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Home-made sausages

chilliman64 said:
*we want recipes*we want recipes*we want recipes*

btw, I got the book and I'm working my way through it. I don't know if you've made your smoker yet BAN but if not let me know and I'll scan some pages and send them to you.

book looks good!
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Im still working on it.I'm not keen to add the smoker until I've at least seen the inside of a working one up close, or real plans ...I have no idea of the apertures.
I learned a lot of ceramics in my youth and have put together a few home-made, wood-fired raku kilns, but I'm not sure 900 C is what you want in a smoker.
 
You need the book "Meat smoking and Smokehouse design" by Stanley, Adam and Robert Marianski. I'm planning on building a big smoker in the spring and this book has great ideas as well as some general smoking info.
 
I just made a big batch of sausage and I've run into a couple of problems. First, I need to find a way to hang the sausage in my smoker instead of using the racks. I had to spend a lot of time shifting things around to get everything evenly cooked/smoked. My second problem was just the inconsistancy of the hog casings. Several had holes and some were much wider than others. I guess I'll just have to get used to it.
The sausage turned out alright, I did a few different kinds. I'll have to do some more sampling today.


A little overcrowded
 
Keilbasa, maybe someday. So far I've only done smoked venison sausage but I'm planning on trying all kinds. I'm a little scared of air drying sausage but as I learn more maybe I'll try some of those types too.
 
POTAWIE said:
I just made a big batch of sausage and I've run into a couple of problems. First, I need to find a way to hang the sausage in my smoker instead of using the racks. I had to spend a lot of time shifting things around to get everything evenly cooked/smoked...A little overcrowded
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firstly, let me say that that is some great looking sausage you've made!

as for hanging, I doubt you could have hung all that in the space you have anyway. try removing your racks, then attaching a runner on top of the brackets on each side of the smoker so they run from front to back. then on top of these you need rods or bars running left to right and you can suspend your sausage over those. you might even be able to make them out of similar gauge to your current racks so they slide right into your brackets.

good job!
 
or make shorter length batches say 2-3 feet and do'em in batches... and stick a rack of ribs on the bottom to catch any drippings....

Didnt you have collagen casings? I thought they would be more consistent
 
Did the synthetics look/feel/taste OK?

I saw an episode of "Good Eats" where the casings were synthetic, and even Alton couldn't make them look very tasty. Not that he is perfect, but it made me wonder.
 
I found the collagen worked great for snack sticks although I might try some sheep casings next time. The collagen does have a more artificial look/feel but they are very easy to work with and have little noticeable taste.
 
Thanks!

I looked at an electric stainless steel grinder at Lowe's for $99 yesterday, anyone got a recommendation there? I wouldn't mind a hand grinder, I just haven't seen many.
 
I have a fairly inexpensive electric grinder $110-$120, called "Warning pro" and its great for my purposes. The only problem is the stuffing tubes are sort of cone shaped where they should be even thickness so they hold casings better
The problem I see with a hand grinder is that most don't have a tray/hopper on top so you'd have a hard time feeding small portions at a time.
 
I have the same one Potawie its a good little machine but if I were to do a lot more than I do I would definitly get a larger one with two people its not big enough but with one its easy to work with. The hog casings are usually inconsistent, nature of the beast. When I rinse them I open the casing and let water fill them (mine are also salt cured) easy to find holes then and you can cut them out.

Cheezy check out Cabella's on line there is a lot to choose from plus seasonings, slicers, jerky stuff even Sears would have'em
 
literally and figuratively -- there are strange anomalies in there. Just remember when making sausage with casings soak in a tsp of vinegar and warm water before it makes them more pliable and more pleasant clear looking when dried
 
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