Spicing it up

[mosparky]

One of my biggest hold ups in starting this hobby has been spices. You guys are using a lot of stuff beyond my daily usage. SPOG is a mainstay but this other stuff...I checked them on-line and compared to grocery store prices. Major difference. In some cases they were as much as 75% lower than Grocery and the rest were anywhere from 50-60% off. Bonus was they carried Cure one in 2 oz pks, but would pkg a pound and take 10% off for bulk purchase. SOLD !!
Biggest prob has been hours of operation. I am always working when they are open. The wife convinced me to take a weekend off for some down time/we time. The wheels were turning.

$20 for spices I know nothing about the individual taste of, $10 cure 1 to keep it safe and we are ready to rock-n-roll.

 

[chopsaw]

So did you buy it local , or on line ?

 

[chef jimmyj]

You will quickly learn which spices you like and how much to use. For Rubs look at recipes here and try some. If something on the recipe is not your thing, skip it or use less. At some point you may want to try Sausage making. Start with what you like, say Fennel the licorice flavor in Italian Sausage, make some and go from there. Look at recipes for other sausage that has Fennel, Texas/Lockhart style sausage and try that. Look up Lean Poli's recipes from around the world. If the ingredients sound good, try them. You have some 10 containers there. I have 3 kitchen cabinets and a couple beer boxes of spices. I use them for cooking the variety of international cuisines my family enjoys...JJ

 

[mosparky]

So did you buy it local , or on line ?

I bought local. I prefer to support the local Mom&Pop when I can. Pm me for details.

Chef JJ, Sausages are the goal. I guess I will have to start with uncased and store bought grind, but it will be a start.

 

[chef jimmyj]

Before I had a suffer, I rolled and smoked sausages in the soaked corn husks used for tamales. I saw it on an old DDD on food network. Overlap the two wide ends, lay in 6-8oz of meat, roll and tie. Works great...JJ

 

[oddegan]

We have a Amish store in my town that sells bulk spices of all kinds at great prices. Been a great resource for my sausage making.

 

[weev]

We have a Amish store in my town that sells bulk spices of all kinds at great prices. Been a great resource for my sausage making.

That's where I get mine also

 

[bregent]

Just one tip, make sure you store them properly and toss them when they get old. I usually go no more than 1-2 years depending on what they are. It's just not worth going to the effort to make your own sausage and then use herbs/spices that have lost their punch. Light, heat and oxygen are the big enemies. I store bulk in vacuum sealed jars, but keep working amounts in smaller spice jars.

 

[mosparky]

Yeah, I'm not a fan of those plastic cups they came in. I bought working amounts of the spices (1 oz each). The she-beast just cleaned house last week and I believe we threw out a whole spice rack set. Now I'm in the market for jars again. I swear one day I'm going to lose it when she asks "why are you keeping these" Oh well, they show up fairly often on buy/sell/trade or thrift shops.

 

[weev]

I store mine in small mason jars