First timer - some questions

[bison123]

Just took my first batch of homemade sausages off the smoker and it turned out OK. I used 8 lbs pork shoulder, 2 lbs lean wild pig, 1.4 lbs fat, 1.4 lbs hi temp cheddar, and AC Legg seasoning. Things I learned and questions:
- Using a KitchenAid attachment sucks. Took far too long and was a real pain, particularly stuffing. Am looking at dedicated grinder - Suggestions? Looking at LEM #8 big bite. I expect to use it only a few times a year.
- Likewise will want a stuffer. LEM 5 lb?
- The sausages cooked much faster than I thought, so some were overcooked and split. I have a Yoder YS 480, set at 225 and used both top and bottom racks. Only took 1 1/2 hrs. Should I use a lower temperature?
- My foodsaver vacuum sealer is kind of a pain. It seems to overheat quickly so I have to wait for it to cool.
- Seasoning seems OK but not as spicy as I hoped. Maybe I'll add some fresh peppers next time?
Thanks!

 

[SmokinEdge]

Hey all sausage is good! You are learning but the sausage still looks good.
Are these fresh or cured? Internal temp of 150 and pull. Them.
Big Bite #8 is what I have. Nice machine. I also have their 5# stuffer. Your on the right track. May I suggest doing no more than 5# batches at a time until you get a little time under your belt. Or you can do 1kg batches (2.2 lbs) lots of recipes are set up this way.

 

[smokerjim]

Looks good from here, as for the stuffer I would go bigger, it just sucks reloading if your doing bigger batches, but that's me. You could go little lower but if you don't use cure I wouldn't go under 200.

 

[bison123]

Hey all sausage is good! You are learning but the sausage still looks good.
Are these fresh or cured? Internal temp of 150 and pull. Them.
Big Bite #8 is what I have. Nice machine. I also have their 5# stuffer. Your on the right track. May I suggest doing no more than 5# batches at a time until you get a little time under your belt. Or you can do 1kg batches (2.2 lbs) lots of recipes are set up this way.

Thanks - the AC Legg mix I bought came with curing salt so I used it. I was intending to go to 150 but didn't expect it to happen so quickly so overshot on the thinner ones. The thicker ones were about 155. I'm sure that a stuffer will help make them more consistent in diameter.

 

[bison123]

Looks good from here, as for the stuffer I would go bigger, it just sucks reloading if your doing bigger batches, but that's me. You could go little lower but if you don't use cure I wouldn't go under 200.

Thanks - I used curing salt because it came with the seasoning mix I bought. When do you need cure and when not?

 

[smokerjim]

If it is cured you could go as low as you want then raise the temp gradually as you go until you hit the internal of 155 to 160. Then give it a ice water bath to stop the cooking.

 

[bgravs]

I would definately get a stuffer. I finally broke down and got a Hakka 7lb stuffer. I used a grinder and a kitchen aid attachment several times. There is absolutely no comparison. A trick for grinding is to grind the meat while its partially froze. Works way better.

 

[Winterrider]

Hard to keep temps down low enough with a pellets grill. High temp should not really exceed 180° which could cause fatout. As mentioned the LEM products will serve you well. Test fry before stuffing in case you need to add something, pepper, garlic or other. Off to a good start

 

[smokerjim]

Thanks - I used curing salt because it came with the seasoning mix I bought. When do you need cure and when not?

If you want more of a cold smoke for longer periods you,all need to use cure to keep your sausage from going bad, if you dont use cure ya need to get your internal temp above 145 with in 4 hours and finish at 155 to 160 internal. Hope this helps and makes sense.

 

[SmokyMose]

Nice looking links! Looks like you're off to a good start. You're already thinking about changing things up! I would suggest getting away from the store bought mixes and doing your own. There are lots of recipes here. Like Winterrider said, you need to keep temps low to smoke sausage.
A dedicated stuffer is a must. I'm ok with a 5# stuffer.
Good luck and welcome to sausagemaking!

 

[mike243]

A electric smoker is hard to beat for sausages imo, been using a KA grinder stuffer for years, works fine for my small batches, too much heat from the pellet smoker, hard to get the temp down unless its real cold out side with mine.

 

[tallbm]

Thanks - I used curing salt because it came with the seasoning mix I bought. When do you need cure and when not?

Hi there and welcome!

I think you are on the right track with grinder. For stuffer I would suggest a 7 pound stuffer of any kind that has metal gears and good reviews. Why not a 5 pound stuffer? Because they never really stuff the amount they say. A 5 pound stuffer only stuffs about 4 pounds where a 7 pound stuffer can surely do 5 pounds of sausage. It sucks to have to keep reloading and reloading and reloading a stuffer and it never matches the size of the batches you do haha. This is a real thing.

Now this is important information to know for safety and sausage making.
Cure #1 is put in meats like sausage so that it fights bacteria during the cooking/smoking process.

The standard sausage smoking process starts with a smoker temperature of like 100F degrees and walks up to a smoker temperature of 170'ish degrees. This means a number of hours where the sausage is in prime bacteria temps so cure#1 squashes the bacteria's chances in that time and temp range.

Why does the sausage process go at such low temps for so long? It's because cooking sausage too hot or raising the heat to fast shocks and melts the fat in the sausage. When the fat renders and turns to liquid that is called "Fat Out" which results in ruined sausage that is grainy and dry and just messed up. This is not what you want especially after all that hard work making the sausage.

You run a pellet smoker so you may have problems keeping a low temp and walking up but there are things you can do like putting a cookie sheet on the grill grates to deflect and direct heat from directly hitting your sausages. I smoke wild pork sausages where I walk up to a max temp of 180F smoker temp so it can be done but I wouldn't go over that temp unless you are simply grilling sausages.

As for a vac sealer... yeah I'm sure your food saver will fail you in 1 of many numbers of way soon if it isn't already failing you. Unfortunately vac sealers are one of those devices where they all suck unless you get a reputable brand that generally runs in the $250-$400 range. The price sucks but these vac sealers simply just work and do it well while all others will fail you and often fail you fast.

Finally for seasoning. There is a practice called the "fry test" where you mix up your seasoning into your sausage meat. Then you take a small amount and fry it up in a skillet and taste it. If it's bland add more seasoning. If it's too salty add more sausage meat/fat mix.
I can't overstate how useful and important this is. You only have to do a batch of sausage once that sucks to understand why doing this step matters so much since again you are putting in all that hard work.
FYI, the meat flavor will not be the exact same as if you smoked the sausage so don't pay attention if the flavor isn't what you expect it to be. If it taste good but different that is fine. If it taste bland or too salty that is not fine so correct it. Also if it taste borderline too salty... it is simply too salty so adjust it a little.

I hope this info helps! :)

 

[bison123]

Hi there and welcome!

I think you are on the right track with grinder. For stuffer I would suggest a 7 pound stuffer of any kind that has metal gears and good reviews. Why not a 5 pound stuffer? Because they never really stuff the amount they say. A 5 pound stuffer only stuffs about 4 pounds where a 7 pound stuffer can surely do 5 pounds of sausage. It sucks to have to keep reloading and reloading and reloading a stuffer and it never matches the size of the batches you do haha. This is a real thing.

Now this is important information to know for safety and sausage making.
Cure #1 is put in meats like sausage so that it fights bacteria during the cooking/smoking process.

The standard sausage smoking process starts with a smoker temperature of like 100F degrees and walks up to a smoker temperature of 170'ish degrees. This means a number of hours where the sausage is in prime bacteria temps so cure#1 squashes the bacteria's chances in that time and temp range.

Why does the sausage process go at such low temps for so long? It's because cooking sausage too hot or raising the heat to fast shocks and melts the fat in the sausage. When the fat renders and turns to liquid that is called "Fat Out" which results in ruined sausage that is grainy and dry and just messed up. This is not what you want especially after all that hard work making the sausage.

You run a pellet smoker so you may have problems keeping a low temp and walking up but there are things you can do like putting a cookie sheet on the grill grates to deflect and direct heat from directly hitting your sausages. I smoke wild pork sausages where I walk up to a max temp of 180F smoker temp so it can be done but I wouldn't go over that temp unless you are simply grilling sausages.

As for a vac sealer... yeah I'm sure your food saver will fail you in 1 of many numbers of way soon if it isn't already failing you. Unfortunately vac sealers are one of those devices where they all suck unless you get a reputable brand that generally runs in the $250-$400 range. The price sucks but these vac sealers simply just work and do it well while all others will fail you and often fail you fast.

Finally for seasoning. There is a practice called the "fry test" where you mix up your seasoning into your sausage meat. Then you take a small amount and fry it up in a skillet and taste it. If it's bland add more seasoning. If it's too salty add more sausage meat/fat mix.
I can't overstate how useful and important this is. You only have to do a batch of sausage once that sucks to understand why doing this step matters so much since again you are putting in all that hard work.
FYI, the meat flavor will not be the exact same as if you smoked the sausage so don't pay attention if the flavor isn't what you expect it to be. If it taste good but different that is fine. If it taste bland or too salty that is not fine so correct it. Also if it taste borderline too salty... it is simply too salty so adjust it a little.

I hope this info helps! :)

Great tips - thanks! Any recommendation on grinder and stuffer?

 

[tallbm]

For the grinder I think you will be fine with the Lem #8 Big Bite, the #8 Mighty Bite will also likely work well for you too.
I use a grinder that is similar to the Mighty Bite in specs but is Weston brand and model not made anymore. I grind a few hundred pounds a hear usually all in one sitting with my grinder and it works fine. I cut meat and grind at the same time and that makes for a good efficient use of time. I cannot cut faster than it grinds so I'm not 4-7 pounds of meat per minute is plenty fast for my needs and likely your needs as well.

As for a stuffer if you will be doing 5 pound batches I would get a 7 pound stuffer, this one seems to be a good one:

Once stuffers get over 5 pounds it's hard to find ones that have the spout coming out of the side of the stuffer vs having a little spout that comes out of the bottom (like the one I posted). There will be meat that gets left in that spout but I just fry that meat up as my sausage stuffing reward but it doesnt make it into a casing :)

FYI, when you start getting into more powerful grinders and higher volume stuffers they get really big and heavy really fast so keep in mind how heavy and how large these things are for using and storing. This is a real thing to consider :)

I hope this info helps :)

 

[bison123]

For the grinder I think you will be fine with the Lem #8 Big Bite, the #8 Mighty Bite will also likely work well for you too.
I use a grinder that is similar to the Mighty Bite in specs but is Weston brand and model not made anymore. I grind a few hundred pounds a hear usually all in one sitting with my grinder and it works fine. I cut meat and grind at the same time and that makes for a good efficient use of time. I cannot cut faster than it grinds so I'm not 4-7 pounds of meat per minute is plenty fast for my needs and likely your needs as well.

As for a stuffer if you will be doing 5 pound batches I would get a 7 pound stuffer, this one seems to be a good one:

Once stuffers get over 5 pounds it's hard to find ones that have the spout coming out of the side of the stuffer vs having a little spout that comes out of the bottom (like the one I posted). There will be meat that gets left in that spout but I just fry that meat up as my sausage stuffing reward but it doesnt make it into a casing :)

FYI, when you start getting into more powerful grinders and higher volume stuffers they get really big and heavy really fast so keep in mind how heavy and how large these things are for using and storing. This is a real thing to consider :)

I hope this info helps :)

Thank you - I ordered that stuffer and Amazon had a good deal on a slightly used Big Bite #12 ($350, cheaper than a #8!). Next batch will be faster and I'll be much more careful with the heat I use.

 

[tallbm]

Thank you - I ordered that stuffer and Amazon had a good deal on a slightly used Big Bite #12 ($350, cheaper than a #8!). Next batch will be faster and I'll be much more careful with the heat I use.

Nice! Looks like you are well on your way my friend :)