Homemade Sausage Making

Hi Ross,
I'm glad the bad experience didn't spoil the hobby for you. I've never heard of the retaining ring coming off before. That's just plain weird. As you are probably aware, tightening the blade firmly against the plate by turning the ring, will help give you a crisp, clean cut. On an electric model, turn the ring just enough to hear the motor slightly "load up". Don`t overdo it now, and use a few softened ice chips as you add chopped meat to the hopper.
Ross, another important and much overlooked grinding technique involves cutting smaller cubes of meat, only about an inch and a half or less, to go into the hopper. Cut ACROSS the grain of the meat at every opportunity. This shortens the sinews that invariably wrap themselves around the inside of blade attachment where it joins the auger`s pilot shaft.
When your blade starts showing signs of wear, you will notice slower grinding and a mushy appearance in the meat. Most sausage makers (and I mean most), have no idea how to sharpen the blade. To begin with, the steel used to make these tough little knives is a very high-carbon hypereutectoid steel bordering on cast. The Rockwell C is generally so high, it`s not practical for the home hobbyist to sharpen one. It`s tough to sharpen one even in a machine shop. The "flat" surface of the knife must NEVER be touched with a stone, file, abrasive belt, or any other type of sharpening tool. Any sharpening must be done ONLY to the sloped (inclined) cutting edge. If the entire flat of the knife does not make contact with the plate, fibers of meat will slip between the plate and blade and ruin your entire day and may even cause you to develop a new vocabulary. (Think of how a pair of scissors works - the flats are never altered and metal from only the inclined surface is removed - from both blades). Unless you are a professional with a machine shop, it may worth the price of a couple of new blades. They`re not terribly expensive and most sausage making suppliers have them in stock for most any brand. After many years, I still drag out my original hand-cranked stuffer for a little nostalgia... although now its powered by a V-8 Chevrolet 327 with three Holley deuces on a high-rise manifold!

Best Wishes,
Chuckwagon

The ring on the original grinder was way out of tolerance. I have no idea how it could have happened during manufacture. It was almost as if the ring was cracked. I could tighten it to a point and then it would slip a thread.
Since this was turkey leg meat there was a lot of silver surface sinew that needed to be skinned away and of course those little tendons that end in toothpick size bones near the skinny end of the drumstick. Those had to be pulled one at a time with pliers while the meat was scraped off with a sharp knife. The hard frozen pork fat cut cleanly.

I have got a nudder question.
I have access to several pounds of spray dried molasses and honey.
Would it be practical to mix the dry molasses or honey powder with the salt and cure to rub onto the meat for a dry cure?

Steelchef wrote:

I haven't seen a reply to Ross' question. If anyone has an answer I'm sure we would both appreciate it.

The original question was: Is it an acceptable practice to cure the meat when purchased and then freeze it, to smoke it at a later more converient time?
The question was 'is it an acceptable practice'? The answer is "it is not advisable". However, I've sent to Poland on this one for a more intelligent answer than I can provide from my limited "saddlebum science" know-how. I'll let you know the minute I hear from my expert source.

Ross Hill spelled backwards (ssorllih) asked:

Would it be practical to mix the dry molasses or honey powder with the salt and cure to rub onto the meat for a dry cure?

Yup pard, I've done it myself. Powdered honey (in my opinion) will never be as flavorful as fresh honey, but it is better than not using it at all. I don't make bacon without it! Please double-check the proper amount of nitrite specified in the recipe and do not cut back on the cure itself.

Best Wishes,
Chuckwagon

CHAT!
The place to post casual conversation when you just can't find another topic to spill whatever is on your mind. Chat away!

Hi Ross,
You wrote:

What happened yesterday? When I visited this forum in the morning all was fine but last evening after work I got a "This account has been canceled "message.

There were some problems with the server. Shucks pard, my western saddlebum advice?
"If it is electronic or female, you're going to have trouble with it"!

Best Wishes,
Chuckwagon

Hi Guys,
I just got an answer from Seminole. Here's what he wrote:

You can cure meat and freeze it for later use. Bacteria will not grow, although some sodium nitrite may still react with meat myoglobin as this is a chemical reaction.
Keep in mind that the structure of the cells will be slightly ruptured during freezing due to the expansion of water. This results in the formation of ice crystals and they will cut the muscle cells. You are familiar with the liquid that accumulates on the plate when we thaw the meat. This is the result of freezing in a home refrigerator.
Because of that whole pieces of meat like a ham should not be frozen as the freezing process affects the texture of the meat. Of course, that does not matter when one makes comminuted products like sausages.

Best Wishes,
Chuckwagon

Thank you!.

Bread making is based on percentage. Flour is 100 pecent, water is 61-72 per cent. salt is 2 percent, yeast is <.5 percent.
Curing meat seems to also be based on percentages. Meat is 100 percent, salt is 1-3 percent, # 1 cure is never more than .25 percent. Do I have this right?

ssorllih wrote:Bread making is based on percentage. Flour is 100 pecent, water is 61-72 per cent. salt is 2 percent, yeast is <.5 percent.
Curing meat seems to also be based on percentages. Meat is 100 percent, salt is 1-3 percent, # 1 cure is never more than .25 percent. Do I have this right?

Is this by weight Ross?

Yes.

Hello my name is John and I am new here and trying to learn how to make my own Polish Kielbasa for the first time. I have purchased some basic equipment (Small Electric Grinder/Stuffer and a Smoker. I have done some research on the subject put I have a couple of questions that I am hoping someone can answer for me here.

Is there a difference in Prague Powder #1 and Insta-Cure #1? If yes what are they? Also do experienced Sausage makers have a preference?

Finally I used to purchase a version of Polish Kielbasa from a Sausage maker in Detroit who recently closed which was called Chucky Kielbasa and was wondering if anyone might have a recipe for this type of Kielbasa that I could try?

Thanks in Advance
John

Welcome to the forum John! Your quest for "Chucky Kielbasa" will probably never be fulfilled. These proprietary formulas are usually closely guarded secrets.
I will leave the answers to the rest of your questions to those more knowledgable.
Chuckwagon will have answers and probably try to convince you to try Kabosky.
Once again, welcome and you have found the right place to get professional answers to your questions.
I found it odd that there is not a single recipe for Kielbasa in the sausage index.

Steelchef, Thanks for the reply I do realize that I probally will never get the exact recipe that this person made and sold to make a living. What I am looking for is advice on how begin to make my on version of this style of Kielbasa, most recipes that I have seen to date don't reference this style and I would love to learn more about how to make it! In fact I have done several searches and yet to find a reference anywhere although I know of several Polish Sausage Makers in Detroit area that I grew up in all make there own version of this style of Kielbasa with each having their own flavor profile.

I just googled keilbasa recipes 240,000 hits.