Pork shoulder picnic... sausage making???

[smokinq13]

So today i went to bjs and got this 21 lb pork shoulder(picnic) to use to make sausage with, they had Boston butts there but they were around 1.70 per lb where this was 1.09 per lb... so i grabbed this thinking even if it's just alot of fat i can trim it off to the ratio i want for sausage and freeze the rest... my question is is this good for making sausage?? I feel like this was a great deal to pass up! Any comments, suggestions? I'm gonna be making brats, Italian, breakfast and maple links as... I'll be mixing beef for my brats, should I mix for any of the others??

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• smokinq13
• May 21, 2017

 

[actech]

I use butts, but I cant see i would be any different. All part of shoulder, maybe not same part. Probably has more fat and bone than a boston

 

[pc farmer]

My guess being 21lb, you have the picnic and the butt.

Both will work for sausage making.    Just trim the fat how you want to get the ratio you want.

 

[ab canuck]

 You will be fine with that. Good score. When we make sausage and have to buy pork that is usually what we use, Shoulders are a bit cheaper and usually trimmed pretty good, We cut very little from it and away we go. We make 2-3 hundred pounds a yr and have never had any issues. 

 

[smokinq13]

I went ahead and went back and bought another one to have for next time(18 lb-er) . I made up about 7lbs of Brats and 7 lbs Maple breakfast sausage. I also got two whole chickens for about 9 bucks as well, and grinded skin and all the meat up for some chicken sausages as well :sausage: .... only problem I got is I don't have a stuffer, only field and stream meat grinder which can "act" like a stuffer but is more of a hassle than anything. so I just froze the meat that I have yet to stuff and ordered a stuffer off amazon, its a cheaper stuffer but from the reviews it looks like it gets the job done!

You think my meat will be fine if I thaw and then stuff it and freeze it again???

 

[potsieko]

I buy my pork meat from a local smokehouse - and they sell Tyson boneless picnic shoulders. I don't trim any fat off - use them as they come. We make sausage, andouille, Italian, and breakfast sausage with this meat, and haven't had any issues. In fact, this cut tends to have more fat than a typical butt. I use butts for pulled pork and jambalaya meat....

 

[shyzabrau]

You think my meat will be fine if I thaw and then stuff it and freeze it again???

Yep. No problem at all! (As long as you don't get freezer burn, of course...)

I made up about 7lbs of Brats and 7 lbs Maple breakfast sausage.

Pictures!!

 

[smokinq13]

​I sealed the meat in zip-lock bags then double wrapped the zip-lock bags with plastic Walmart bags just to give it extra protection. And I'll post some pictures once my stuffer gets here and I get all the sausage stuffed! We also have a whole turkey in the freeze I'm thinking about cutting up and grinding it into turkey sausage, anyone have experience with turkey sausage?

 

[shyzabrau]

 
[...] anyone have experience with turkey sausage?

No, but I have plenty of experience with chicken sausage. Definitely needs plenty of extra fat!

I recently did a chicken sausage with roasted garlic and fresh sage. I think those flavors would go very well with turkey...

http://www.smokingmeatforums.com/t/260950/queview-chicken-sausage-with-sage-and-roasted-garlic

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• shyzabrau
• Apr 8, 2017

 

[tropics]

I haven't done Turkey but I think it would be good with my Chicken sausage recipe

Richie

I used a Jerky Cannon for years making sausage

http://www.smokingmeatforums.com/t/201583/chicken-sausage-italian

 

[smokinq13]

​I might have to try those at some point, they look good! I read through that post and you say how you used a kitchenaid with a grinder attachment for both the stuffing and grinding, I got a field and stream grinder that also can be used for both grinding and "stuffing" but it does a horrible job at stuffing, do you run into problems with your method? I feel like a jerky gun stuffs faster than my f&s grinder does

 

[tropics]

 
​I might have to try those at some point, they look good! I read through that post and you say how you used a kitchenaid with a grinder attachment for both the stuffing and grinding, I got a field and stream grinder that also can be used for both grinding and "stuffing" but it does a horrible job at stuffing, do you run into problems with your method? I feel like a jerky gun stuffs faster than my f&s grinder does

I only used the KA for grinding now I have a Kitchener #12 and a new age stuffer

Richie

 

[shyzabrau]

 
[...] you say how you used a kitchenaid with a grinder attachment for both the stuffing and grinding, I got a field and stream grinder that also can be used for both grinding and "stuffing" but it does a horrible job at stuffing, do you run into problems with your method?

I've run into a number of problems, but I've got some tricks/tips for making it very easy. I can do ten pounds in a reasonable amount of time without a helper. (That is about my limit, but I have done twenty plus pounds before...)

I plan to do another batch of sausage soon, but it may be next weekend as I am out of town for a wedding this weekend and heading to LA for work next week. When I do, I'll take a bunch of pictures and put together a tutorial for working with the KitchenAid grinder/stuffer. It may work for your unit as well. Most of the regular posters here have serious grinders and stuffers, but perhaps I can help other newbies avoid the problems that I faced...

 

[chef jimmyj]

Grinders can stuff but it is slow going. Forcing the meat in with the plunger slows the process more. I take big handfuls of meat and, using wet hands, roll them into sausage shapes the will easily fit the grinder throat. This then get super chilled in the freezer for an hour. Time to stuff, l feed the snakes at the pace the stuffer will take them, no plunging or forcing them in. This makes for a smoother yet slow go. The cheapo 5lb Stuffer l have is NASCAR vs a Model T Ford faster at getting the sausage made...JJ

 

[bluewhisper]

I grind shoulder and butt without adding or trimming fat. I haven't stuffed casings yet. I have a horn for the chop-rite.

 

[smokinq13]

Grinders can stuff but it is slow going. Forcing the meat in with the plunger slows the process more. I take big handfuls of meat and, using wet hands, roll them into sausage shapes the will easily fit the grinder throat. This then get super chilled in the freezer for an hour. Time to stuff, l feed the snakes at the pace the stuffer will take them, no plunging or forcing them in. This makes for a smoother yet slow go. The cheapo 5lb Stuffer l have is NASCAR vs a Model T Ford faster at getting the sausage made...JJ

... yeah tell me about grinders being slow, i finally broke down and ordered a cheap stuffer off amazon, think it was called "goplus" 6liter sausage stuffer or something like that, maybe I'll do a little review on here with it once i get it

 

[indaswamp]

 
My guess being 21lb, you have the picnic and the butt.

Both will work for sausage making.    Just trim the fat how you want to get the ratio you want.

^^^this.

The price was cheaper because you bought a lot of bone with a whole shoulder. You either got the picnic and the butt portion or a picnic from a very big hog. Sometimes picnic shoulders come with the skin on, which is great for when I am making boudin.

 

[wayoutwest]

I just bought a case of boneless pork picnics. I used it to make snack sticks. What I noticed was that my sticks were more harder, kinda like pencil erasers texture. I couldn't figure out why. I first thought I over mixed, but I did everything the same as before, then I realized it must have been the meat. I made hundreds of lbs of snack sticks & this was the first time it was ever this chewy. After speaking to my butcher he said that the picnic is a little more tougher than the butt. I know it's great for pulled pork and some sausage, but I didn't care for it in my snack sticks and will not use it again. But your results may vary from mine..