# Homemade Sausage



## West Texan (May 7, 2011)

I'm trying my second attempt at sausage today. Last week it was really good, but there are things I want to try different. All I did last week was meat, salt, pepper, and cayanne. I also was on a strict time constraint as I also had briskets and ribs and ABTs and everything else to get ready.

I have 3 1/2 pounds beef shoulder clod and 1 1/2 pounds pork fat. So far, I have cubed it to fit my grinder and put in freezer to get temp back down to 33°. 

I am putting in Tenderquick this time, so I'll need to figure out how much salt if any I will need to add this time. I need to get a small package of hamburger 73/27 to try my seasoning on before I mix my actual batch. 

I'll post more as my project progresses. I'll try to remeber to get pics.

Michael


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## pacanis (May 7, 2011)

Cool. I'm looking forward to hearing (and seeing) more of this project.
My neighbor makes venison sausage every year and it's pretty darn good. And nice and hot.


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## West Texan (May 7, 2011)

I am currently at a standstill, my cubed meat is still at 40°. While I was waiting for it to drop, noticed my fridge is 49°. I keep it set at 33°, so I have been trying to figure out what is wrong. The freezer side is fine. I pulled the bottom grill off and there wasn't too much fuzz. Decided to pull the fridge out of the wall to let it get some air flow behind it. Also took some cokes out that had not cooled off yet. It is starting to cool off now. I think it was just a few things working together, putting too much warm groceries in while kids hold the door open for minutes at a time and the house being warmer than normal. It's supposed to hit 100° here today. 
As soon as my meat hits 33°, I'll get started on grinding. Think I'll start getting my spices figured out. 
Michael


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## Aunt Bea (May 7, 2011)

I am very interested in this.  Is it like a summer sausage or like a pork based italian sausage?


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## West Texan (May 7, 2011)

Venison sausage is one of my favorites, but I don't get to hunt as I don't have proof of Hunters Education. I would like to learn to make that, but will have to wait awhile. Also, talking my wife into letting me do that would be a huge ordeal...

This is a fresh sausage ready to put on the grill. Mine is made with 3 1/2 pounds beef shoulder clod and 1 1/2 pounds pork fat. 

I now have ground all the meat and fat with a 3/8" plate. Placed it back in the fridge to cool it back down. Made some test spices and seasoned a small beef patty for each trial and fried it to test the taste. Ended up liking 2 parts Tenderquick, 2 parts fresh ground black pepper, and 1 part Cayanne. So I mixed up the spices with 1/4 cup TQ and BP and 1/8 cup Cayanne. Will next mix that in with 3/4 cup cold water and mix into the meat. Then onto stuffing the casings. Just had to take a break since I finished cleaning the grinder and putting it back together. 

Will be back with more,
Michael


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## West Texan (May 7, 2011)

Sausage is stuffed, only had one blow-out, grill fired up and sausage on. Actually grilling it this time instead of smoking on the pit. Will see how it turns out. Got pics but it takes me a while to get them uploaded. Will try to get them on here later. They are running around 350° right now. A little warmer than I'm used to but I'm hungry and its getting late so...

Michael


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## Bolas De Fraile (May 8, 2011)

Good post WT, I look forward to seeing your pics, its a pity I live in the UK otherwise I would be looking for an invite. The problem over here and in Europe most people use a BBQ to grill and there is not much interest in hot smoking. I have learned a lot on this board.


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## West Texan (May 8, 2011)

The sausage turned out really good.

The ground meat ready to season with casings soaking






Stuffing the casing





Stuffed and ready, only had one blow-out, the patty was for daughter





On the grill





It had a good flavor, not near as hot as last week, but still some bite to it. The meat stayed a reddish color instead of turning gray like last weeks, but I was told thats what the cure would help do. Also had the texture I was hoping for. I like my sausage a bit on the chunky side, not fine ground meat. 

All in all, it was a great cook. I think we are going to have that for dinner tonight and will see what the family thinks of it then.

Michael


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## pacanis (May 8, 2011)

Very nice. And you do a better job stuffing sausage than the local grocer that is known for their sausage. Their sausage looks like a snake that just ate a few mice, lol.


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## Saphellae (May 8, 2011)

YOu make it look so easy !! I have a grinder and sausage stuffer attachment on my kitchenaid that I've been dying to try out - I even have the casings in the freezer all ready to go...  this might convince me to try soon !


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## West Texan (May 8, 2011)

My actual first attempt was before I recieved the grinder and stuffer. I tried stuffing with a disposable pastry bag  I kept popping the metal tip off and having to fish it out of the casing 

This sausage stuffer makes it simple. I found some videos on youtube and got tips off those. It really not as hard as I had always thought it would be. One thing I learned this time was to clamp my grinder down. I fought with it last week but this time when I was done I kept thinking "Heck, I could keep going... next time we'll do 10 or 15 pounds." 

Since I am close to what I am wanting on this, I might decide now to try other sausages that I have had. I though about starting with bratwurst or polish sausage. Maybe I'll buy some pre-made at a store and try it before I go through a lot of work. 

Michael


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## Aunt Bea (May 8, 2011)

Very nice.  Thank you for sharing this with us!


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## PrincessFiona60 (May 8, 2011)

Beautiful sausages. I've never had the ambition to put my sausage into casings, you make it look easy!


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## Bolas De Fraile (May 10, 2011)

WT what a splendid job well done ! the world of sausage making  awaits.


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## buckytom (May 10, 2011)

very nice, wt!!!

lol, i was gonna say wtg wt.

i was taught by an old italian pork sausage maker (both he and the sausage were italian, but only the guy was old, lol) that the hallmark of a good italian style sausage was that it should be chunky, not finely ground. the idea is that you can grind a lot of fillers into the finely ground stuff, but you can't hide fillers in chunky ground for obvious reasons.

btw, bolas, you've spent far too much time thinking about your sausage...


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## Bolas De Fraile (May 10, 2011)

Thanks for the advice Tom mate, I do find thinking of my sausage beats rubbing my brisket hands down.


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## buckytom (May 10, 2011)

we could do tbis for a while, but it wouldn't be nice since it a family site of sorts.

handS down? as in two? 

you must have norwegian blood in ya...


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## Bolas De Fraile (May 10, 2011)

buckytom said:


> we could do tbis for a while, but it wouldn't be nice since it a family site of sorts.
> 
> handS down? as in two?
> 
> you must have norwegian blood in ya...


 I concur with your first point, to undress your second. No as in Hans and Lotte Hass, did you know Tom that the Hass avocado was named after the nubile Lotte, their underwater adventures fired my imagination as a teenager they were so much more sedate than Baywatch.
Ps it is your fault, you start the double entendre fest.


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## buckytom (May 10, 2011)

lol, i know.

i'll be surprised ifit's not gone by morn. 

we had the laugh, anyway.


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## Bolas De Fraile (May 10, 2011)

I would be very surprised if anyone apart from those with equally fetid minds will understand our innuendo laced missives.
Ps I do enjoy a good giggle in the morning.


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## taxlady (May 10, 2011)

I never thought of my mind as foetid. Raunchy yes, foetid never


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## MyCrummyApartment (May 10, 2011)

Nice job. To my understanding Tenderquick is for curing, so why may I ask are you putting it in sausages that you are going to freeze, or just cook right away? What exactly is it adding to the sausage in the way you are using it?

I have never used it and this caught my attention.


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## taxlady (May 10, 2011)

MyCrummyApartment said:


> Nice job. To my understanding Tenderquick is for curing, so why may I ask are you putting it in sausages that you are going to freeze, or just cook right away? What exactly is it adding to the sausage in the way you are using it?
> 
> I have never used it and this caught my attention.



I was wondering the same thing. I think it has something to do with the colour of the meat.


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## West Texan (May 11, 2011)

I was told on another forum to use a cure and it would help with the color as well as the texture of the meat. The first sausage I did a week before when smoked on the grill turned gray and this batch turned red... or rather stayed red . I did like this batch better than the week before, but I'm still very new to sausage so I can't say for sure if it was the TQ that made it that way or not.

I'll make some more in the near future, but I have made 5 pounds this last weekend and 5 pounds the weekend before, I think I'll take a break from it for a bit and make something different... maybe pablano burgers. 

Michael


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