Homemade Sausage Tips

Bham_egger · January 10

The wife bought me a Kitchen Aid meat grinder attachment and I have the sausage stuffers enroute from
Amazon. Any tips I should know about before attempting my first batch possibly this weekend? I plan to use fresh hog casings from a local butcher shop and pork butt. I will probably try Ifalian first, then branch out from there.

Thanks for any help.

GrannyX4 · January 10

Cut meat into 1 inch cubes and freeze for 20 to 30 minutes before grinding helps.

Griffin · January 10

Throw in any metal parts of your grinder as well. Heat is your enemy when making sausage.

Here is a simple and easy Hot Italian Sausage Recipe if you want to go that route (@Dyal_SC shared this one with me).

Hot Italian Sausage

5-lbs pork
1-cup cold red wine
1-cup chopped fresh parsley
5-tsp salt
1-tbsp garlic powder or-4 to 5 garlic cloves, minced
1-tbsp fresh ground pepper
3-tsp cayenne
5-tbsp fennel seed (the one change I made was reducing it to 4 and then grinding in a spice grinder)
2-tsp crushed red pepper
5-tbsp paprika

And a post about it

Reeyahps · January 10

I have found that toasting your fennel seed can really make a difference.

Village Idiot · January 10

I just bought a sausage making book only because the index shows Texas Hot Links. I grew up on those and consider them the best in the world.

This is the book.

SamFerrise · January 10

The KitchenAid is notorious for leaving metal and plastic shavings in your ground meat. Look at the meat carefully. I have a Kitchen Aid and I have used the meat grinder. In my opinion it basically sucks, but if it is all you have just keep your eye on the output for shavings. I only used it once and then sold it at a garage sale. We have a Hobart 1 hp grinder that we have been using for years. Normally we make at least 100 lb batches but it is a pain to pull out for a 4-5 lb quickie batch. I use a hand grinder we have had for decades for the small batches.

Eggcelsior · January 10

SamFerrise said:

The KitchenAid is notorious for leaving metal and plastic shavings in your ground meat. Look at the meat carefully. I have a Kitchen Aid and I have used the meat grinder. In my opinion it basically sucks, but if it is all you have just keep your eye on the output for shavings. I only used it once and then sold it at a garage sale. We have a Hobart 1 hp grinder that we have been using for years. Normally we make at least 100 lb batches but it is a pain to pull out for a 4-5 lb quickie batch. I use a hand grinder we have had for decades for the small batches.

I have seen this about the new KA grinders too. Go on ebay and look for a hobart KA attachment(from when Hobart still made KA mixers) You can usually find one for around 100 bucks.

Here is a link from a couple of years ago showing it:

http://eggheadforum.com/discussion/1007231/70-year-old-ka-meat-grinder

fishlessman · January 10

take the small grinding plate and put it into the back of the drawer, its pretty useless,too small for sausage. cut the meat into strips, they feed better than the cubes. never had the metal and plastic filings from the grinder here. thouraghly rinse the casings in cold water. if youve never done it before, stuffing is easier with two people, and have a pin ready to prick any airbubbles that deleope

EggerinLA · January 10

I love my KA grinder and haven't had any problems with it. I know many who make sausage and fresh ground beef without any problems with it. Now I only use it for up to 20 pounds, but then again I don't have an army to feed.

Griffin · January 10

Village Idiot said:

I just bought a sausage making book only because the index shows Texas Hot Links. I grew up on those and consider them the best in the world.

This is the book.

Dat's da one I got. I really liked the kasewurst (even though I used sharp cheddar cheese rather than whatever it calls for)

SamFerrise · January 10

daveyray72 · January 10

Sausage making is a great hobby/off shoot from Smoking/Grilling. I have been making sausages for the last 4-5 years and have a blast doing it. I started with a KA grinder and stuffer kit. The grinder works OK, but stuffing with the KA can be a real pain. That said, there is nothing wrong with Brat patties or Hot Link Patties. I too used the KA grinder up to about 20# max for grinding. My second purchase was a 5# vertical stuffer, and I would not be caught dead without a dedicated stuffer. It makes stuffing so much easier. I recently upgraded to a #8 grinder...holy cow does that thing chew up and spit out the meat. I can grind out 20# in 5-10 minutes.

Keeping all your parts as cold as possible is very key to the process no matter what equipment you use. You may want to check out Home Sausage Making and Charcuterie:The Craft of Salting, Smoking and Curing as great resource books for techniques and recepies.

Bham_egger · January 10

Thanks everyone for the suggestions. Looks like I will have a good deal of trial and error agead. I also have an antique grinder that I will try as well. I guess after I get my feet wet I can graduate to more sophisticated equipment. Hopefully by the end of the week I will have some sausages to post pics of!

Bham_egger · January 10

Village Idiot said:
I just bought a sausage making book only because the index shows Texas Hot Links. I grew up on those and consider them the best in the world.

This is the book.

Ordered!

Lex · January 10

when you make your ground meat and season it, fry a little patty to see if the seasoning is enough before you put it into the casing, you can always add, it's hard to remove

BigWader · January 10

I'll throw another tip - watch You Tube videos. There are some good/some not so good, but I find it helps to see a person using the stuffing.

I like this one:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vlZ6X2G-mxo

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Mj51Sg5_FS8

and this one - just the right amount of realism (swearing) in these videos.

Bham_egger · January 11

Lex said:
when you make your ground meat and season it, fry a little patty to see if the seasoning is enough before you put it into the casing, you can always add, it's hard to remove

Makes great sense. Thanks!

Bham_egger · January 11

BigWader said:
I'll throw another tip - watch You Tube videos. There are some good/some not so good, but I find it helps to see a person using the stuffing.

I like this one:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vlZ6X2G-mxo

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Mj51Sg5_FS8

and this one - just the right amount of realism (swearing) in these videos.

We think alike. YouTube is such a great resource that is often overlooked. I have done some searches on it, but haven't seen these videos. Thanks for. The tip!

BigWader · January 11

@Griffin @fishlessman and others who are making sausage regularly - my question is how much "trimming" are you doing on the buts? do you seam out the "silverskin" between sections of muscle, or does it grind easily and leaves no residual in your sausage?

To date I've used store bought ground and am jumping into grinding.

duck_hunter · January 11

BigWader said:

@Griffin @fishlessman and others who are making sausage regularly - my question is how much "trimming" are you doing on the buts? do you seam out the "silverskin" between sections of muscle, or does it grind easily and leaves no residual in your sausage?
To date I've used store bought ground and am jumping into grinding.

It should grind easily, I cut it out if grinding by hand, leave it if using the machine

Griffin · January 11

Depends on my mood. If I'm being picky, I'll cut out some of the bigger parts of silverskin, but I wouldn't sweat it too much. I've been in a hurry before and didn't bother to trim any of it and it was fine.

Stopped by Academy on the way home from work yesterday and picked up some 21mm collagen casings and some 1 1/2 by 12" fibrous casings. I see snack sticks and summer sausage in my future this weekend if I have time. And if I get my Large back from my parents tonight....

BigWader · January 11

Got 10 lbs of pork butt yesterday and going to do Smoked Polish Sausage - from Sausage Maker.com /Rytek Kutas on Saturday.

Griffin · January 11

It takes a bit of effort to make your own sausage, but it is so well worth the effort. Much better than store bought. Looking forward to seeing your Smoked Polish Sausage @BigWader.

Chubbs · January 11

I am looking for a good attachment for my kitchenaid stand mixer for grinding and tubing sausage. Is there one that works better than others?

Eggcelsior · January 11

You really have 2 that are available new.

This thing from KA:

Or this thing by Chefs Choice:

The are $50 and $150 respectively. The sausage stuffer is $10 bucks more.

Eggcelsior · January 11

The other option is to look for an old Hobart attachment on Ebay for around $100. This is my plan.

Brownie · January 11

I like running a little piece of bread through the grinder to help push out the residual sausage. The little bit of bread won't mess up your flavor profile...

Also don't use the provided wrench to tighten the nut when assembling.. Hand snug is enough....

Dry your grinding plates thoroughly so that they don't rust on you.

Good luck and enjoy yourself!

MikeP624 · January 11

Eggcelsior said:

You really have 2 that are available new.

Is the Chef choice one better then the KA? Does the size of your KA mixer affect how well the attachments work? I have heard bad things about the KA mixer/grinder attachment. Is it because people have the less powerful motor in the home version verses the larger motor in the professional series?

Eggcelsior · January 11

It's all metal, so I would say yes in that department. I don't know if it is $100 better.

What mixer do you have? This could make a difference. Mostly I have heard that you need to go slow and partially freeze the meat for 20-30 minutes because the connective tissue can gum up the machine. There is no reverse option.

The price difference is mostly why I am looking for a Hobart one. They used to make KA mixers(the ones that gave KA it's reputation), so that's why they are compatible. They last forever. If you go on ebay the line is always " this is 70 years old and was my grandmothers. runs like new". Plus, if you don't like it, you are almost guaranteed to recoup your money by relisting it. They are very popular.

MikeP624 · January 11

Eggcelsior said:

It's all metal, so I would say yes in that department. I don't know if it is $100 better.

What mixer do you have?

I do not have one yet. I am debating getting a mixer with the grider attachment or just getting a meat grinder. I would get the Kitchen Aid Professional 600 mixer (575 watt motor). Just getting a meat grinder would be cheaper and it would be better for grinding meat, but it would be nice to have a mixer for making dough and grind meat.

BigWader · January 11

@MikeP624 - I went stand alone grinder. ebay - $70 - delivered. Also check out Mercantile Station. Really good reviews on their grinder. Not too spendy.

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