It is best to use meat freshly ground when making dry cured or smoked sausages. You could use it for fresh sausages though. I cut into large chunks just small enough that they will fit into the tube of my grinder; and freeze those. I use it within 3 months.
It is also best not to buy already ground meat for making dry cure or smoke sausages. Ground meat you buy in a store is the most contaminated meat in the grocery store.
If you MUST buy meat already ground, I highly recommend buying whole cuts and then having the butcher grind it for you so you know you are getting freshly ground meat. Use it for making sausages that day, do not freeze for later. And if you tell the butcher you will be making sausage, he can probably grind ice cold fat in with the meat for you to get the ratio of fat to lean meat where you want it.
Well, I don't
have to... get GB, just thought it might be more convenient.
Mostly, I'm interested in Snack Stick type of stuffins.
But also some 32 mm Kielbasa.
I was thinking about grabbing a couple of Boston Butts while on sale, and thinking about breaking them down before freezing. Either grinding, then freezing. Or chunking into batch sizes, 1 or 2 pound packages and freezing.
But grinding it myself. Better control of what is actually ground, or discarded. (Having a vessel or artery looking at me from a snack stick is
not appealing to me.)
But wanted to ask before I went down the wrong path.
Grinding my own makes more sense, naturally. But buying a snack stick is totally out of the realm of any control. More so than buying ground beast. At least by buying some London Broil, or stew beef, or other beastly bits, I can see what is going in the grinder.
Another thought is wondering about making the stuffing entirely, then freezing it to hold it for stuffing at a later date.
All this is instead of freezing large, as bought, meats to hold for a future processing date.
So I think I'll follow your lead about making grinder feed sized pieces, and freezing as ready to grind in the near future stuffing meat. Just wanting to bank some while the producers are selling cheaper than later.
Making butt bites for the grinder. (For my grinder, I think miniature cubes.)
