New to sauseege making

[kadoka]

For a rookie, what kinds of sausage would you recommend I try and make first? Either fresh or smoked, eventually trying both. I will soon have most of the equipment needed for both. Intrested in venison SS with cheese and pork brats & italian.         

 

[jrod62]

What to do first ? That hard one .
I did fresh breakfast links first. Then jump right into summer sausage.

 

[thoseguys26]

I'd say your on the right track. Venison SS & Italian pork sausage are both winners. You can buy SS seasoning packs and you won't go wrong but making it from scratch is pretty awesome. You can always add more spices but you can't take them out so start simple, test & tweak. Good luck!

 

[gersus]

I think summer sausage is the easiest. The bigger sticks seem more forgiving. Fibrous casings are probably the easiest to handle, collagen and natural casings aren't bad either though, IMO.  Other than that a lot of the procedures are very similar.  Grind, take pix, mix, take pix, stuff, take pix, smoke, take pix! :)  Getting a taste you love is sometimes difficult, but when its good, its good!

Dry curing on the other hand.... is a different ball game! I leave that up to solaryellow and nepas. 

 

[bmudd14474]

Fresh Breakfast or Italian

 

[DanMcG]

Breakfast Patties  and Italian,,,,,,,,,But ultimately what would you like to make

 

[couger78]

Got my feet wet doing italian. Pretty straight-forward, and I did learn quite a bit from my mistakes (blow outs, working with nat. casings for the first time).

-Kevin

 

[boykjo]

Got my feet wet doing italian. Pretty straight-forward, and I did learn quite a bit from my mistakes (blow outs, working with nat. casings for the first time).

-Kevin

every time I see that pic I'm in awe kevin......

Joe

 

[big casino]

Kevin are you a photographer for a magazine? or do you just get damn lucky with all these great pics?    oh and by the way the sausage looks awesome too

Harry

 

[sprky]

Kevin are you a photographer for a magazine? or do you just get damn lucky with all these great pics?    oh and by the way the sausage looks awesome too

Harry

I think Kevin hires a pro to take his pics......lmao

 

 

[couger78]

Kevin are you a photographer for a magazine? or do you just get damn lucky with all these great pics?    oh and by the way the sausage looks awesome too

Harry

Harry, 'no' to your first question—but I've worked with enough REAL photographers for years while serving as art director. I saw what 'worked' in shots, particularly when it comes to food.

And, 'yes' to your second question. I use my wife's nice little Sony camera for taking all the shots. Almost idiot-proof.

I decided from the start I was going to make a photographic record of everything I make ('sausage-wise'), both good & bad. It's a lot of extra work, but having a visual record of everything really helps whenever I revisit a recipe.

And I was pretty happy the way the first batch came out. Definitely got me hooked.

— Kevin

 

[scrappynadds]

You don't know how much that helps us rookies.........  by you taking pictures...........Really really good pictures I might add.......

 

[BGKYSmoker]

Ya should go with fresh this way you get the hang of the process without having to worry about the cure and smoke time.

Mix, stuff, eat and double wrap and freeze the rest ya aint cooked yet.......OR bbq it all up and share with family and friends

 

[BGKYSmoker]

Harry, 'no' to your first question—but I've worked with enough REAL photographers for years while serving as art director. I saw what 'worked' in shots, particularly when it comes to food.

And, 'yes' to your second question. I use my wife's nice little Sony camera for taking all the shots. Almost idiot-proof.

I decided from the start I was going to make a photographic record of everything I make ('sausage-wise'), both good & bad. It's a lot of extra work, but having a visual record of everything really helps whenever I revisit a recipe.

And I was pretty happy the way the first batch came out. Definitely got me hooked.

— Kevin

Your right

Take pics of everything. Good, in tween, so so, not so good and failurs. This way you can go back to it all. One thing i still aint learned is keeping logs on paper of what i put in, times and notes.

I have 3 photobucket accs and the 3rd is almost full.
 

 

[vagreys]

Go exotic!

Make Butifara Crua - a Catalan staple:

1 pound ground pork
1 teaspoon kosher salt
1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
2 oz. water

Dissolve the salt in the water, combine ingredients until all the water is absorbed. Stuff into hog casing or make patties.

The recipe scales easily and there is something special about the ratio of salt to pepper.

 

[sausageboy]

As others have said...breakfast or Italian are a good place to start.

FWIW.....

Here are my recipes for Rustic Sweet and Hot Italian Sausage.

Rustic Sweet Italian Sausage

1 Kilo (2.2 lbs.) well-fatted pork butt
2 tsp. Kosher Salt (or to taste)
2 tsp. Fresh Ground Black Pepper
2 tsp. Crushed Fennel Seed
2 tsp. Coarsely Ground Coriander
2 tsp. Crushed Anise Seed (This is essential.)
1 Tbsp. Dried Parsley Flakes
1/2 tsp. Garlic powder
1 tsp. Sugar
1/4 cup Ice Water

For Rustic Hot Italian Sausage add 2 Tbsp. Sweet Paprika and 1/2 a tsp. Ground Cayenne (or to taste).

Grind through a 3/8 plate, grind half of the freshly ground pork through the same plate once more.

Mix to combine the meat, salt and seasonings, refrigerate overnight, then mix well until sticky (test the saltiness) and stuff into hog casings.

:sausage:

 

[sam3]

For a rookie, what kinds of sausage would you recommend I try and make first? Either fresh or smoked, eventually trying both. I will soon have most of the equipment needed for both. Intrested in venison SS with cheese and pork brats & italian.         

I would do the same. First time I made sausage links was with Sweet Italian. After I finished, it went right into the freezer. I bought the Sausage Maker Sweet Italian mix and followed the directions on the label. It was easier than I thought.

Good luck!

Ya should go with fresh this way you get the hang of the process without having to worry about the cure and smoke time.

Mix, stuff, eat and double wrap and freeze the rest ya aint cooked yet.......OR bbq it all up and share with family and friends