also covers bacon, hams, etc. in addition to sausages I have made recipes from both and they have all been great!
The first time it takes you a while to get the feel for it, then it gets easier as you get your system down. One tip- when you stuff your casings, be sure to put some cold water on the surface/tray that you are using to catch them, so they will slide around on it and not stick, causing a "traffic jam".
Good sausage making and have fun!
One of my friends came over and brought her British mom's Bangers recipe so we made those before Thanksgiving and split the batch. They were yummy!
Fun times.
PJP
:)

RedJada · January 01, 2014, 02:16:07 PM

Once things get a bit warmer I am going to play. I'm just a casual smoker but figure an easy Italian sausage would be first to go. Even if it's from a kit, live and learn. Once I get the hang of things then I can spread out..
All your tips/advice/suggestions are greatly appreciated. cant wait till I can post my first sausage.

Salmonsmoker · January 01, 2014, 09:39:09 PM

Quote from: RedJada on January 01, 2014, 02:16:07 PM
Once things get a bit warmer I am going to play. I'm just a casual smoker but figure an easy Italian sausage would be first to go. Even if it's from a kit, live and learn. Once I get the hang of things then I can spread out..
All your tips/advice/suggestions are greatly appreciated. cant wait till I can post my first sausage.

RJ,
Don't need to wait for it to get warm to play. Make some sausage recipes that aren't traditionally smoked. Pork breakfast sausage, bratwurst, english bangers etc. By the time warmer weather arrives you'll have the basics under your belt and ready to step right into the smoking of your sausage.

Saber 4 · January 02, 2014, 05:47:19 AM

Quote from: Salmonsmoker on January 01, 2014, 09:39:09 PM
Quote from: RedJada on January 01, 2014, 02:16:07 PM
Once things get a bit warmer I am going to play. I'm just a casual smoker but figure an easy Italian sausage would be first to go. Even if it's from a kit, live and learn. Once I get the hang of things then I can spread out..
All your tips/advice/suggestions are greatly appreciated. cant wait till I can post my first sausage.
RJ,
Don't need to wait for it to get warm to play. Make some sausage recipes that aren't traditionally smoked. Pork breakfast sausage, bratwurst, english bangers etc. By the time warmer weather arrives you'll have the basics under your belt and ready to step right into the smoking of your sausage.

Salmonsmoker beat me to it, great advice and if you have the time don't wait for warmer weather.

RedJada · January 02, 2014, 02:57:45 PM

Been thinking about it. I may pick up some pork this weekend and see what happens. Anyone have an easy fresh Italian sausage recipe? Also, where would be a good place to pick up some casings? I'm in NE Ohio.

ragweed · January 02, 2014, 03:22:15 PM

Fresh Italian Sausage - Sweet By Rytek Kutas

4 TB salt
2 cups ice water
3 tsp fennel seed
2 tsp coarse black pepper
1 TB sugar
10 lbs pork butt

RedJada · January 02, 2014, 03:37:23 PM

Quote from: ragweed on January 02, 2014, 03:22:15 PM
Fresh Italian Sausage - Sweet By Rytek Kutas

4 TB salt
2 cups ice water
3 tsp fennel seed
2 tsp coarse black pepper
1 TB sugar
10 lbs pork butt

Forgive me. I have never done this this before. Do I just mix all this together and stuff/cook?

ragweed · January 02, 2014, 03:42:51 PM

Sorry, should have been a little more detailed. :-[ :-[ Grind the P. butt through a 1/4 or 3/8 inch plate. Add the seasonings and water. Mix well, stuff into 32-35 mm natural casings (hog). Cook

RedJada · January 02, 2014, 03:45:37 PM

Ok, Looking at casings at gander mountain (LEM). I would guess a 32mm casing would be a good size for Italian sausage. But my question is. Should I get fibrous, Collagen or Natural Hog Casings? The main point is to be able to cook and eat with out having to remove the casing.

RedJada · January 02, 2014, 03:46:53 PM

Questions answered... Thanks ragweed.

pjplovedog · January 02, 2014, 05:19:20 PM

A couple of other tips....
Cube or strip up your pork, partially freeze it... it can be crunchy but not solid frozen, before you grind it. That way, the grinding goes much easier.
Also, you can add or subtract seasonings to the basic Italian recipe such as red pepper flakes for a spicier sausage, fresh garlic, a little chilled red wine in place of the icy water, etc. Fry a tiny patty of it to taste test before you stuff.
Keep everything super cold.
Italians are so yummy. I've made a ton of batches and I make 1/2 of the batch my standard recipe, and the other half "experimental" each time with a variety of additional or new seasonings and spices, recording each one as I go, and have had more hits than misses, that's for sure.

:)
Enjoy!

RedJada · January 04, 2014, 06:45:30 AM

Going to go out and pick up some pork and casings today. I'm looking at a 8oz of LEM natural hog casings. Is this enough to do 10lbs? Or should I get two packages?

ragweed · January 04, 2014, 06:59:16 AM

According to their catalog for 32 - 35 mm casings, "an 8 oz bag stuffs approx. 20 - 25 lbs. of sausage." You should be fine with one .

RedJada · January 04, 2014, 07:21:09 AM

Thanks Rag. So I'm off. Plan on grinding and mixing today, stuffing tomorrow. Ill post questions and photos as I go.

JZ · January 04, 2014, 09:28:20 AM

Here is a simple recipe I found for fresh Italian Sausage. It is surprisingly simple and I think it is perfect ..... but we all have different tastes. You may want to adjust the seasonings to your preference.

10 Lbs of pork butt coarsely ground and chilled (I used a med plate on the grinder)
2 oz of fennel seed ground up in a mortar and pestle
4 oz oz of sea salt ground fine
2 oz of crushed red pepper

Hand mix the spices in to the ground pork and either stuff into casings or make patties. I made patties, froze them and then vac sealed the frozen patties. You can also just shoot the meat onto a tray lined with parchment paper, using a jerky shooter or stuffer with a small round horn, then freeze them without casings and cut them into lengths after they're frozen. I got this from one of OU812's posts (I think) and the grand kids really like sausage without casings.

I found the sausage had a good amount of heat and very nice flavor.

Good luck and enjoy.