It was forecast to be a rainy and chilly weekend in upstate NY so I decided to do some sausage making. I'm very much a novice, only having made Italian & breakfast sausage previously. So I settled on 6 recipes, bought 30+ lbs. of pork, 4 lbs. of chicken, and made sure I had all the spices I need.
My equipment consists of a Kitchen Aid stand mixer with the meat grinder and sausage stuffer attachments. The first time I made sausage I discovered what a problem the plastic pusher is that comes with the KA attachments. So my husband cut a piece off of a closet bar and that's what I used this time. Not ideal, but far better than the plastic pusher I had.
I made breakfast sausage, chicken sausage w/ sundried tomatoes, jalapenos, & basil, bratwurst, Lousianna sausage, kielbasa, and sun dried tomato & mozzerella cheese sausage. These are all fresh sausages and are now in my freezer in vacuum sealed packages. I am anxious to try a smoked/cured/dried sausage but haven't gotten up the nerve.
I've decided that the KA works fine for a meat grinder...as long as the meat is good and cold. But as a sausage stuffer it's not the best tool. By the end of the weekend my back was absolutely killing me. My next purchase is a 'real' stuffer!
I didn't take any pics of the work in progress, but here's the finished product (just not all linked up, etc.)
Breakfast sausage
Some of my son's friends came over last night and sampled all the different varieties. There wasn't a bit left on the plate so I guess they are all acceptable. There are a couple I haven't tried yet so I can't say for sure.
My equipment consists of a Kitchen Aid stand mixer with the meat grinder and sausage stuffer attachments. The first time I made sausage I discovered what a problem the plastic pusher is that comes with the KA attachments. So my husband cut a piece off of a closet bar and that's what I used this time. Not ideal, but far better than the plastic pusher I had.
I made breakfast sausage, chicken sausage w/ sundried tomatoes, jalapenos, & basil, bratwurst, Lousianna sausage, kielbasa, and sun dried tomato & mozzerella cheese sausage. These are all fresh sausages and are now in my freezer in vacuum sealed packages. I am anxious to try a smoked/cured/dried sausage but haven't gotten up the nerve.
I've decided that the KA works fine for a meat grinder...as long as the meat is good and cold. But as a sausage stuffer it's not the best tool. By the end of the weekend my back was absolutely killing me. My next purchase is a 'real' stuffer!
I didn't take any pics of the work in progress, but here's the finished product (just not all linked up, etc.)
Breakfast sausage
Some of my son's friends came over last night and sampled all the different varieties. There wasn't a bit left on the plate so I guess they are all acceptable. There are a couple I haven't tried yet so I can't say for sure.
