Anyone making sausage?

[Kreth]

My wife and I got a KitchenAid Pro stand mixer with several attachments for a wedding gift. By far, we've got the most use out of the meat grinder and sausage stuffer attachments. So far, we've made breakfast sausage, hot Italian sausage, and "saucisses au champagne." I want to pick up a smoker next and try some smoked sausages, or maybe bratwurst.

[Mark C]

I've made Italian sausage, came out a tad dry, not enough fat. Care to share your recipes?

[Kreth]

Sure, I usually tweak these a bit to taste, but here's a few I started with:

Chicken Sausage
Breakfast Sausage
Saucisses au Champagne

Some stuff I learned in my research, or figured out the hard way:
Don't trim fat, especially on the chicken sausage. Hog casings are easier to work with, they don't burst as easily. Before stuffing into casings, fry up a small silver-dollar sized patty to check your spices.

[mosesbotbol]

My buddy is into making sausages. Make sure to buy fat back from the butcher. I forget what he uses for curing salts, but his cured meats are really good. Cold smoking is a lot easier in the winter.

There's one excellent book out there that really gets into making salami's, etc...

[Kreth]

Originally Posted by mosesbotbol

My buddy is into making sausages. Make sure to buy fat back from the butcher.

It depends on the cut. I've had pretty good luck picking a pork shoulder with a nice slab of fat on it. If you use a leaner meat like chicken or venison you'd definitely want the added fat.

I forget what he uses for curing salts, but his cured meats are really good. Cold smoking is a lot easier in the winter.

Most cured recipes that I've seen use one of two formulations, Prague powder #1 or #2. I haven't tried dry curing yet as we're renting and I don't have anywhere to hang the sausages to cure. I've been thinking about picking up a portable smoker from Lowe's to try and do some smoked sausage.

[mosesbotbol]

Originally Posted by Kreth

It depends on the cut. I've had pretty good luck picking a pork shoulder with a nice slab of fat on it. If you use a leaner meat like chicken or venison you'd definitely want the added fat.

Fat back is much silkier than what you'll find on a pork shoulder. It's the quality of fat, not the fact that it is additional fat. I believe my friend trims down the shoulder a lot to utilize the fat back for fat. Other than keeping everything reall cold and not to pulverize the meat too much, it's fairly straightforward (and person job) making fresh sausage. I do like air drying in the fridge for a few days. They shrink up a little and get that dark color.

I am into dry aging beef in my fridge. I have a whole sirloin strip (minus the 10 steaks we've ate so far) on week two. I get about a month or so on strip in the fridge!

[Kreth]

Originally Posted by mosesbotbol

Fat back is much silkier than what you'll find on a pork shoulder. It's the quality of fat, not the fact that it is additional fat. I believe my friend trims down the shoulder a lot to utilize the fat back for fat. Other than keeping everything reall cold and not to pulverize the meat too much, it's fairly straightforward (and person job) making fresh sausage.

I'll have to try using fat back for my next batch. I agree about keeping things cold. I usually try to get the meat partially frozen, then cut it up into strips for the grinder. It goes back in the freezer after each pass. Grinding is pretty easy by yourself, but I find stuffing goes much quicker if you have one person feeding the hopper, and one person coiling the stuffed casing.

I do like air drying in the fridge for a few days. They shrink up a little and get that dark color.

I am into dry aging beef in my fridge. I have a whole sirloin strip (minus the 10 steaks we've ate so far) on week two. I get about a month or so on strip in the fridge!

That sounds interesting. Do you do it similar to this?

Didn't some prominent guy early in the last century once say something about sausages best not being seen made?



sorry for hijack... please don't kill me.... yay sausages!

[Kreth]

Originally Posted by totallytentative

Didn't some prominent guy early in the last century once say something about sausages best not being seen made?

I think that was specifically hot dogs. Sausages are usually ground pork, or other meat. Or were you thinking of haggis?

[mosesbotbol]

Originally Posted by Kreth

That sounds interesting. Do you do it similar to this?

Yes, very similar except that I just put in the towel for the first day and then place the exposed meat on a rack with a paper grocery bag underneath the rack to catch any liquid. I did not see a benefit with keeping towel on it everyday. Also, I just cut from one side and the cover the exposed area with seranwrap. You'll save a lot of meat doing this as that side stays fresh and does not need trimming. You can get 15+ steaks from one NY strip and at Coscto is around $60-75; that is friggin' cheap for so many strips!

If you do a rib eye, make sure it is bone-in and you take the membrane off of the bone (like pork ribs). Strips are the best bet as you don't lose as much when it comes to trimming. The sides get dried out like a scab and the fat gets red on top- all that has to be cut off so it looks like fresh meat. You large cuts as the article says. I also air dry yardbirds for a day or two the same way.

If you are a big steak lover, this is the only way to go; you'll be hooked.

[Kreth]

Thanks for the tips. I'll probably give this a try in another month or so when I start firing up the grill on a regular basis. Which cuts have you found give the best results for dry-aging?

[mosesbotbol]

Originally Posted by Kreth

Thanks for the tips. I'll probably give this a try in another month or so when I start firing up the grill on a regular basis. Which cuts have you found give the best results for dry-aging?

NY Strip is number one, followed by bone-in rib roast.

You can also try (not sure the name of cut) the one that is like a porterhouse, but the whole strip of them.

Considering the entry price on buying something, the strip is my overall favorite for ease of trimming and cost.

[CigarDood]

Originally Posted by Kreth

My wife and I got a KitchenAid Pro stand mixer with several attachments for a wedding gift. By far, we've got the most use out of the meat grinder and sausage stuffer attachments. So far, we've made breakfast sausage, hot Italian sausage, and "saucisses au champagne." I want to pick up a smoker next and try some smoked sausages, or maybe bratwurst.

I've been thinking about picking up a sausage maker. Worth it?

[Kreth]

Originally Posted by CigarDood

I've been thinking about picking up a sausage maker. Worth it?

It depends on how much you plan to make. If you have a mixer that takes attachments, I'd go that route, as the the meat grinder is handy for other stuff like making fresh ground beef.
If you really like sausage and plan on making a lot of it, then I'd go with dedicated equipment, as it's generally a little more heavy-duty.
The taste of fresh sausage is great, as is the ability to adjust spices to your liking. For example, my wife doesn't care for fennel, so when we make Italian sausage, we substitute cumin and a touch of curry.
We probably make a batch of sausage about once every month or two. My wife keeps an eye out for sales on pork butt/shoulder, then we make up a big batch.

[mosesbotbol]

My friend uses the manual hand crank one. For sure 100% it is a two person job. One person is cranking, the other holding the casings and guiding the meat.

[Mark C]

You guys have me thinking about trying a cured meat now. I'd love to see a few sausages hanging from my ceiling. Where should I look for more information?

[Kreth]

Try here...

Seriously, these sites have pretty good info on cured and non-cured sausage making:
http://www.sausagemania.com
http://www.sausagemaker.com/index.as...=Custom&ID=167
http://surfin_dude.tripod.com/creati...wistlinks.html
http://schmidling.com/saus.htm
http://home.pacbell.net/lpoli/

[mosesbotbol]

Originally Posted by Mark C

I'd love to see a few sausages hanging from my ceiling.

Taken from a store in the Italian section of the Bronx, NY

[Mark C]

Now that's a nice sight.

Thanks for the links Jeff, well, except that first one. Second time I've gotten an answer like that to a 'where do I find more info about _____' question. Google's great, but it can't tell me what sites are crap, and what's a gold mine. Last thing I want is to set up camp somewhere just to find out I'm just another fish in the sea...

[Kreth]

Originally Posted by Mark C

Last thing I want is to set up camp somewhere just to find out I'm just another fish in the sea...

Are you looking at getting into sausage making as a business?