Greeting one and all. I jumped into sausage making partly do to conversations over too many pints of beer and to keep up to my wife who bought a smoker last year and is the queen of smoking in our parts.
With a couple pints of IPA under my belt I went searching for a cheap introductory sausage maker on line. I found one on Overstock for $58.00 and thought, nothing ventured, nothing gained. It's fine for grinding but will need some tune ups before the next batch of sausage.
Now the recipe for this farmer type sausage is as follows:
5 pounds pork shoulder – ground course
1 tbs salt
2 tbs pepper
1 teaspoon cure
1 1/2 tbs fennel
1 1/2 tbs garlic powder
1 1/2 tbs onion powder
Stuffing:
Freeze for 1 hr prior to stuffing to firm up the texture.
stuff into 34-36mmm casings into 10-12" sections. allow links to air dry until dry to the touch, can be sped up by placing in front of a fan. *( I used collagen casings so they were dry almost instantly).
As you can see in the following picture, my measurements were not exact in the lengths I made. The closer they are in size, the better the final results when smoking ( hey it was my first time too).
Smoking:
Hot smoking start at around 120 F and raise smoker temp by about 10 deg F every half hour until it reaches 170. *( high math says that'll take 2.5 hours from when you put them in the smoker until you hit 170 F.
-Do not go above this temp or you may get fat rendering around the outside of the sausage.
Smoke until you get to internal temp of 155 F.
*(Grounds meats are more susceptible to bacteria. You can cook your pork chop to 140 but your Sausage has to hit 155 to kill off more of the bugs).
Approx time required to hit 155 F for me was 3 hours at 170F.
Remove from the smoker and ( if you use collagen casings) hang to cool in a cool place until the internal temperature hits 100 F.
Now the hard part: Allow links to cool and bloom in refrigerator overnight. *( Yes there is a substantial change from when you first pull it out of the smoker and the following day. The flavor is more rounded ( harder to pick out individual flavors like garlic or onion) and the colour is the more traditional processed meat pink.
Below: Fresh out of the smoker
Below: After Blooming overnight.
Now that I have my first batch under my belt and everyone who has eaten it survived, it's time to hit Amazon for a better grinder/ Sausage maker. Next stop Chorizo!
Prep time: ( cut- grind and season meat) 1.5 Hrs.
Casing time: 1Hr.
Graduated smoking time: 5.5 Hrs.
Enjoy and good luck!
With a couple pints of IPA under my belt I went searching for a cheap introductory sausage maker on line. I found one on Overstock for $58.00 and thought, nothing ventured, nothing gained. It's fine for grinding but will need some tune ups before the next batch of sausage.
Now the recipe for this farmer type sausage is as follows:
5 pounds pork shoulder – ground course
1 tbs salt
2 tbs pepper
1 teaspoon cure
1 1/2 tbs fennel
1 1/2 tbs garlic powder
1 1/2 tbs onion powder
- mix well rest overnight in fridge.
Stuffing:
Freeze for 1 hr prior to stuffing to firm up the texture.
stuff into 34-36mmm casings into 10-12" sections. allow links to air dry until dry to the touch, can be sped up by placing in front of a fan. *( I used collagen casings so they were dry almost instantly).
As you can see in the following picture, my measurements were not exact in the lengths I made. The closer they are in size, the better the final results when smoking ( hey it was my first time too).
Smoking:
Hot smoking start at around 120 F and raise smoker temp by about 10 deg F every half hour until it reaches 170. *( high math says that'll take 2.5 hours from when you put them in the smoker until you hit 170 F.
-Do not go above this temp or you may get fat rendering around the outside of the sausage.
Smoke until you get to internal temp of 155 F.
*(Grounds meats are more susceptible to bacteria. You can cook your pork chop to 140 but your Sausage has to hit 155 to kill off more of the bugs).
Approx time required to hit 155 F for me was 3 hours at 170F.
Remove from the smoker and ( if you use collagen casings) hang to cool in a cool place until the internal temperature hits 100 F.
Now the hard part: Allow links to cool and bloom in refrigerator overnight. *( Yes there is a substantial change from when you first pull it out of the smoker and the following day. The flavor is more rounded ( harder to pick out individual flavors like garlic or onion) and the colour is the more traditional processed meat pink.
Below: Fresh out of the smoker
Below: After Blooming overnight.
Now that I have my first batch under my belt and everyone who has eaten it survived, it's time to hit Amazon for a better grinder/ Sausage maker. Next stop Chorizo!
Prep time: ( cut- grind and season meat) 1.5 Hrs.
Casing time: 1Hr.
Graduated smoking time: 5.5 Hrs.
Enjoy and good luck!
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