Homemade Sausage Making

Thanks for posting that Chris, looks like my next effort won't qualify for the B-2 section. I'm going with CW's recipe for Italian Sweet sausage with a mix of 14lbs wild sow meat and 8lbs of domestic porkbutt, the 22lb total makes it very simple to just multiply the ingredients in the recipe time ten. I'd think the fact that I'm going to add some ingredients like anise and garlic and use zinfandel instead of water disqualifies me for B-2. My equipment is too cumbersome and the clean-up just too much of a chore for me to do small batches, I'll post the results in "Sausages". I'm enjoying the reading on B-2 and learning more all the time. I apologize that there was some confusion on my part as to participation in making the sausages required. RAY

sawhorseray wrote:I'm going to add some ingredients like anise and garlic and use zinfandel instead of water disqualifies me for B-2. My equipment is too cumbersome and the clean-up just too much of a chore for me to do small batches, I'll post the results in "Sausages"

Let us know when you make your post to "Sausages" - zinfandel is our house wine

Ray,
I don't think CW and anybody else worry about the ingredients you use in your B2 project sausages.
Obviously you have to stay close to the recipe ingredients but some small variations to suit personal taste should be OK.
Project B2 is for new and not so new members like us to gain experience first of all through reading and more reading and then actually making the various sausages to circumvent pitfalls and common mistakes.
Matter of fact my csabai won't qualify either but I am still going to load some photo's of them
on Project B2. An increase in garlic, paprika and addition of chillie flakes just make it more interesting for me.
Good Luck,
Jan.

Chuckwagon wrote:Let's hear from you to see where you are in the project.

Hi CW - I am really behind in B2, but I did make some kabanosy yesterday. I used dark colored collagen casings.

1 - ground the meat and lightly mixed in the salt, cure, seasonings (Marianski recipe plus some granulated garlic), let it sit overnight
2 - mixed and stuffed in the morning (I probably spent 60 seconds mixing with my hands - that's it!) and hung it in the house to dry
3 - put it in the smoker in the afternoon for cold smoking
4 - I cold smoked it about 10 hours, along with some bacon and random chunks of belly to use as salt pork
5 - put it in a cold oven set to about 160F and brought it very slowly up to 150F

The last time I made kabanosy it lost a lot of fat in the oven and came out dry, which is why I brought it up to temp as slowly as I could. I guess that made the difference, because the texture is good and the sticks are just juicy enough for my tastes. The batch is drying now for a day or two, and then the texture should get even better.



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Cheers,
Jeff

Loved the Chorizo's. next time may increase the oregano and slightly decrease the amount to vinegar. Mark

Well i have to admit i haven't done anything yet.
Still sorting out the house and every weekend is busy doing all sorts of activities since the weather has picked up lately.
I plan to start some stuff in the about 2 weeks so we'll see how it all works out.
Definitely some interesting reading here and very informative.

Cheers

Steve

I am current on my reading, but behind by two recipes. I expect to be caught up by mid-week.

The tip about adjusting the spacers on the grinder's feed screw (from another thread) sure made a difference. It seems to pull the meat through more efficiently, and I feel better knowing the plate is more secure in the housing.

Chuckwagon wrote:

I have used the Cabellas new 1 hp, and dont get me wrong, it is a great grinder, but the LEM will absolutely keep up with it, for about 200 dollaes less, Tim

MMmmm... most interesting, Tim. Thanks pard.

I see the Cabelas 1hp SS grinder on sale for $499, I paid $349 for mine six years back. The best price I found for the comparable LEM 1hp SS commercial-grade grinder is $569. RAY

http://ads.midwayusa.com/product/283813 ... less-steel

crustyo44 wrote:Ray,
I don't think CW and anybody else worry about the ingredients you use in your B2 project sausages.
Obviously you have to stay close to the recipe ingredients but some small variations to suit personal taste should be OK.
Project B2 is for new and not so new members like us to gain experience first of all through reading and more reading and then actually making the various sausages to circumvent pitfalls and common mistakes.
Matter of fact my csabai won't qualify either but I am still going to load some photo's of them
on Project B2. An increase in garlic, paprika and addition of chillie flakes just make it more interesting for me.
Good Luck,
Jan.

Sounds reasonable to me Jan, I'll post it here. I'm now trying to saw a 18 pound porkbutt that's frozen solid as a rock in half with a sawzall, going slow. If it weren't for the oil I'd be using my chainsaw. RAY

Geez, an 18lb butt? Must have come off a godzilla of a pig!

Off-planet!
Best regards.
Duk

...can't even edit my own posts!
The Jambon Iberica is wonderful here.
Duk

redzed wrote:Geez, an 18lb butt? Must have come off a godzilla of a pig!

Most of the whole porkbutts I buy weigh in at 18 to 21 pounds, seems they are already cut in half. The bones I get from them are different in shape, so I feel they are coming from the same side of the pig. Watched a youtube flick the other day that showed how a 250 pound pound wild hog yields 50 pounds of deboned meat. My 460 pound cow elk a few years back gave me 201 pounds of deboned meat. Go figure. RAY

I believe boston butts cut from market size hogs weigh around 6 - 8 lbs. I think what you have there is the complete shoulder, bone in.

It's fantastic to be on the board and making sausage. I think the onion/thyme sausage came out great. I use the standard Kitchen Aid grinder and have the two plates. I plan to use it in the stuffing for this years thanksgiving turkey and celebrate my sausage success inside.