A couple of questions

[fished]

Good morning everyone.

I'm fairly new to sausage making.  I have made breakfast sausage, BBB and summer sausage twice.  I've read that a lot of people will grind and season the meat, then let it sit over night and stuff the next day.  Both times I have made summer sausage, I grind, season and stuff the same day.  Then I let is sit over night in the refer and smoke the next day.  Is there any difference between the two methods?  Also what does using dry milk powder do for the sausage?  Thanks for the help.

 

[reinhard]

As long as the sausage mix is mixed well i dont think it makes a difference. i personaly let the whole batch set overnight and then stuff. I think the most important thing is to make sure that the seasoning and the cure is distributed evenly.  I do this by mixing my seasonings and cure in the proper amount of water per batch and then pouring it into my mix.  Powdered milk is a binder.  It absorbs moisture so it is retained within the sausage you make.  It also gives your product better form and lessen's shrinkage.  I use one cup of powder'd milk per 5 pounds of sausage mix.  Reinhard

 

[driedstick]

How were the summer sausage you made?? Did you like them??? Reinhard has you covered on this one

Good luck

A full smoker is a happy smoker

 

[shannon127]

Just to add to the discussion there are also some of us who cube our meat, add the cure and seasonings, then refrigerate for at least 24 hours.  I usually wait 48 to 72 hours then grind the mixture.  After grinding add the water and mix thoroughly.  It will get very sticky and thick as the proteins start to bind the sausage together.  Finally, I stuff and let dry before smoking.  I know a lot of people swear by dry milk and soy protein....ect.  I have been making sausage off and on for the better part of 30 years, without these additives and have only ever made one batch that was dry or did not have a good bind.  I suspect that had more to do with how sharp my grinder blade was than anything else.  If your new to sausage making try a nice simple recipe and see how it turns out.  If you have problems with the bind, then try the additives.  Here is a link to a Step by Step traditional Polish Kielbasa recipe I posted for Chef Jimmy J a year or so ago.  If you need any assistance feel free to give me a shout.

http://www.smokingmeatforums.com/t/129813/kielbasa-start-to-finish-for-chef-jimmy

 

[fished]

This first summer sausage I made was from a high mountain seasoning kit.  I ground the meat once using the course plate.  The texture was good, but the flavor was a little lacking.  The last one we did was from a LEM kit.  We ground the meat once with the course plate and once with the fine plate.  The texture was grainier, the flavor was better.  I added picked jalapones and cheddar cheese to both of them.  I don't know if the texture difference was from the different brands of seasoning packets or from the different grinds.   The next time I make it I want to use one of the recipes from the fine folks on here.