Thanks Man! It is a lot of work...but well worth it when you start pricing what meat processors charge.That’s a helluva cut shot Keith! Man, that looks phenomenal… a slice or two would be awesome with a cold one! You all done a top notch job!
Processing Week 2023...
- Thread starter indaswamp
- Start date
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Thanks piney! I had to defrost my old non-frost free freezer today while the sausages were in the smokehouse. Had a 5 gallon bucket of frost ice and water come out of it. Now to fill it all back up again!
Retired Spook
Master of the Pit
- Jun 28, 2022
- 1,814
- 2,330
Final mixing of second grind with binder is done by hand. With the smoke sasuages, the cure and seasoning are added to the first grind and mixed, then left to rest in the fridge overnight. Running that through the grinder for second grind works the meat over good and does the heavy lifting of protein extraction so that when we mix in the binder by hand with a stainless steel paddle most of the work is already done.
The trick with hand mixing using a SS paddle is you flip, then slice through the meat like a knife with the edge of the paddle. This simulates the action of meat mixer blades....and it is much less work on the arms. work on a little at a time, then pile it up to one side....work your way across the ice chest.
We mixed all the left over domestic pork with the 57# of wild hog for the Brats, Jalapeno n cheddar, and the cajun smoke sausage. The percentage of wild hog is around 26% so not a lot. Most people can not even tell it is in there. I like the wild hogs I get given to me.....good meat for this sort of thing. Makes GREAT sausages!
So I just looked up the pricing at a local deer processor. For what just my brother and I had made this is the break down for cost:
Handling fee for deboned meat; $1/# = 57# + 68# = $125
Ground deer/beef; 125# @ $3.65/# = $456.25
Wild hog brats and Venison/pork cajun fresh sausage; 55# @ $4.59/# = $252.45
Wild hog Cajun smoke sausage; 75# @5.19/# = $389.25
Total would be $ 1,222.95 plus tax........and that is why we do it ourselves.......
Handling fee for deboned meat; $1/# = 57# + 68# = $125
Ground deer/beef; 125# @ $3.65/# = $456.25
Wild hog brats and Venison/pork cajun fresh sausage; 55# @ $4.59/# = $252.45
Wild hog Cajun smoke sausage; 75# @5.19/# = $389.25
Total would be $ 1,222.95 plus tax........and that is why we do it ourselves.......
Retired Spook
Master of the Pit
- Jun 28, 2022
- 1,814
- 2,330
I think you just like makin' homemade sausages because they taste so much better than any commercial sausage and you are using the cost calculation to justify doing it so that folks do not think you are cray-cray for doing so much work!
You did not factor your time or expertise into your cost calculations!
It is also how I justify all the equipment I have accumulated!I think you just like makin' homemade sausages because they taste so much better than any commercial sausage and you are using the cost calculation to justify doing it so that folks do not think you are cray-cray for doing so much work!
You did not factor your time or expertise into your cost calculations!
Retired Spook
Master of the Pit
- Jun 28, 2022
- 1,814
- 2,330
If you factor in your time, expertise and equipment, those sausages are easily worth $30 per pound!
Also, when you do something like this yourself you get all the care, craft, and quality you want to put into it.
When you take it to a processer they just chop and go!
If you want it to be a better product than the processor then it will be a better product, hands down :)
When you take it to a processer they just chop and go!
If you want it to be a better product than the processor then it will be a better product, hands down :)
- Aug 5, 2018
- 1,581
- 2,544
I'll have you know that I burnt to a crisp the first sausages I ever smoked. Now in my defense, I had never smoked sausages and was winging it. Was asked to man the smoker because my Dad had an emergency he had leave to attend to. I cooked those suckers in an offset Oklahoma Joe cabinet smoker. I used way too much wood, got the fire to hot, cooked them too fast (squeezed the fat out.) and they were black when I opened the door to check on them. That was a long fall off mount stupid! LOL! But I'll tell ya what-I can confidently say that I know what I am doing now and I'm still learning the little things. And I'll help anyone that wants to learn and is willing to do the work. Thanks for the laugh buckeyedude.
Round #3 done...(night pic. is messing with the color of the photo)
quenched in cold water, now hanging on chairs with a fan to bloom.
quenched in cold water, now hanging on chairs with a fan to bloom.
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