SAUSAGE PHOTO GALLERY (Without Original Recipes)

Chuckwagon · Post by **Chuckwagon** » Thu Jun 09, 2011 21:05

Nicely done NorCalKevin! Indeed!
How much fat content is in the sausage? How is the "chew"?
Great photos too. I wish my first batch had turned out that well but shucks pard, that was way back before they had real grinders!

A Chinese meat cleaver in each hand was called a "food processor".

Best Wishes,
Chuckwagon

NorCal Kid · Post by **NorCal Kid** » Thu Jun 09, 2011 21:23

Chuckwagon wrote:Nicely done NorCalKevin! Indeed!
How much fat content is in the sausage? How is the "chew"?
Great photos too. I wish my first batch had turned out that well but shucks pard, that was way back before they had real grinders! A Chinese meat cleaver in each hand was called a "food processor".

Best Wishes,
Chuckwagon

CW, I used pork butt for 80%-which I assumed is about 25-30% fat. The 1/3 lean obviously offsets the 'ideal' 25% sausage fat content somewhat-maybe a slightly leaner product overall-but I was attempting to replicate a 'family' recipe (and meet expectations!). In recalling gma's recipe, no one recalled any visible fat hunks in the final product, but do remember the 'ham-like' chunks nestled in the sausage.

I do like the overall texture, snap & chew of this batch. great smokey taste with a garlic kick. I think gma would be happy with this non-Polish maker's attempt!

Kielbasa coins in the pan...

ssorllih · Post by **ssorllih** » Thu Jun 09, 2011 23:45

I wanna see what the businees end of that mixer looks like.

uwanna61 · Post by **uwanna61** » Fri Jun 10, 2011 01:35

Norcal Kid
How does the Dewalt Drill hold up to mixing 10lbs of meat? Does it put a strain on the drill? Looks like a pretty neat idea...
I have a 25 lb hand crank mixer works great, cleaning is a chore, to big for the sink! End up with more water on the floor and counter top than in the sink.

ssorllih · Post by **ssorllih** » Fri Jun 10, 2011 01:50

For stuff that big I use either the bath tub or the laundry tub. You can always take big stuff outside and attack it with a hose and scrub brush. I have on a=occassion used a cement mixing tray.

NorCal Kid · Post by **NorCal Kid** » Fri Jun 10, 2011 02:16

uwanna61: The dewalt held up fine, especially since the mixing only took less than a minute. i've used the same drill to mix mortar & thinset. I wouldnt attempt this job with a wimpy cordless however.

The clean-up of this mixer is pretty simple & quick too.

Here's a few more shots of the mixer:

The metal support rod is threaded and screws into the base. The bucket slides over the rod & locks into the base with a slight twist (locking pins).

The main tube (grey) with blade slides over this metal rod. This allows you to smoothly raise & lower the blade while mixing.
Looking down the spindle, you can see the mixing blade:

Another sausage-maker I know has the same mixer. These are a few of his shots:
A closer look at the blade:

Drill/drive attachment:

ssorllih · Post by **ssorllih** » Fri Jun 10, 2011 02:41

I don't see a keyway or set screws. How do you prevent the paddle from slipping on the drive shaft? I like your drive spindle assembly. Hose barb with Hex pin driven in.

NorCal Kid · Post by **NorCal Kid** » Fri Jun 10, 2011 02:54

The drive shaft end is threaded, as is the hole in the large plastic 'donut' (which attaches to the blade) shown on this pic:

JerBear · Post by **JerBear** » Fri Jun 10, 2011 03:23

It's like getting a peak into MacGyver's house. I loved the idea of the pizza stone and the lazy susan's just pure genius!!

Oh yeah, and the sausage looks awesome too!!!!

ssorllih · Post by **ssorllih** » Fri Jun 10, 2011 03:32

Very nice craftsmanship. And very creative. It appears that you can dismantle everything for complete cleaning and it can all be stored in the bucket.
A half inch corded drill will not complain about the load of mixing sausage.
Turning a big holesaw will warm them up.

Chuckwagon · Post by **Chuckwagon** » Fri Jun 10, 2011 04:03

Most ingenious. We are all jealous Kevin. Just one thing that JerBear and I want to know... How come we didn't think of the lazy susan?

Best Wishes,
Chuckwagon

NorCal Kid · Post by **NorCal Kid** » Fri Jun 10, 2011 04:10

I have to credit my wife on the lazy susan idea. I'd forgotten we even had one until she pulled it from deep in the pantry. One of those 'ah ha! moments.....

-Kevin

JerBear · Post by **JerBear** » Fri Jun 10, 2011 04:13

I definitely don't have one but will be scouring the local thrift shops this weekend!

NorCal Kid · Post by **NorCal Kid** » Fri Jun 10, 2011 04:54

JerBear wrote:I definitely don't have one but will be scouring the local thrift shops this weekend!

Dont forget Craigslist. That's where I found my vintage turkey roaster.

http://sandiego.craigslist.org/csd/hsh/2419321124.html

charcutebrew · Post by **charcutebrew** » Fri Jun 10, 2011 05:12

Ahhhh... power tools in the kitchen. A short story I once wrote started off "The delicate aroma of 2-cycle gas wafted through the kitchen."

If you find yourself in a bind, a standard fork or a wire-handled whisk shoved into the end of a drill makes for a fine beater (found myself needing to make whipped cream once without the proper tools on hand). And a sawzall works great for neatly slicing frozen meat. I do recommend cleaning the business end of the saw and blade first