First time doing the sausage thing

RedJada · January 04, 2014, 11:19:53 AM

I went to my favorite butcher/meat store (http://dumameatsfarmmarket.com/) and picked up a 8lb butt. Well, 8lb 1oz. to be exact. It was the biggest they had at the time. I also was able to get a 1lb bag of natural hog casings for about $6. The meat guy guaranteed me that the casings are no shorter than 50". And if they were, bring them back and he'll make it right. Gota like that.

So here is where I'm at. I have the butt cut and cubed resting in the freezer. I ended up with 6.5lbs for the grinder. Does that sound about right weight wise without the bone? In an hour or two I will grind.

As for recipe, I think I will go with the one ragweed posted just to keep it simple for my first time. But Ill probably add some garlic and sugar for half. And some ground red pepper flakes for the other half. That is my next step after this post. I will let you know what I do recipe wise.

Quick question, Is it better to mix everything and stuff tomorrow or stuff right away? I'm thinking to stuff tomorrow. Let the spices get happy and give the meat a good chill.

I noticed a few bookmarks on this thread so I am taking photos of the whole proses. Ill report back soon. Thanks for all the help.

Saber 4 · January 04, 2014, 11:25:57 AM

I've done both ways and haven't noticed a real big difference between them, I season my meat cubes before I put in the fridge to chill prior to grinding, then I mix things around by hand after grinding then into the fridge while I clean up the grinder mess and get the stuffer ready, then I go ahead and stuff then. If your doing fresh and going to vacuum seal them, you might use wax paper on cookie sheets and flash freeze the links so they hold their shape when you put the vacuum to them.

RedJada · January 04, 2014, 11:37:20 AM

Thanks Saber, I always freeze stuff like this for a while before vac packing. Live and learn. LOL...

Saber 4 · January 04, 2014, 11:45:43 AM

Quote from: RedJada on January 04, 2014, 11:37:20 AM
Thanks Saber, I always freeze stuff like this for a while before vac packing. Live and learn. LOL...

You'll do good on the stuffing, I was worried about it before I did my first batch but after watching a couple of video's here and elsewhere I was amazed at how simple it all came together, now it's just a matter of refining techniques with new tips I pick up here with each new batch. I started a word document called sausage tips and I just cut and paste tips to it now instead of bookmarking a thread for one tip, as I have time on rainy day's I'm going to go through my bookmarks and weed out the good tips.

pjplovedog · January 04, 2014, 12:35:13 PM

Be sure to rinse and soak those casings before the stuffing process.... sounds like you have an excellent plan. I'll be over to help you taste test!!!LOL
Enjoy!
PJP

RedJada · January 04, 2014, 02:41:59 PM

So, here's where I'm at. Have the cut up pork butt in the freezer for an hour and checked it. The top and sides of my glass meat bowl were almost froze but the middle portion wasn't. So I gave it a quick toss and back in the freezer for 30 minutes. Ground and mixed. Here is my recipe. This is for 6.5lbs of ground pork butt.

2-1/2 table spoon of course salt
1-3/4 tea spoon fennel seed
1-1/3 tea spoon fresh ground black pepper.
3/4 table spoon sugar
1/2 tea spoon garlic power
1/2 tea spoon Italian seasoning
1/2 tea spoon ground red pepper (from pizza hut)
1-1/3 ice cold water

While the meat was chilling I mixed all the dry ingredients together and put to the side. The grinding process went pretty quick, about 10 minutes. I used a large tin foil pan to catch the grindings. Mean while, I put my 5 quart crock pot bowl thingy in the freezer to get cold. After the grinding was done I transferred the ground meat to the crock pot fresh out of the freezer. I added half of the spice mixture and combined by hand for 10 minutes. Then added the rest of the spice mixture and blended by hand for another 10 minutes. Then added the water and mix another 10 minutes. Now into the fridge over night so every can get happy I will stuff tomorrow.

Pork butt trimmed

cut into chunks, ready for the freezer

The grinding, I used a 1/4" blade

Ground and mixed. Ready for a sleep over in the fridge.

The sample, yum, yum........

Saber 4 · January 04, 2014, 03:10:54 PM

Looks like you're on the path to sausage greatness.

Tenpoint5 · January 04, 2014, 03:27:32 PM

Looking good so far!

pjplovedog · January 04, 2014, 03:30:33 PM

That looks great! I need to re-stock my Italian sausage supply!
But if it were me I'd add WAY more hot red pepper flakes... but that's just me.
Have fun and keep the photos coming as you go along.
:)

renoman · January 04, 2014, 04:54:04 PM

Just my way of doing things but I spice the cubed meat and toss then grind twice with 1/4" plate to mix the seasonings. I will then stuff right away if I have time (my preference) or cover and refrigerate till the next day. The one part about making sausage I do not like is mixing the meat by hand (hand cramps and arthritis) I find grinding twice does the best job of mixing. If you stuff right after grinding put your links in the fridge overnight to let the seasoning bloom. Then freeze how you want. Flash freezing first helps obtain the links shape but is is a little harder to shrink wrap and more susceptible to the bags leaking in the freezer.

RedJada · January 05, 2014, 07:00:18 AM

Stuffing plate question.

Just looked at my dies, looking at the photo. I'm guessing the die on the very right is my stuffing plate?

The manual for the grinder/stuffer doesn't really explain things very well. Thanks

Saber 4 · January 05, 2014, 07:12:04 AM

Yes, just be careful not to grind to much when using the grinder as a stuffer, I was warned about the meat getting to emulsified if I ground it to small then ran it through the grinder to stuff and they were so right, I had to use the larger grinder plates to grind, now I have a vertical stuffer so no problems.

Tenpoint5 · January 05, 2014, 07:14:43 AM

It is but I would look for something that has 4 less spokes in it that than one. If you have to use your grinder as a stuffer. That would allow the meat to pass through a lot faster and not heat up.

RedJada · January 05, 2014, 07:30:31 AM

Thanks every one. I thought the openings were too many. After doing a Google search I noticed stuffing plates have 2 or 4 openings. But this is what I have to work with right now. For the grinding, I used the plate right next to it. I'll keep the meat cold and hopefully it wont be too much of a problem.

I was going to prep my casings yesterday but got busy and forgot. First thing this morning I rinsed and going to let them soak for a few hours before I stuff. Thanks for all the help. I will update later....

renoman · January 05, 2014, 07:53:53 AM

If you are using your grinder for a stuffer only grind once. Especially with that plate.