Teaching sausage making classes?

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Thewitt
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Teaching sausage making classes?

Post by Thewitt » Thu Sep 12, 2013 09:29

I'm getting one or two requests a week lately to teach sausage making classes.

I have room in my commercial kitchen for 8 students, in the evening several nights a week when the kitchen is not being used.

I have two mincers and two stuffers appropriate for classroom use. I would not use the mixer, but would have them mix by hand.

My idea was to provide several recipes, all the supplies of course, and have each student pick a different recipe. These would be fresh only, stuffed into hog or sheep casings, and of course the students would take away their sausages, a recipe book with a couple dozen recipes available online, and an apron (I have a large quantity from purchasing for my employees in bulk...).

I would plan on 3 hours for the class, and would include one of my staff to help me manage the students.

We would prepare meat and chill in advance of the class, set aside in 1kg batches. The students would be shown how to clean and prep pork butt, but in order to limit knife use, we would actually start them with cubed, chilled pork and fat mixes ready for the grinder.

Any comments?

Mistakes to avoid?

Suggestions?

Looking for feedback from anyone who has done this before, as well as anyone with anything to comment.

I'm going to hold a practice class with friends first - a dry run - to test the material and process.....

I think I found an acceptable price based on pre-registrations to date (32 people signed up as interested & left contact information).

I've decided to package up casings as well as spice mixes for sale for anyone who just wants to buy a "kit" or spice mix and not deal with the individual specs for all of the supplied recipes.

A reasonable profit is made with 8 students after covering all costs including paying the teachers - so I do not have to teach every class to make it worthwhile.
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Chuckwagon
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Post by Chuckwagon » Thu Sep 12, 2013 12:21

Hi Tim, you wrote:
My idea was to provide several recipes, all the supplies of course, and have each student pick a different recipe. These would be fresh only, stuffed into hog or sheep casings, and of course the students would take away their sausages, a recipe book with a couple dozen recipes available online, and an apron (I have a large quantity from purchasing for my employees in bulk...).
Tim, it sounds like a winner! And it sounds like you are the man to do it! I taught classes all my life at the college level. Most were in music and piano, some in welding, and many in sausage-making. I don`t know if that qualifies me for a danged thing but I`ll share a few lessons I learned along the way, so here is some advice from an ol` codger:

Give your students your best efforts and your best products at a FAIR price. Your reputation will largely depend upon your first few courses. Be credible and be fair.

Tim, why not begin with fresh sausage and then, in a week, meet again? After some good instruction, advance to "cooked and cured" sausages? Teach them how to carefully measure and mix sodium nitrite and cook their sausage slowly so it doesn`t crumble. Perhaps you may make a different sausage each week for any number of weeks you feel comfortable with. Show new techniques and go back over the instructions for carefully measuring and mixing sodium nitrite in comminuted meat. Perhaps you could have a knife expert come in one night to give the students a crash-course on "sharpening". This would be the ideal night to introduce the methods of cutting and trimming whole meat muscles such as ham.

Invariably there will be students show up the third week and wish to "begin" the class. I would publish the requirements and schedule of the class and let people know that they will not be admitted after the second week.

Collect all fees before distributing any materials at all. After you get "stiffed" a few times, the profit margin will go straight down the drain. Besides, do you wish to be out late at night, knocking on doors, trying to collect for 6 month past due bills?

Make a "Class Description And Schedule" and put it in print. Stick to the schedule and keep a personal notebook to look back upon. After the first course, you`ll be able to include or delete any information to make the class more presentable.

Tim, your ideas of a "spice and materials kit" made up ahead of time and sold at a "reasonable" price... makes great sense! It will save time and effort, not to mention confusion later on.

The Sausagemaker in Buffalo, New York will provide catalogs for your entire class, free of charge and will perhaps include other materials if you write to them or call them.

During the last class, have the students write a critique` of your class... after their grades have been established. Ask them for real down-to-earth suggestions. You`ll be able to glean much from them. Work constantly to improve your materials and technique.

Take it from me pard, as you begin to help your fellow man, you will realize how your own life is being improved. Good luck my friend. Yell if I may be of assistance.

Best Wishes,
Chuckwagon
If it looks like a duck, walks like a duck, and quacks like a duck, it probably needs more time on the grill! :D
Thewitt
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Post by Thewitt » Thu Sep 12, 2013 14:13

Thank you. Great information there.

I've taught before, but never for money. I was a Boy Scout leader for nearly 20 years, and taught boys and leaders in many different areas. I do enjoy seeing the light go on and someone learn and demonstrate a skill new to them.
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Post by Cabonaia » Thu Sep 12, 2013 19:15

Hi Tim - I have also considered doing this. CW has such great advice, and the ideas you laid out are so sound, that I have little to add, except one bit of experience with the friends part.

I've had friends over a couple times (when my wife was away!) for a teaching session. I made the mistake of not laying out for them exactly what to expect, so of course they came with different expectations. One guy showed up with pizzas, another with beer and cigars, and all showed up vague about what we were going to do besides "make sausage." My fault.

Well, I enjoyed the pizza quite a bit, but realized later that we didn't have time to eat and make sausage. I hadn't thought that through. So I should have said, "arrive full." I felt a little bad saying NO WE ARE NOT GOING TO MAKE CIGAR FLAVORED SAUSAGE! though I did say it in all caps. :oops: My pal was clearly disappointed that his generosity would not be fulfilled.

Now the beer I didn't mind :mrgreen: but if any of those who visited were the type inclined to overindulge, I wouldn't have liked that, either.

I also didn't tell them that it's a lot of work and you will be here late. They hadn't planned for the late part, so I ended up finishing the stuffing AND cleaning all the equipment. Dang! But we had a great time.

The next time, things went better. Those who couldn't put in the time didn't come, and those who came rolled up their sleeves and washed and cleaned as we went along. It was a great time, and all went home with fresh chorizo, and a few days later they got kabanosy that I smoked for them. They didn't take home bacon, but I demonstrated how to cure it.

I am sure you will not make any of mistakes I did in your practice classes with your friends, but thought I'd share my experience. I guess I could sum up by saying that friends come with different expectations than paying customers do.

Words has gotten out, and I am being asked to do more classes. The wives clamor for more after they taste the sausage that the "students" bring home.

BTW, one of the sessions included my son and a friend's son - early 20's in age. That made it more special to me at least. I think the enjoyed learning something common to their great grandfather's era.

Next time I will also demo this site, and encourage them to join.

I concur with CW that it would be a good idea to include the simplest of sausages - fresh, unstuffed, such as country style breakfast sausage or Mexican style bulk chorizo. Then anybody who doesn't have equipment can still make these at home simply by purchasing ground pork and spices (from you). When they catch the bug, they will start buying stuffers and grinders and smokers and all that good stuff.

You might think about dividing groups into experience levels. Cooking hobbyists, which you will probably attract, might be bored learning how to make the simplest stuff, whereas people who don't know much about cooking should probably start right there. It is a terrible experience to realize that you are boring your audience!

Good luck! I would sure like to hear how it goes.

Jeff
Thewitt
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Post by Thewitt » Fri Sep 13, 2013 02:25

Great input Jeff, thanks!
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