Anybody make their own sausage?

[johncinquo]

Just what I need, another hobby/project!  I got 2 deer this year and I process my own.  I grind up the burger with my old grinder/mixer machine that first belonged to my great-grandparents.  This year I decided to have some of the meat made into salami type sausage and some into the meat sticks that are about 3/4" thick.  The sticks I had made into the hickory and the old fashioned flavors.  I had no idea what it was going to cost but boy was I surprised!  The salami sticks were $20 each and the sticks were $4.50 LB.  To have them make jerky for you was $8.00 lb!  I made my own at home in the oven and called it good.  The stuff I had processed for me turned out good, but with the price, and then thinking I would probably make it with about 1/3 less fat, I am wondering just what all is involved in making some of my own. 

[Modat22]

I've made deer breakfast sausage and my own pork sausage before.

I usually buy seasoning packages for 50 pounds of meat (bob edwards) for around 8 to 10 bucks. I go around to a few BP stations that serve food and they save fat from beef and bacon for me.

Then I do a course grind on the meat toss it in a clean, clorine sterilized plastic drum (55 gal cut in half) and mix the seasoning with a clean boat paddle. Once I think its mixed well I do a final grind and fill bags or stuff skins and smoke them.

The grinder I use is an old one that my grandma used to use. After doing 50 pounds twice I think I'd pay the 8 per pound.

[ely]

we do our own and mostly make the breakfast sausage and the summer sausage. it not too bad on us as we have several folks over for the grinding and the mixing. we use several of the different recipes and spices from the different meat preparing catalogs. the process is to much detail for me to type it out here that we use on the summer sausage. the other i just use 50 - 50 deer meat a nd wild pig along with the spice i want for breakfast. and we mix it by hand almost like modat22. am looking to get a regular meat mixer in the future.

[Tom_in_Mo.]

I made my own summer sausage for the first time Sunday. It was really good, anyway for the first time. I took some to the filling station where my son works and brought some here to work. I got good response from it except, as I noted, I added alittle too much salt. I am not a salt eater. At first I figured it was just me until one of the guys said it tasted great, but Tom lay back on the salt. I hope the next batch is lacking salt.
I have more 8 lbs of deer burger mixed up  in the frig now and plan on cooking some tonight. It takes 4 hours @ 225 degrees in the oven.
ingredients are: deer burger, liquid smoke, garlic powder, curing salt, and black pepper.
I sure like the dollar amount tied up in this.

[scgargoyle]

I make pork sausage once in a while- either breakfast or andouille (cajun). I use pork shoulder. I cut up the meat, and partially freeze it, which makes it grind better. I mix all the spices in, and refrigerate 24 hours before stuffing it. I like it smoked best.

[Nailhead]

The wife and I and another couple made 40 pounds of potato sausage and 25 pounds of vension summer sausage TODAY.
I think the worse part is peeling the *******potatoes. My puddy is a pro, and I'm just the sausage stuffer in training
NH

[Jeff]

Did ya have apple pie with that?

The wife and I and another couple made 40 pounds of potato sausage and 25 pounds of vension summer sausage TODAY.
I think the worse part is peeling the *******potatoes. My puddy is a pro, and I'm just the sausage stuffer in training
NH

[Onthesauk]

Have made potato sausage every Christmas for years, started with my Mother when I was probably 5 or 6.  Nailhead, don't bother peeling the potatoes, just scrub them good.  Doesn't hurt a thing.

Had an uncle who use to use venison instead of beef for potato sausage.  Think they added a little extra suet but said it turned out good.

[Kevin_H.]

OH Yea baby, just about time for the sausage making...
I can taste it already



http://www.forestryforum.com/board/index.php?topic=10440.0

http://www.forestryforum.com/board/index.php?topic=10025.0

http://www.forestryforum.com/board/index.php?topic=5584.0

[Nailhead]

Onthesauk
Next time we'll try it with the skins on. I had mentioned that to the crew but they wouldn't go for it, but now I'll say you said it will be fine.

Jeff
before, during and after

[KENROD]

 Oh Yea! We make our own sausage. Summer, Polish, Brats, Breakfast, whatever we want. Make it with deer or without. Also cure our own bacon and hams. MMMM Good.
Get most of the recipes from Great Sausage Recipes and Meat Curing by Rytek Kutas.

[Tom_in_Mo.]

I would like to get the potato sausage recipe and try it also.
I know one thing, I am going to get some sleeves to put my sausage in, for the looks will almost turn you away from taking the first bite.

[johncinquo]

That other thread had lots of good info.  I think I'll just continue to take it in.  I dont have a crew to help out!  Stuffer, materials, smoke shed, I'd have to get a lot of stuff! 

I put some pics in my alblum of my latest haul. 

[gary]

I make my own deer stick sausage and jerky. I get a lot of seasoning mixes at wal mart. But you don't want to buy it at this time of the year. Right now it is selling for $ 15.00 a box. But if you wait around february they put it on sale for about $3.00 a box. I buy all they have then and save it for next year's deer. I have an old commercial grinder from a butcher shop. I can grind about 20 lbs of burgher in 10 minutes.

[Onthesauk]

Potato Sausage, from Scandinavian Home Cooking, a cookbook published by my folks back in 1975. 

     3 lb. ground pork
     2 lb. ground beef
     8 lb. ground potatoes
     3 medium onions, ground
     3 T salt
     1 t pepper
     1 t allspice

Mix well, stuff into casings.  We use an old cast iron stuffer that my Mother used for years and and we can grind, mix and stuff 12 - 14 lbs of sausage in just over an hour.  We bake ours in the oven, cookbook calls for boiling it, (which I have never tried.)  Use to do it on the BQ with a few hickory chips and need to go back to that, always my fovorite, although not true Scandinavian.

As we stuff it and tie it off, we dump it into a bucket of cold salty water, keeps it from turning dark.  We use hog casing, it's the correct size.  Have tried the artificial casing and don't like it.  We eat it with mustard or horseradish cream sauce and it makes great sandwiches cold.

I grew up hearing it called "poor man's sausage," because it stretched the meat.  Not sure why, but we only had it at the holidays.

[BigTrev]

Heres the stuff my wifey's dad makes, one of the upshots of joining a south african family.  bulk meat products


Boerewors (pro. buddavurse)


    * 1.5 kg beef
    * 1.5 kg pork
    * 500 g bacon, diced
    * 25 ml salt
    * 5 ml ground pepper
    * 50 ml ground coriander
    * 2 ml freshly grated nutmeg
    * 1ml ground cloves
    * 2 ml ground dried thyme
    * 2 ml ground allspice
    * 125 ml red wine vinegar
    * 1 clove garlic, crushed
    * 50 ml Worcestershire sauce
    * 85 g sausage casings

Cut the beef and pork meat into 1.5 " cubes and mix it with all the other ingredients except the sausage casings. Grind the meat using a medium-course grinding plate. Fill the sausage casings firmly but not too tightly with the meat mixture.

That'll make about 3.5 kg

These are a really juicey, textured sausage. Carefull when you cook em over flame, the grease drips out and get a good blaze going, gives them a real nice flavor though.