1st ever sausage attempt....pepperoni sticks w/ QView

[bls7373]

First of all thanks everyone for giving me some tips on my last thread.  This was my first time making sausage, so I used the Hi Mountain pepperoni kit.  I made 2.5 lbs of 80/20 ground beef. 

The goods...

All measured out

And the fun begins

All stuffed and going into the fridge to cure

Into the smokehouse to dry for an hour

So much room in there!

Almost done

Finished product after the ice bath and bloom

Money shot

Well it's official, making sausage is fun.  Thanks for looking everyone.

 

[poopypuss]

Nice!

The sausage stuffer makes that look a whole lot less time consuming than using a jerky press like I (used to) do!

I just got a 5 lb stuffer from Norther Tool yesterday.

You didn't soak the casings either... I just discovered that trick yesterday as well.

Instructions are for the weak!

 

[chef jimmyj]

Looks Awesome!...JJ

 

[bls7373]

That's the stuffer I have.  It worked great.  No I didn't soak the casings at all, seemed to work well without doing it.  Good luck and have fun!

 

[uncle_lar]

you most definately do not ant to soak Collagen casings. you will ruin them and stuffing them will be almost impossible

 your sticks look  great!

 

[BGKYSmoker]

Good job on the sticks.

Gotta dis agree with uncle.

I have soaked collagen casings for (2 mins) and had great results. However not recommended if you have a limited amount of collagen. When you have enough collagen that will stuff 2000 lbs you can try it. Your results may vary.

 

[bluebombersfan]

I have soaked the casings from those Hi Mountain kits before and they worked great.  I just thought it took a bit more time to dry them out before I would start the smoke.

Brian 

 

[johnnie walker]

bls7373, the pepperoni looks like it turned out good. I use the same kit and I don't soak my casings either. Just put them on the tube and go to town.

 

[venture]

First time?  Ya done good!

Good luck and good smoking.

 

[boykjo]

looks great........................

Joe

 

[jrod62]

Looks great,
just made some today with cheese in them .
Going in the smoker in the morning

 

[SmokinAl]

They look really good! I like the smokehouse too!

 

[couger78]

They look really good! I like the smokehouse too!

Indeed! The smokehouse looks like it'll hold a boat-load of sausages, too!

time to get crankin'! 

- Kevin

 

[bls7373]

Thanks everyone, yeah it's hard to say how many pounds of sausage my smokehouse will hold.  One way to find out! 

 

[poopypuss]

I changed my avatar to show the soaked casings and 3 1/2 hours of stuffing with a jerky gun!

 

[scarbelly]

The sticks came out great - great looking smokehouse

 

[mballi3011]

Your sticks look good but you really need a grinder and try them from scratch.

 

[bls7373]

mballi3011 - I agree, I plan on getting one evantually.  I wanted to try out sausage making first and see how I liked it and how good I was at it.  But now that I've made two batches, I've realized everyone is right.  Sausage making is addicting and I can't wait to make more.  So I'm sure a grinder is in my future.

 

[smokinhusker]

Great looking sticks...I'm envious as I'm waiting for my stuffer to arrive!

 

[alelover]

Great looking stix. Are you sure it's your first time?