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Made some sausages from scratch yesterday - lots of pictures to prove it.

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Sea2Ski
Sea2Ski Posts: 4,088
edited March 2016 in EggHead Forum
Pictures tell the story.

Few of of the fresh ingredients:




Putting it all together:


Must taste along the way....


Andouille:

Kielbasa:

Mild Italian:

Breakfast:

Bratwurst - only got the before - did not get the stuffed (inspired by @20stone in another thread)


Last picture: total haul, less about 10 lbs given to a good friend who stopped by at perfect timing to get a few of all the varieties - yea.... Good for him!
Left row, top down: Brats, Italian, Andouille, breakfast. 
The entire right row is kielbasa, much of which is going to be both eaten and given as gifts for Easter, and of course some will get smoked later in the week on the egg.



In total, there was about 40 lbs of pork after deboning and ready for the grinder, so this is about 30 lbs of sausage. 
--------------------------------------------------
Burning lump in Downingtown, PA or diesel in Cape May, NJ.
....just look for the smoke!
Large and MiniMax
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Caliking said:   Meat in bung is my favorite. 
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  • bgebrent
    bgebrent Posts: 19,636
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    Freaking gorgeous!!!  Drooling brother ski!  Can I get on a mailing list?
    Sandy Springs & Dawsonville Ga
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  • SGH
    SGH Posts: 28,791
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    Great job man. The pics are phenomenal (Hapster quality). For sheer greatness:

    Location- Just "this side" of Biloxi, Ms.

    Status- Standing by.

    The greatest barrier against all wisdom, the stronghold against knowledge itself, is the single thought, in ones mind, that they already have it all figured out. 

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  • bgebrent
    bgebrent Posts: 19,636
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    SGH said:
    Great job man. The pics are phenomenal (Hapster quality). For sheer greatness:
    Deserved!
    Sandy Springs & Dawsonville Ga
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  • 20stone
    20stone Posts: 1,961
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    Those are some great looking links.  Well played, sir.

    We will all be interested to hear how they eat.
    (now only 16 stone)

    Joule SV
    GE induction stove
    Gasser by the community pool (currently unavailable)
    Scale (which one of my friends refuses to use)
    Friends with BGEs and myriad other fired devices (currently unavail IRL)
    Occasional access to a KBQ and Webber Kettle
    Charcuterie and sourdough enthusiast
    Prosciuttos in an undisclosed location

    Austin, TX
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  • blasting
    blasting Posts: 6,262
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    @Sea2Ski   Well done, great pics - thanks for posting.
    Phoenix 
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  • johnmitchell
    johnmitchell Posts: 6,581
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    Wow what an awesome post.. Ditto on the pics 3D quality.. Sausages look fantastic..
    Greensboro North Carolina
    When in doubt Accelerate....
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  • paqman
    paqman Posts: 4,670
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    Nice!

    ____________________
    Entrepreneurs are simply those who understand that there is little difference between obstacle and opportunity and are able to turn both to their advantage. •Niccolo Machiavelli
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  • Sea2Ski
    Sea2Ski Posts: 4,088
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    Thank you everyone. It was a blast to make. But mixing the spices in with that ice cold meat is sooo painful to the hands. I normally do not mind the cold, but mixing the meat for 5-10 mins in 32F meat 5 separate times I could do with out.

    Overall, I would say goal achieved - if not exceeded. I wanted to make kielbasa to the family's recipe as I have done dozens of times in the past, and I got the kielbasa. No surprise there. But I also wanted to mix it up and try some new recipes:
    • I wanted to make breakfast sausage, and I got exactly breakfast sausage.
    • I wanted Italian, and I think it is the best Italian that I have ever had.  I impressed myself and we all know we are our hardest critics. I made it to the recipe I had, tasted it, and it was really really good. But I wanted to jazz it up a little more. I looked in the fridge, saw some sun dried tomatoes and shredded hard parm cheese so I added some of each. Between the sweetness of the tomatoes and the sharpness of the cheese with the little heat of the pepper which was already present- it put it over the top. I got lucky on that.  I will take it....
    • The Andouille was flavorful, but there was not enough heat and a little too much salt. I need to double up the cayenne pepper, and go 75% the salt content next time. Good thing I took notes.... 
    • The fat content on all the samples I made was dead on. Last time I made it, there was not enough, so I am very pleased with that aspect. Since I sample the sausage out of the casing, I know when you go to bite in them cased, they are going to be juicy and flavorful.
    • The Bratwurst I did not yet taste. Not even a sample; however, that is on the menu for tonight. We will see. I have high hopes!
    --------------------------------------------------
    Burning lump in Downingtown, PA or diesel in Cape May, NJ.
    ....just look for the smoke!
    Large and MiniMax
    --------------------------------------------------

    Caliking said:   Meat in bung is my favorite. 
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  • byrne092
    byrne092 Posts: 746
    edited March 2016
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    Awesome!! How long did it take from start to finish? This is on the to do list. Have you tried the kielbasa yet? Thoughts?
    XL, Medium BGE & Blackstone I XAR-Woo2 & Rig-BO I Flameboss 500

    St. Louis, MO
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  • Eggingaround
    Eggingaround Posts: 357
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    WOW! Food porn at it's absolute best. Great post. Are you using a camera phone or regular camera? The pictures are amazing.
    Mckinney, TX
    LBGE--AR with Rig extender 
    Mini Max
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  • Sea2Ski
    Sea2Ski Posts: 4,088
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    @byrne092 It took the better part of the day - about 7 hours total (including setup and cleanup. I have my grandfathers old grinder that can grind the meat and stuff as fast as you can feed it, so that accounts for only about 10% of the total time. The most time consuming tasks are 1) measuring of spices, 2) hand mixing the meat then 3) taste testing (which is not so bad...) If I made all the same type of sausage at once, it would have taken about 1/4 to 1/3 the amount of time. But measuring the meat, then the different spices for each different time is where the time is spent.
    --------------------------------------------------
    Burning lump in Downingtown, PA or diesel in Cape May, NJ.
    ....just look for the smoke!
    Large and MiniMax
    --------------------------------------------------

    Caliking said:   Meat in bung is my favorite. 
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  • TTC
    TTC Posts: 1,035
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    you win. Great work
    XL BGE, Blackstone, Roccbox, Weber Gasser, Brown Water, Cigars --  Gallatin, TN

    2001 Mastercraft Maristar 230 VRS

    Ikon pass 

    Colorado in the winter and the Lake in the Summer
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  • ar15203
    ar15203 Posts: 86
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    Great job that looks great
    XLBGE, Egging in NH
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  • Retired RailRoader
    Retired RailRoader Posts: 975
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    Nicely done sir, nicely done. Just a little tip when I make a large amount of sausage like you did I usually do it over 2 days. One the 1st day I grind and portion out the meat for the various sausage I'm making, portion out the spices for the sausages and prep my casings. The next day I do all the stuffing. I find this easier as I can take my time and enjoy the sausage journey. I also hate cold hands and I use a mechanical mixer like this one.

    http://www.northerntool.com/shop/tools/product_200452390_200452390

    Just be aware that the mechanical method is only worth it if you're doing 4-5 lbs. of the same sausage. Doing less then that amount it's not worth it so mixing by hand is then the way to go. Quick question what recipes did you follow for your sausage mix? Most of my sausage seasoning are from Great Sausage Recipes and Meat Curing Book by Rytek. It's a really good place to start your seasoning and you can tweak them to your liking.

    Everyday is Saturday and tomorrow is always Sunday.
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  • GATraveller
    GATraveller Posts: 8,207
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    AWESOME!!!  You had me at sausages.  I so want to try making my own brats just haven't taken the time.  Thanks for sharing.

    "Social media gives legions of idiots the right to speak when they once only spoke at a bar after a glass of wine, without harming the community [...] but now they have the same right to speak as a Nobel Prize winner. It's the invasion of the idiots."
                                                                                  -Umberto Eco

    2 Large
    Peachtree Corners, GA
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  • 20stone
    20stone Posts: 1,961
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    Sea2Ski said:
    Thank you everyone. It was a blast to make. But mixing the spices in with that ice cold meat is sooo painful to the hands. I normally do not mind the cold, but mixing the meat for 5-10 mins in 32F meat 5 separate times I could do with out.
    One process difference between us is that we mixed our spices and other stuff (cream, eggs, red wine, etc.) with the cubed meat and fat mix, rather than mixing after the meat was ground.  I suspect that we had an easier time ensuring an even distribution without mushing the grind.

    You might try that next time and see if your hands fare any better.

    Also, I'd love to see your kielbasa and Andouille recipes
    (now only 16 stone)

    Joule SV
    GE induction stove
    Gasser by the community pool (currently unavailable)
    Scale (which one of my friends refuses to use)
    Friends with BGEs and myriad other fired devices (currently unavail IRL)
    Occasional access to a KBQ and Webber Kettle
    Charcuterie and sourdough enthusiast
    Prosciuttos in an undisclosed location

    Austin, TX
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  • northGAcock
    northGAcock Posts: 15,164
    edited March 2016
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    Will be needing further direction from you on this (too) in the near future. Looking awesome.
    Ellijay GA with a Medium & MiniMax

    Well, I married me a wife, she's been trouble all my life,
    Run me out in the cold rain and snow
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  • SmokingPiney
    SmokingPiney Posts: 2,282
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    That's a labor of love. Outstanding! 
    South Jersey Pine Barrens. XL BGE , Assassin 24, Weber Kettle, CharBroil gasser, AMNPS 
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  • Focker
    Focker Posts: 8,364
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    Really nice post, a labor of love indeed.  And a reminder for me to again comb CL for a Hobart.  =)
    Brandon
    Quad Cities
    "If yer gonna denigrate, familiarity with the subject is helpful."

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  • Canugghead
    Canugghead Posts: 11,527
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    Absolutely Awesome!
    Agree with you on mixing ice cold meat and measuring the spices, stuffing is the easy part!  Got myself a jeweler's scale, makes measuring spices for sausages, curries, curing, etc. easier.  Love @20stone 's idea of adding spices to cubes before grinding, will try mixing (without liquid yet) before semi-freezing the cubes. Thanks to you and @20stone for sharing.
    canuckland
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  • Sea2Ski
    Sea2Ski Posts: 4,088
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    Busy as can be, but wanted to reply.  I will post the recipes, but not today. They are not even typed. 

    love the idea of cubing the meat and seasoning them at that point. I just got a new half-inch kidney plate for the grinder so I want to see what that does to meat. Usually I grind with a 1/4" then mix and then stuff. Perhaps I can grind with the kidney plate then mix the seasonings then put them through  quarter-inch and stuff directly. That may work. I like that idea.

    But I need food now. Gonna try the brats now:


    Cheating though... got to do them on the gasser due to lack of time. <gasp>

    --------------------------------------------------
    Burning lump in Downingtown, PA or diesel in Cape May, NJ.
    ....just look for the smoke!
    Large and MiniMax
    --------------------------------------------------

    Caliking said:   Meat in bung is my favorite. 
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  • thetrim
    thetrim Posts: 11,357
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    Awesome job!!!  But I did find the picture of the casing quite disturbing!  Haha!!!  Looked like a Saturday morning on South Beach
    =======================================
    XL 6/06, Mini 6/12, L 10/12, Mini #2 12/14 MiniMax 3/16 Large #2 11/20 Legacy from my FIL - RIP
    Tampa Bay, FL
    EIB 6 Oct 95
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  • Sea2Ski
    Sea2Ski Posts: 4,088
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    northGAcock said:
    Will be needing further direction from you on this (too) in the near future. Looking awesome.
    You got it man!   
    --------------------------------------------------
    Burning lump in Downingtown, PA or diesel in Cape May, NJ.
    ....just look for the smoke!
    Large and MiniMax
    --------------------------------------------------

    Caliking said:   Meat in bung is my favorite. 
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  • Sea2Ski
    Sea2Ski Posts: 4,088
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    They turned out great!  Now I need some rolls, kraut and onions.  Maybe mustard. 
    Lots of flavor, good fat content, but the grind was a bit fine. Perhaps the method above will help with that. As for seasoning, the only adjustment I think I would make would be to cut the nutmeg by 25% less. I think I am hypersensitive to that stuff. 


    Money shot: 

    --------------------------------------------------
    Burning lump in Downingtown, PA or diesel in Cape May, NJ.
    ....just look for the smoke!
    Large and MiniMax
    --------------------------------------------------

    Caliking said:   Meat in bung is my favorite. 
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  • georgia boy
    georgia boy Posts: 50
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    @Sea2Ski  I'm just getting into making sausage but just can't find the right recipes.  I ran across this thread of yours and am once again inspired!  By chance have you posted your recipes anywhere?  

    It would be fantastic if you didn't mind sharing.  Thank you!

    MBGE, LBGE since 2009.  Georgia Born, Nashville Made.
    ig: dewsouthbbq

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  • northGAcock
    northGAcock Posts: 15,164
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    I want to travel up and make some with @Sea2Ski some time. Can't think of a better way to spend a day.
    Ellijay GA with a Medium & MiniMax

    Well, I married me a wife, she's been trouble all my life,
    Run me out in the cold rain and snow
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  • lkapigian
    lkapigian Posts: 10,765
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    georgia boy said:
    @Sea2Ski  I'm just getting into making sausage but just can't find the right recipes.  I ran across this thread of yours and am once again inspired!  By chance have you posted your recipes anywhere?  

    It would be fantastic if you didn't mind sharing.  Thank you!


    Here is a couple very good online sources

    http://www.lets-make-sausage.com/

    http://thespicysausage.com/

    Visalia, Ca @lkapigian
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  • caliking
    caliking Posts: 18,731
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    Holy. Shlt. 

    Can you put me in touch with your buddy? So I can figure out how to drop in at exactly the right moment? :)

     Very nicely done.

    #1 LBGE December 2012 • #2 SBGE February  2013 • #3 Mini May 2013
    A happy BGE family in Houston, TX.
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  • GrillSgt
    GrillSgt Posts: 2,507
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    Awesome. Period. 
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  • OhioEgger
    OhioEgger Posts: 903
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    Beautiful work. Thanks for posting this!
    Cincinnati, Ohio. Large BGE since 2011. Still learning.
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