Homemade Sausage Making

No matter what recipe I use it seems that the prescribed amount of water is not enough and I end up adding more than then listed. I have moved from using my grinder to a dedicated stuffer and that seems to have helped a little. I made Vienna sausages recently and had to add much more water again to make the emulsification process work properly. The final product turns out good, but I am not sure if I am missing the mark with additional water.

If you are making an emulsified sausage you need to add extra water, if just making a regular fresh style sausage I use 1 oz of liquid for every pound of meat. That works for me.

Thanks.

I am planning a big sausage making event weekend and still learning. Depending on the amount of help and styles agreed upon we could be producing upwards of 100lbs (big family, lots of requests) for the upcoming holidays. Next comes hunting season and more sausage making. My first run at emulsified sausage was a good learning curve. Ended up with some good product, but had small air pockets intermittently inside meat.

Hi Yooper,
You said it yourself, you are still leaning. Basically we all are. Don't worry about air pockets with experience they will disappear. As long as the end result tasted OK, you can't complain.
I am still learning as well but my sausages and other treats are getting better all the time.
Just keep on grinding, stuffing and/or smoking.
Regards,
Jan.

Crusty's right, practice makes perfect. It now takes me about half the time to do a load of sausage as it did when I started a few years back, I take it easy and do everything myself. I think keeping the casings close to the loading end of the stuffing funnel helps avoid air pockets, within a inch, not really sure, never had one. My wife got me a pricker and some other sausage gear Xmas before last, still waiting to use it. RAY

Good reading about other people's experiences. Gave me an idea. All of my emulsified sausages have a grainy texture. They are, quite frankly (pun) horrible!
I only cold smoke, so temperature can't be an issue.
I used a food processor to emulsify, but may have not taken the process far enough (temperature limits)
Now I am thinking that perhaps I should have added more water.
Hmm.
I will continue to experiment.
Ursula

Ursula and Yooper, when you use your processor, remember that the blades need to be sharp, sharp, sharp! They need to slice through the meat cutting it rather than ripping or tearing it with even slightly dull blades. By ripping and tearing the meat cells open, you are going to make the texture tough. Ice water lubricates the process and you should add a little at a time to keep the motor from "loading up".
Now, when you sharpen your processor blades, DO NOT remove metal from the bottom surface. Sharpen only one side - the top side of each blade. Use a sharpening file or stone and concentrate on a 22° angle. If you need a "guide" to find the correct angle, fold a small, square, piece of paper in half (corner to corner) to make a triangle. The "square" piece is 90°. Folded into a triangle, it becomes 45°. Folded once again, the angle becomes 22-1/2°... just right for a cutting edge.
Hold the blade at this angle on the stone and push the blade into the stone, removing metal from the leading edge and pushing it to the back of the blade.
A sharpened blade makes a world of difference and the texture will be much better. With the correct amount of water, it will make a nice "whipped" paste to stuff into casings.

Best Wishes,
Chuckwagon