New member - need sausage help...

[sooch9]

Hi everyone - new member here and I need help with sausage.  I bought my husband the Bradley Original last year for Christmas and he loves it and wants to now try making and smoking his own sausage. 

I want to put together a sausage making kit for him for christmas but don't have a clue where to start. 

We have a nice Kitchen Aid standing mixer and I thought about getting the meat grinder and sausage stuffer attachment.  I think it will end up costing me a little over $60 for both attachment.  He will definitely be starting small to see if he likes doing this so I thought it might be a good start on equipment and if he really gets into it I can buy him a real grinder and stuffer.  Any thoughts on the Kitchen Aid one though?

And then I was hoping to find a kit or something online with spices, casings, etc and a book or video to help him get started...any recommendations?

Any help would be great considering I have no other ideas for him for Christmas this year! 

Thanks everyone!

[manxman]

I live on the other side of the pond in the UK so am not in a position to advise on good places to buy things across the wet bit.

Just one alternative to the Kitchen Aid add ons to consider, I bought a Porker (Czech) grinder (they also do a sausage stuffer) to get me started. They are OK for relatively small quantities, need a bit of effort to keep clean and can't go in the dishwasher but after a year or so of using this equipment I realised how much fun it was and what good sausages I could make so I traded up.

Had no problem selling the original grinder and stuffer on.

http://www.amazon.com/review/product/B0000DE4LW?showViewpoints=1

Just another idea, welcome to the forum. 

[Tiny Tim]

For Seasonings and casings, Hi Mountain has several different types of sausage kits available on their website and through dealers such as Cabela's and Scheels, as well as some local retailers like myself (I only stock the Summer Sausage kit right now though).  Once experimentation kicks in, the cheapest I've found casing (haven't looked very hard) is Allied Kenko, they have a website with a ton of stuff for sausage making.

For grinding, I think the KitchenAid attachment should work fine, but based on my experience with my new 1/2 hp grinder/stuffer, the stuffing attachment would be disappointing.  I tried a batch a couple of weeks ago, and while the grinder performed beautifully during the grinding, it was very frustrating to use during stuffing...so bad that the next morning I ordered a 3 pound lever style stuffer from Cabela's ($69.99 I believe).

[acords]

Welcome to the forum.  Hi mountain makes several differnent types of sausage kits with cure spice and casing included.  Not sure where you live, but you can purchase them at Cabelas, Gander Mountain and Sportsman Warehouse.  You can also buy online from several sources.  Butcherpacker.com is a good place to start.  Good luck with search

[sherlock]

Welcome to our world

Now the fun begins


I use a kitchen Aid and find it acceptable for small two or three pound batches. I have used it for about six years without any major frustration. It is slow for larger batches but I have made five or six pound batches. However, I am looking to buy a better grinder and maybe later a Stuffer.

[Habanero Smoker]

sooch9;
Welcome to the forum.

I use the KitchenAid grinder for all my sausage, and it does a decent job. It will take about 15 minutes to grind 5-6 pounds of meat. If you make batches larger than six pounds you may want to get something larger. I have the stuffer attachment also which I don't use anymore. It's a little frustrating to use, but cheap enough to purchase if you are just starting and are not sure if your and your husband would make sausage on a regular basis. I may also be useful to purchase the food tray. What I like about the grinder and stuffer attachments is that to chill them you can place the whole assembly in a gallon zip lock bag, and put it in the freezer.

Here are my two favorite site for casings, cures, and other supplies; with a preference to Sausage Maker.
http://www.sausagemaker.com/
http://www.alliedkenco.com/catalog/index.php

For books here are a couple of good ones.
http://www.sausagemaker.com/index.asp?PageAction=VIEWPROD&ProdID=413
http://www.amazon.com/Charcuterie-Craft-Salting-Smoking-Curing/dp/0393058298/ref=pd_bbs_sr_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1195599585&sr=1-1

[sooch9]

THanks so much for your help everyone - you have been extremely helpful - keep the ideas coming!

[Arcs_n_Sparks]

sooch9,

Agree with many comments here. I started with the Kitchen Aid grinding/stuffing attachments, and that worked well for several years for small batches. Above 3 pounds a session, you should think about dedicated grinder and separate stuffer.

I have used spice kits and casings from the Sausage Maker, and have been very happy with the outcome. My daughter likes to count the number of breakfast sausages I make at a setting.

You will have fun; keep us posted.

Arcs_n_Sparks

[Stickbowcrafter]

Include these books in the gift package:

Charcuterie by Michael Ruhlman & Brian Polcyn and Great Sausage Recipes and Meat Curing by Rytek Kutas. He'll be making great sausage right off the bat.

-Brian