1st Time Sausage: Polish, Italian and BBQ (WUT??)

[HowlingDog]

After all the reading and help from everyone with my bacon and brisket, I thought I would give sausage a try. Being 1/2 Polish, I did grow helping Mom/Dad make sausage but I only "helped" by turning the crank on their grinder..... I never did the hard part.... So, I thought and my age (no, I'm not telling), I decided to give it a go!!

Went to Smart/Final and got a nice size pork butt...
View media item 554392In retrospect, I think 17 lbs was a little much to start...

Got my grinder out, cut up the pork:
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The grind:
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Ready to stuff. Spent some time and money at SausageMaker.com
View media item 554376View media item 554395
When it was all mixed and sat overnight, the cooks...
Grilled some:
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The rest went into the smoker:View media item 554397
Done:View media item 554398
As I said, I made Polish and Italian AND, I got to thinking, and I wasn't even drinking, that, well if we put BBQ rub on pulled pork, and ribs, why not in sausage. I took about 1.5lbs and made a small link of BBQ rub sausage, and ya know, I was really impressed with the flavor. I dipped a little in Head Country sauce and it was really good - worth doing more!!

Wife really really liked the Italian! I liked it all. Tried the smoked and I think it needs a day or two to age. I did more of a hot smoke on it (190F-200F) and it came off after about 3.5 hours. I will give it a taste a bit later and tomorrow. Course, now we have 17lbs of sausage so it may be awhile before I get another chance to do more. I felt confident doing it mainly because I did alot of reading of all the experts who post here regularly!! Thanks all for taking the time to share your knowledge and wisdom!!

HowlingDog

 

[motocrash]

Very nice.They look great.
That butt had sausage written all over it.Looked like a good fatty one.

 

[HowlingDog]

Thx, ya it had a nice mix. When I was shopping I almost grabbed a "sirloin pork shoulder" I had it in the cart but something told me it was wrong, so I took a second look. When I got home, I thought Hay, that sirloin would have made great Pork Burnt Ends... Something else to try!

 

[qrkid]

From 1 first timer to another those look great.

 

[chopsaw]

Looks good . I have TSM Polska kielbasa . One of my favorites . Did you make the breakfast sausage ? I use that one also . It's good too . Great color on the polish .

 

[indaswamp]

Congrats on your first links! Believe me-it is much easier with a dedicated stuffer... if you decide that sausage making is something you want to pursue, a dedicated sausage stuffer makes life so much easier!

 

[HowlingDog]

From 1 first timer to another those look great.

Thank You!!

Did you make the breakfast sausage ?

Yes and it was very good! So far, all three spice blends have been very good and the casings were really good too. Only one blow out and I think that was because of the plastic stuffing tube we were using.

Believe me-it is much easier with a dedicated stuffer.

I have taken a quick look at them, and I do like a new gadget. Doing 17lbs for a first time was more of an issue than using the grinder/stuffer, butt I think the plastic tubes were a bit of a problem. They didn't always allow the casing to slide easily.

 

[indaswamp]

They didn't always allow the casing to slide easily.

did you put 1~2 tsps. of water inside the casing when you slid it onto the stuffer horn? Also helps to run the meat paste out about 1/8" past the horn...it'll help keep the casing from grabbing the end of the stuffer horn.

 

[illini40]

Wow - those look great! Thanks for sharing.

Is that a dedicated stuffer, or an attachment to the grinder?

Also, do you use any cure in any of these? Or were they all “fresh” and you just grill/smoke to a cooked IT? I’m really interested in learning more about sausage making.

 

[HowlingDog]

I "greased" the horn with the sausage mix. I figured with all the fat, it would grease it nicely, and it did, but on a long casing it would dry out. We ended up making shorter links and slowed things up a bit. Worked pretty ok then. I wonder if the stainless steel tubes would slide better??

 

[indaswamp]

I "greased" the horn with the sausage mix. I figured with all the fat, it would grease it nicely, and it did, but on a long casing it would dry out. We ended up making shorter links and slowed things up a bit. Worked pretty ok then. I wonder if the stainless steel tubes would slide better??

Water will work better than fat for a lubricant on the casings...
Yes, stainless steel tubes will not grab like plastic ones will...

 

[HowlingDog]

The grinder came with three sizes of stuffing tubes, all plastic. They worked ok.

Also, do you use any cure in any of these? Or were they all “fresh” and you just grill/smoke to a cooked IT?

I did use cure in the sausage. For the ones I grilled, I treated them like hot dogs, over direct flames. The color was still pink, but from what I read, that is due to the cure. For the ones I smoked, I did run the smoker hotter than conventional wisdom, and I let them go to about 170 IT, which is higher than normal, but the folks I share with prefer something a bit more done. If I gave them something I pulled at 154 IT, they would not eat it.

I’m really interested in learning more about sausage making.

I spent a couple weeks reading and making my own Step By Step so I understood what the steps were, but after awhile, I just said Go for it and the whole process was easier than I though! I would say just try it and have fun!!!

 

[HowlingDog]

Water will work better than fat for a lubricant on the casings...
Yes, stainless steel tubes will not grab like plastic ones will...

Thanks. That is helpful!! I will measure my grinder opening and starting looking for stainless steel!

 

[chopsaw]

I did use cure in the sausage. For the ones I grilled, I treated them like hot dogs, over direct flames. The color was still pink, but from what I read, that is due to the cure. For the ones I smoked, I did run the smoker hotter than conventional wisdom, and I let them go to about 170 IT, which is higher than normal, but the folks I share with prefer something a bit more done. If I gave them something I pulled at 154 IT, they would not eat it.

Your pictures of the smoked sausage look perfect . If it worked and thats how you guys like it ,,, that's all you need .
I put cure one in my polish and brats even if I leave them fresh for grilling . Makes a great sausage .