First attempt at sausage Q-View - Turkey, feta and sun-dried tomato

[hilbillyinca]

So I bought a cheapo grinder/stuffer from Bass Pro.  Some of you fine folks helped me understand the Auger Stabilizer, and I appreciate that.

Last night I did a quick run to test it out.

I used Ground Turkey (already had it in the fridge..), Sun-dried tomatoes, feta, coriander, fennel seed, chipotle pepper, salt and black pepper. I didn't add any cure for two reasons. 1. I dont understand it yet.   2. I was tossing these straight onto the grill so not really worried about botulism.

Had planned on grinding in some bacon, but the wifey didn't bring it home when she made her wine run!

Well, the links looked better than I expected for the first run. A very cool process I might add.

After:

I let them get away from me on the grill. I got caught up in cleaning and drying my grinder so they overcooked a bit. Not to mention, I probed each one (im just paranoid about poultry that way).

All that being said, they were dry as Methuselah's farts.  I know I needed to add some fat, and they could have done without the overcooking and over-probing. 

The flavor was pretty good though, and my wife was impressed.

Overall, I have a good idea of how to fix my amateur mistakes, and I'll be scouring these forums for all the tips and tricks for this weekend's real test.

Thanks to all your folks for the great advice and tips!

 

[scarbelly]

Those sausages look great especially for a first run. I know how dry the chicken sausage can be. My butcher told me that to keep the fat content down they mostly use breasts. If you grind your own you can use thighs which will help a lot. Also you can add a little cream to the mixture for moisture

Good luck this weekend   

 

[beer-b-q]

Great Looking Sausage for the first time...Nice Job...

 

[mballi3011]

Hey the sausage looks great to me specially on your first run at it. I was cleaning alot more then you did on my first time. But you learned and the next time they will be alot better. and don't grind up the dog with your new found love for sausage. They don't taste good use the cat........LOL sorry PETA

 

[old poi dog]

Thumbs up to you on your first effort......Looks like more good times are on the way

 

[boykjo]

I think the missing bacon may be the culprit. Turkey breast has very little fat. I would add the bacon next time and watch the temp. lower and longer on the grill. For more moisture in the sausage I would buy the breasts and or thighs, brine for a day and grind and stuff. There are so many ways. welcome to the sausage  world!!!!!!!!!!!

Nice work for the first time

 

[realtorterry]

Trying washing it down with a beer! Great job!

 

[princess]

These look really GOOD. I love feta ANYTHING and the recipe looks tasty!

I *really* like the trick of using non-fat powdered milk solids, which helps retain moisture without added fat (as well as the occassional eggyolk) to add moisture to my fresh (read:non-cured) sausage.

-Princess

All that being said, they were dry as Methuselah's farts.  I know I needed to add some fat, and they could have done without the overcooking and over-probing. 

The flavor was pretty good though, and my wife was impressed.

Overall, I have a good idea of how to fix my amateur mistakes, and I'll be scouring these forums for all the tips and tricks for this weekend's real test.

Thanks to all your folks for the great advice and tips!

 

[squirrel]

Dry as wha??? LOL! I really did laugh out loud when i read that. Hey man, they look awesome. Live and learn. It will only make the next batch even better. Tell the Mrs. - NO MO WINE FOR YOU! for forgetting the bacon. Looking forward to your next batch. I think I'm going to crack open a bottle of wine, get a buzz and say "Methuselah's farts" 1,243 times and see how long it takes me to drool all over myself.

I don't get out much. Thanks for the laugh!

 

[hilbillyinca]

These look really GOOD. I love feta ANYTHING and the recipe looks tasty!

I *really* like the trick of using non-fat powdered milk solids, which helps retain moisture without added fat (as well as the occassional eggyolk) to add moisture to my fresh (read:non-cured) sausage.

-Princess

 

Hi Princess,

Crud!  I'm getting my ingredients ready for my next go-round tomorrow. I'm using your walkthrough for the Green Bay Brats, sans the cheddar.  I was just at the store getting ingredients (from memory), and was looking for Powdered Milk Fats!  I misremembered what I was supposed to be getting. I was actually holding the non-fat powdered milk in my hand, but thought I needed powdered milk fat. I didn't even know what that was! 

I'm adjusting the recipe a bit.. using Pork Shoulder, a nice fatty ribeye, and about 1/2 pound of bacon. Hopefully the bacon fat, will help. Plus there's quite a bit of fat in the shoulder and ribeye. 

Once again, you guys are awesome!  I'll start a new thread tomorrow with qview of the next go-round.

 

[boatnut]

those look really good!  care to share exact recipe?  I love poultry sausages.   I know they can be touted as "healthy", but let's face it, FAT EQUALS FLAVOR.   I always add either fatty bacon OR some pork "back fat" to mine.  I don't always tell folks that I cook them for or give them too that I've added it, but get lots of compliments.   I check mine for internal temps with thermopen and love watching juice run out of them.   Overcooking will ruin a good poultry sausage, IMO.  Also, when making chicken sausages, I pretty much stick to boneless thighs from Sam's or Restaraunt Depot.

good job!