Okay, seriously. How hard can it be to make a batch of sausage?
I decided to do a batch of Texas Hot Links based on the recipe Gearloose posted here:
http://www.smokingmeatforums.com/t/264905/just-sharing-a-recipe-texas-hot-links
I threw some casings in water a couple of days ago. I decided on 60% ground beef and 40% pork butt.
I assembled the ingredients, substituting Cure #1 for TQ and Espelette pepper for the red pepper flakes. I also cut back a little on the cayenne because I grind mine as I need it. No MSG because I didn't have any.
The ground beef is already a medium-fine grind, so I ground the pork through the medium plate.
Everybody but the beer goes into the pool, the mixture goes into the fridge for the night. I decided the mix looked a little lean, so I picked up some pork fat trimmings from the local grocery store. I then decide to flush the casings, because I'm a little pressed for time and don't have an extra day to let them soak. Yep, at least half of them have a hole in them. After trimming, I have a bunch of casings, none of which are over 30" long...
So today, we have several things to do, including harvesting garlic, carrots, kale, etc. We also have several errands to run. So I spread out my mixture on a baking sheet and throw it in the deep freeze before we head out. The time comes to get my sausage on, so everything gets laid out for the second grind. I decide I want to run everything through the fine plate...I left the mixture in the freezer too long...
The patient is critical and doesn't pull through.
As I'm running to the Walmart to pick up a new KitchenAid, I get a phone call from the HOA president, who's out of town. The sprinkler guy who's trying to fix an issue so that we can have a new pad poured at our pump facility just called. There's a hole in the pressure tank. I stop by on my way out of the neighborhood and find it's only a pinhole leak that will hold for a few days until we can get a new one installed. On the downside, the sprinkler line issue is more complex than we thought and tomorrow's pour is in jeopardy. I'll check back in on my way home to see how it's going.
Walmart doesn't have what I'm looking for, neither does any other store in the area. As I'm driving home, I figure out plan B. 1/3 of the mix made it through the fine plate. The ground beef is a medium fine grind and the pork is a medium grind. Not the fine texture I was looking for but still quite serviceable. The pork fat? Back in the freezer and then through the greater attachment on the Cuisinart.
After the second grind and mix. Superb fry test.
Into the stuffer where I proceed to have two blowouts and because of the short, variable lengths of the casings, no two sausages are the same length. C'est la vie, the job got done.
Into a bag, into the fridge, I'll hang and dry them a bit tomorrow. At this point, the bourbon is calling. I'm going to leave these as fresh sausage, so I can smoke or grill them depending on my preference at the time.
I decided to do a batch of Texas Hot Links based on the recipe Gearloose posted here:
http://www.smokingmeatforums.com/t/264905/just-sharing-a-recipe-texas-hot-links
I threw some casings in water a couple of days ago. I decided on 60% ground beef and 40% pork butt.
I assembled the ingredients, substituting Cure #1 for TQ and Espelette pepper for the red pepper flakes. I also cut back a little on the cayenne because I grind mine as I need it. No MSG because I didn't have any.
The ground beef is already a medium-fine grind, so I ground the pork through the medium plate.
Everybody but the beer goes into the pool, the mixture goes into the fridge for the night. I decided the mix looked a little lean, so I picked up some pork fat trimmings from the local grocery store. I then decide to flush the casings, because I'm a little pressed for time and don't have an extra day to let them soak. Yep, at least half of them have a hole in them. After trimming, I have a bunch of casings, none of which are over 30" long...
So today, we have several things to do, including harvesting garlic, carrots, kale, etc. We also have several errands to run. So I spread out my mixture on a baking sheet and throw it in the deep freeze before we head out. The time comes to get my sausage on, so everything gets laid out for the second grind. I decide I want to run everything through the fine plate...I left the mixture in the freezer too long...
The patient is critical and doesn't pull through.
As I'm running to the Walmart to pick up a new KitchenAid, I get a phone call from the HOA president, who's out of town. The sprinkler guy who's trying to fix an issue so that we can have a new pad poured at our pump facility just called. There's a hole in the pressure tank. I stop by on my way out of the neighborhood and find it's only a pinhole leak that will hold for a few days until we can get a new one installed. On the downside, the sprinkler line issue is more complex than we thought and tomorrow's pour is in jeopardy. I'll check back in on my way home to see how it's going.
Walmart doesn't have what I'm looking for, neither does any other store in the area. As I'm driving home, I figure out plan B. 1/3 of the mix made it through the fine plate. The ground beef is a medium fine grind and the pork is a medium grind. Not the fine texture I was looking for but still quite serviceable. The pork fat? Back in the freezer and then through the greater attachment on the Cuisinart.
After the second grind and mix. Superb fry test.
Into the stuffer where I proceed to have two blowouts and because of the short, variable lengths of the casings, no two sausages are the same length. C'est la vie, the job got done.
Into a bag, into the fridge, I'll hang and dry them a bit tomorrow. At this point, the bourbon is calling. I'm going to leave these as fresh sausage, so I can smoke or grill them depending on my preference at the time.
