First time making link sausage. Looking for good recipes!

[Zachary jacobs]

^^^^ What this guy said!

Often when using mixes or an untried recipe you may end up with too much salt. After mixing up the seasoning make a test patty and fry it for salt and flavor testing.

If it's too bland add more seasoning.
If it's too salty or overpowering on one seasoning then add more meat.

Repeat until it tastes good BUT DO NOT worry about it tasting exactly like what the final product will taste like. Often you are getting the preview of the real thing. The seasonings will still meld together and blend, etc. to give you a different and often the desired taste after all the work has been done. So in short don't worry if the fry test patty doesn't taste like what you think the end result should taste like. :)

Also tropics did you a huge favor by posting the link to that thread on preparing natural castings. Read that and get on soaking those hog casings ASAP the way the thread suggests.

Finally, don't smoke hotter than 180F smoker temp. If you do you run the risk of melting out all the fat in your sausages and ending up with dry crumbly bland sausage.

Best of luck and here are some sausage pics of my items that may help inspire you! :)

DSC_8940[1]

• tallbm
• Nov 3, 2017

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• tallbm
• Jun 4, 2017

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• tallbm
• Jun 4, 2017

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• tallbm
• Jun 4, 2017

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• tallbm
• Jun 4, 2017

Awesome! Thanks for the advice!

 

[MICHAEL SERRANO]

Newbie here with a smoker and making sausage.

Anyone every use bacon for the "fat" you add to chicken sausage recipe? I was thinking about using 2 lbs boneless/skinless chicken breasts, 1 lb boneless/skinless thighs and 1 lb bacon. Does that seem like a good ratio or idea?

Thanks, Mike

 

[indaswamp]

Often when using mixes or an untried recipe you may end up with too much salt. After mixing up the seasoning make a test patty and fry it for salt and flavor testing.

If it's too bland add more seasoning.
If it's too salty or overpowering on one seasoning then add more meat.

^^^great advice...but better yet, when I am making a batch with a new seasoning blend, I always pull out 1 or 2 lbs. and mix the seasoning in that, then test fry it. This way, I'll know if I want to proceed or go in a different direction and adjust the salt/seasoning mix.

The way to do this is to take the premix seasoning pk. and look for the amount suggested, usually it is for 25# of meat. Then note the weight in grams on the package. take the weight of the seasoning and divide by 25#...that is the amount of seasoning for 1# of meat. multiply by 2 and then weigh out this much on a gram scale. Mix in the 2# of meat.

BTW-to the OP, I recommend picking up a gram scale...you can pick one up for about $10 bucks. Required equipment for mixing your own spice blends....

 

[indaswamp]

Newbie here with a smoker and making sausage.

Anyone every use bacon for the "fat" you add to chicken sausage recipe? I was thinking about using 2 lbs boneless/skinless chicken breasts, 1 lb boneless/skinless thighs and 1 lb bacon. Does that seem like a good ratio or idea?

Thanks, Mike

I do not recommend chicken breast meat for sausage. Too dry...just like hogs have the butt (pork shoulder) as the best part for sausage, chickens have thighs. Thighs have more fat and more flavor...they are not dry....they also have more collagen because commercially raised hens walk around a lot- they do not fly.

 

[buzzy]

. Buy this. Full of all kinds of recipes & info