Fresh sausage links

[ol smoky]

I’m going to be making my first attempt at fresh Italian sausage. How long do I let the links sit in fridge before I can cut them apart and freeze? Any other tips would be appreciated too. Thanks

 

[tropics]

I would lay them on a sheet pan and freeze,then you can cut the links loose vac seal and back in the freezer
Richie

 

[dirtsailor2003]

I would lay them on a sheet pan and freeze,then you can cut the links loose vac seal and back in the freezer
Richie

Yes this. I put parchment paper on the sheet pan to keep the meat from freezing to the pan.

If your sausage isn't a bit frozen it will squish down when you vac pack.

 

[tropics]

Yes this. I put parchment paper on the sheet pan to keep the meat from freezing to the pan.

If your sausage isn't a bit frozen it will squish down when you vac pack.

Thanks Case I forgot to put that in,good catch
Richie

 

[ol smoky]

Great! Thanks! I couldn’t find anything online about the step between link and freezer. I got pretubed 32-35 mm casings from the sausage maker and AC Legg mild and hot Italian seasoning. I also just picked up 30lbs of boneless pork shoulder from Costco for $1.98 a pound. 10lbs will be used for the Italian sausage and the other 20 will be mixed with venison for sticks and summer sausage. I might try hotdogs this year too.

 

[crazymoon]

OS, Tropics is spot on w/ the freezing, I like to let my sausage sit in the fridge a few days to let the spices permeate a bit before freezing.

 

[ol smoky]

another question, I don't have a real course plate like 1/2". My largest is 3/8". I was going to cube the meat into 1" pieces, mix my spices then grind just once through my largest plate. Is this ok or should I wait till I get a larger plate to do a first grind, mix, and then second grind through the 3/8 plate? I want a courser sausage

 

[crazymoon]

OS, I'm editing this post as I needed more coffee before answering.One grind for the all pork sausage will be fine. I would do two grinds for the vennie/pork sausage to get it mixed well.Shoot for a 4:1 ratio of vennie to pork. I throw 4 somewhat equal pieces of vennie and 1 equal piece of pork into the grinder together for the first grind and continue this until all the meat is ground.The second grind will mix the meats better.

 

[ol smoky]

OS, I am assuming you are using pork butt(or something similar). One grind through the 3/8 plate will be fine, I always grind my pork sausage just one time using 1/4 " plate w/great results. Have fun with your sausage making !:)

Yes it’s pork butt. I’m sure it will be fun, everything else I have done has been fun! Last weekend was crazy. Starting on Thursday I cut, ground , seasoned, stuffed 25lbs of summer sausage and smoked on Friday. Took 17 hours to finish but came out fantastic. Saturday I made 6 lbs of jerky and stuffed 10lbs of 19mm snack sticks which I smoked on Sunday. The first few sticks started coming out of the smoker after 9 hrs and the last stick came out right at the 12 hr mark. Those came out great too.

 

[ol smoky]

 

[ol smoky]

OS, I'm editing this post as I needed more coffee before answering.One grind for the all pork sausage will be fine. I would do two grinds for the vennie/pork sausage to get it mixed well.Shoot for a 4:1 ratio of vennie to pork. I throw 4 somewhat equal pieces of vennie and 1 equal piece of pork into the grinder together for the first grind and continue this until all the meat is ground.The second grind will mix the meats better.

Sorry if I confused you but the fresh Italian will be 100% pork butt. When I mix with venison I do 2 grinds.

 

[ol smoky]

I ditched my lem 5 lb stuffer and got a HAKKA 10lb horizontal stuffer. The lem just couldn’t handle the small stack sticks for me. I will be stuffing some more sticks on Friday and will see how the Hakka handles them. It seems like it will do much better, it’s so much better built then the lem. I went with the horizontal because I have the counter space and hopefully it cuts down on wastes meat. Hopefully I made the right choice

 

[crazymoon]

OS , Good looking jerky,stix and SS!

 

[ol smoky]

I ended up making 5lbs mild and 5 lbs hot. I’m pleased with how they came out considering this is my 1st time using natural casing. They are resting in the fridge till tomorrow after work then I will freeze them before vac sealing. Some will be used for sausage and peppers in the crockpot for Tuesday’s dinner. Thanks for the tips

 

[myownidaho]

Those look purty!

 

[forvols]

Nice job. One my favorites Hot Italian sausage. I did my first batch a month or so ago, was first time to use natural casing also. They turned out great, I didn't pre freeze before vac sealing(I probably will next time) but sausages didnt mash down to much, Just took a little reshaping after thawing.