Best practices for sausage making

[mosparky]

Another vote for sticky. I had already found about all of these points after reading thru 100's of threads. Great to have it all in one place for print out to include in my personal recipe/logbook.

points

 

[ford719]

I'm new to making sausage so my question is what's with spraying water?

 

[crankybuzzard]

I'm new to making sausage so my question is what's with spraying water?

It's an ongoing joke on here. One of our members purchased a LEM sausage stuffer and had some issues with it. When he called the LEM customer service, they told him to add lots of water.

Now, the spraying water is a joke, only use the amount of water, or other liquids, that are called for in the recipe.

:welcome1: to the SMF!

 

[ford719]

OK thanks, wasn't sure if I was missing a step.

 

[crankybuzzard]

OK thanks, wasn't sure if I was missing a step.

When it's time to stop the cooking process, you can shower the sausages instead of dipping in cold water. Just don't use a fire hose. :laugh1:

 

[ford719]

Lol yea I'm short on fire hose around my house

 

[loggie]

Great information in one post

 

[stovebolt]

 Good read. Thanks for the post. Point.

Chuck

 

[BGKYSmoker]

Thats some great info there brother.

I am having a hard time with it though because i dont know how to read and this Amish lady just say to me 'Its not my yob mang" Hey thats spanish not Amish talk.

JK

All is good.

 

[LanceR]

This is a great thread.  My thanks go to all who have contributed.

All I can think to add is to keep good notes, use the freshest spices and herbs you can find and to weigh the salt.  A good journal may well be the most important tool you own, freshness speaks for itself and the weight of different types and brands of salt varies greatly when measured by volume.....

The wrong amount of salt can cause problems from the sausage not tasting right to sausage that's unsafe to eat.  We weigh pretty much everything.

We work in metric measures which makes scaling up or down a lot easier than English measures do.  When we test or develop new recipes we make a one kilogram batche before risking a lot of meat and seasonings.

In addition to a good digital scale we use a cartridge reloading scale to measure small amounts of seasonings as it is accurate to better than 1/5000 of an ounce.  We also keep our stainless steel mixing bowls and grinder head in the fridge until needed to help keep things as cold as possible during grinding and mixing.

We use Syracuse Casings salted pre-tubed hog and sheep casings and we only give them ten minutes max to soak after rinsing them and don't have any issues with blowouts.  I wonder if the brand of casings folks use or the freshness of the casings leads to the recommendation to soak for a long time? 

Again, thanks for the info.

Lance

 

[driedstick]

Great info Cranky,,,, missed it first go, around,,,, glad I seen it this time

OH!!!!! 

And don't forget 

"A full smoker is a happy smoker"  

DS

 

[daveomak]

Buzzard you did it now !!!!!   You broke the "Thumbs Up

" button.....   I can't give you one....     You have all the machine will give you....  

 

[milkman55]

Doing my first batch of sausage in my MES. how much does everyone prick the natural casing to prevent bloating during cooking?

 

[crankybuzzard]

The only time I prick it is when I have noticeable air pockets. Go slow and fill the casing well and you shouldn't have too many issues.

Also, low and slow smoke (if using cure) will help as well to prevent fat out situations.

 

[erazz]

Im thinking about jumping into the sausage realm, so my first question is when referring to cure are we talking about for slow smoked sausages only?   Im looking at basic sausage links, or brats, is that required since its a normal smoke and not a long smoke?   Trying to differentiate the terms.  I'll probably venture into varieties like chorizo and such, but now just looking and brats and such.

 

[dirtsailor2003]

Im thinking about jumping into the sausage realm, so my first question is when referring to cure are we talking about for slow smoked sausages only?   Im looking at basic sausage links, or brats, is that required since its a normal smoke and not a long smoke?   Trying to differentiate the terms.  I'll probably venture into varieties like chorizo and such, but now just looking and brats and such.

Yes cure should be used for slow cooked or smoked sausages.

Sausages that you plan to cook hot and fast, such as brats do not require cure. Some still add cure to these for color and or flavor but it's not required.

 

[erazz]

Gotcha, i figured as much.   So what about smoking brats?   For example, I cook them in my smoker at about 250-275 for about 30-45 minutes, not sure if that really categorizes as hot or fast

 

[dirtsailor2003]

 
Gotcha, i figured as much.   So what about smoking brats?   For example, I cook them in my smoker at about 250-275 for about 30-45 minutes, not sure if that really categorizes as hot or fast

By slow cooking we are concerned with getting to an internal temp of 140° in less than 4 hours. So anything over that time to get to 140° should have cure.

Your example would be fine without.

 

[erazz]

 
By slow cooking we are concerned with getting to an internal temp of 140° in less than 4 hours. So anything over that time to get to 140° should have cure.

Your example would be fine without.

Ok cool, thanks for the response!

 

[milkman55]

I have made three 5lb batches of various pork sausage - Andouille, Hot Links and Sweet Italian. Going to make a new batch of Garlic sausage tomorrow.

What is the secret to getting the natural pork casings more tender? I have the ones packed dry in salt and I soak them in water for about 30 min and rinse well.

I bring my temp up slowly as directed, but the casings are still tougher than I would like.