OT: First Time Making Sausage

CTMike

Later today I will be making some Italian sausage using collagen casings. I take it they need to be rinsed/soaked prior to use? How long?

Jupiter Jim

Wish I could help but have only used natural casings and rinsed and soaked as per instructions on package.

CTMike

So google tells me natural casings must be rinsed/soaked, doesn’t seem to apply to collagen. Thanks. 

lkapigian

No need on collagen ...., post your progress , would love to see the results ..if you have a decent meat market near by, they likely stock natural casings for your future projects 

Sea2Ski

^^ this. And even if you get too much, lay them in several layers of paper towels for an hour or two to try and dry them a bit. Then put in a 1Qt ziplock bag with a bunch of iodine free salt and give it a good shake/rub to get the casings surrounded by the salt. They will hold for a year at least. 

Sea2Ski

And yes, please post pictures. 

thetrim

Interesting that you decide to stuff some sausage on the first day of Army Navy week.....

CTMike

thetrim said:

Interesting that you decide to stuff some sausage on the first day of Army Navy week.....

Wanted to give you something to practice with. 

JohnInCarolina

CTMike said:

thetrim said:

Interesting that you decide to stuff some sausage on the first day of Army Navy week.....

Wanted to give you something to practice with. 

CTMike

Started out cutting 3 butts and 3 center cut roasts into 1” strips. Then grind twice, first with the coarse plate, second time with the fine plate. 



Decided to only make the sweet and hot Italian, the jalapeño cheddar summer sausage will wait. 

Used the Backwoods spice kits from LEM as they were convenient, next time I will mix my own as I felt the sweet came out a little bland. 

I don’t have any photos during stuffing, but here’s a couple after action shots. Ended up with 13 lbs of hot and 20 lbs of sweet. Currently sitting in the garage fridge overnight, will tie into link tomorrow I guess. Tried making links while stuffing and they just kept coming untwisted. Must be some trick I don’t know. 



I won’t be making sausage again until I have a dedicated stuffer. Filling the casings by hand is a major pain in the arse. I now know what @ikapigian meant by “fun.” The grinder attachment for the Hobart worked great, no immediate need to buy a dedicated grinder. 

lkapigian

Beautiful @CTMike.....told you that you'd have fun with that stuffer 

Awesome looking links 

CTMike

lkapigian said:

Beautiful @CTMike.....told you that you'd have fun with that stuffer 

Awesome looking links 

So how do I make individual links? Was planning on just tying two knots close together with twine and cut in between. Is there a better way?

lkapigian

CTMike said:

lkapigian said:

Beautiful @CTMike.....told you that you'd have fun with that stuffer 

Awesome looking links 

So how do I make individual links? Was planning on just tying two knots close together with twine and cut in between. Is there a better way?

Sooo many link methods twist individual links in the opposite direction ...h...here is a couple options https://youtu.be/CyDaacRLBTY

CTMike

lkapigian said:

CTMike said:

lkapigian said:

Beautiful @CTMike.....told you that you'd have fun with that stuffer 

Awesome looking links 

So how do I make individual links? Was planning on just tying two knots close together with twine and cut in between. Is there a better way?

Sooo many link methods twist individual links in the opposite direction ...h...here is a couple options https://youtu.be/CyDaacRLBTY

Thanks