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smoking Sausage season has begun

I made a few different types of sausage the other day and smoked them for most of the day on my new home-made cold smoker. They didn't all turn out great but my stand-by recipe was better and hotter than usual, but it uses a lot of pre-made seasonings which I'd like to get away from once I can make better.

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3 types of sausage, 4 types of casings
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POTAWIE said:
I made a few different types of sausage the other day and smoked them for most of the day on my new home-made cold smoker. They didn't all turn out great but my stand-by recipe was better and hotter than usual, but it uses a lot of pre-made seasonings which I'd like to get away from once I can make better.
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Those look fantastic Potawie!

*drools*
 
I am about to buy a commercial mincer sausage thing. I'm looking at chorizo and goumet game meats. will go well with the jerky and such.
Potawie how do you go with venison being so lean?
Do you add some pork?
 
stillmanz said:
I am about to buy a commercial mincer sausage thing. I'm looking at chorizo and goumet game meats. will go well with the jerky and such.
Potawie how do you go with venison being so lean?
Do you add some pork?
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With most sausage you want about 30% fat so with venison I add pork butt(about 20-30% fat) and either some pork back fat or sometimes pork belly or bacon.
If you are getting a mincer/grinder that you are also using for stuffing, I recommend finding one with a "spacer" die as well as a fine, medium, and course. The spacer will make it easier to stuff without having to grind the meat again. Also look for a very small stuffing tube if you plan on using sheep casings, as well as larger tubes.

These are 2 books I highly recommend for sausage making and meat curing. Very good reading;)

"Great Sausage Recipes and Meat Curing" by Rytek Kutas
http://www.amazon.com/Great-Sausage...=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1227096988&sr=1-1

"Charcuterie"
http://www.amazon.com/Charcuterie-C...=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1227097153&sr=1-1
 
I typically use a 2-1 ratio of meat to pork butt -- I thinkn its the right amount of fat usually. You will really want the different dies. Mine came with the different size tubes although I wish mine was longer to fit more casing on it -- 4ft is the very most it can take and bunched up tight, which I dont care for, it doesnt let air escape as readily. My next run is Beef sticks and Andouille and Chorizo
 
so any brands or models I should have a look at? Is the one I'm thinking about going to be any good?
I'm going to use it for burger mince as well?
are the sausage fittings generally fairly generic to most models?
 
POTAWIE said:
I made a few different types of sausage the other day and smoked them for most of the day on my new home-made cold smoker. They didn't all turn out great but my stand-by recipe was better and hotter than usual, but it uses a lot of pre-made seasonings which I'd like to get away from once I can make better.

3038035949_37f2cbb0c7.jpg


3 types of sausage, 4 types of casings
3039722152_e8e4b04e38.jpg
Click to expand...

WOW! IN YOUR FACE VEGANS!!

Cheers, TB.
 
stillmanz said:
are the sausage fittings generally fairly generic to most models?
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I really doubt it. The one you are looking at appears to have only 1 stufffing tube, and probably no spacer die, but it looks like a heavy duty grinder/mincer. The best ones I've seen are from the U.S. but I don't know about shipping to Oz:(

http://www.sausagemaker.com/index.asp?PageAction=VIEWCATS&Category=132

http://www.cabelas.com/cabelas/en/t...ellas grinder&cm_ite=netcon&rid=0180101070502

http://www.lemproducts.com/category/grinders
 
I went out and bought a ninety dollar one today just to get my head around the process, it has a spacer which is cool.
I made a kilo of pork snags basic sort of recipe didn't have any casings so just pumped it out and rolled it up skinless. tried one straight away great texture. will try one in the morning and see how the flavour developed.
The difference in texture from homemade to shop bourt is frightening in Australia.
I think I got a new hobby.

Mick
 
It certainly is a fun and rewarding hobby, and also quite addictive.
Sounds like you got a good deal on your grinder/mincer and it has a spacer which will save you a lot of trouble;)
I've had to order most of my supplies from the U.S. and a better grinder is on my list of things to buy if/when our Canadian dollar value rises again. Casings can be difficult to find but ask your butcher or check online. Some places in the U.S. won't ship natural casings out of the country and others do, and I'm still unsure why.
 
stillmanz said:
so any brands or models I should have a look at? Is the one I'm thinking about going to be any good?
I'm going to use it for burger mince as well?
are the sausage fittings generally fairly generic to most models?
Click to expand...

I grind burger in mine.Beef chuck works good for me,I usually add sweet onions,fresh thyme and salt and pepper,and some dried moritos (not sure if you can find them-smoked serranos).I'm thinking of trying some country ham next time,ommiting the salt.
 
Use fresh casings if you can they usually come salted just rinse in warm water and let sit in a solution of 1 cup warm water and TBS white vinegar to make them more transparent and pliable -- Im going to make beef sticks this weekend
 
I've been busy smoking lots of sausage lately and I just got given a cooler full of venison to work with.

This is about half of approx. 60lbs+ of moose sausage that I smoked for some hunter friends. They made them and hung them, I smoked them, and I think I taught them a few things. There is Octoberfest sausage, hunter's sausage and pepperettes. They weren't hung very well but everything worked out fine.

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These are deer/beef/pork sausages that I made. One type is a black pepper/chipotle type and the other is an Italian, and I didn't bother with links. I'll have to see if there is any left in the fridge to take a pic of the finished product

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