Summer Sausage

[johngolf01]

Taking my first stab at making Sausage of any kind...

Picked up a grinder so now its time to put it to use!

Bought a packer brisket from Walmart about 13.5 lbs. Ended up trimming off 4.5 of fat! Definitely the fattiest brisket I've ever seen...

Bought 3 lbs of pork butt and ended up buying another 3.5 lb piece of beef shoulder.

Cubed it all up and is currently in the freezer with the grinder head.

I didn't Get specific with meat to fat ratio and just using it as cubed. Hopefully the picture will upload. Wondering if I should have used more of the trimmed fat, but heard it could be gamey so tried to use just a little.

For my 1st batch I am using HI - mountain seasoning cracked pepper and garlic. Targeting 15 pounds for half batch.

Will post updates.

 

[smokinq13]

I think it looks like a good ratio! Put the meat in freezer to firm up a little before grinding and run the mixture through a time or two for best results!

 

[tx smoker]

"Cubed it all up and is currently in the freezer with the grinder head."

I don't recommend putting the grinder head in the freezer. The refrigerator to get it chilled, yes, but no in the freezer. If it's that cold the meat will freeze to it when you try dropping it down the chute to the auger.

Robert

 

[Steve H]

I just chill the grinder head. The ratio looks ok. I've been learning to make a test patty before stuffing is a good practice with prepackaged mixes. I don't understand why, well, I guess I do, that they go light on the amounts of seasoning to add. TSM is a good example. Great mixes. Just add about 1/4 more as long as a binder isn't in the mix. If it is. Then I just add more spices to my liking.

 

[johngolf01]

Thanks for all the feedback!

Grinding went better than expected. Stuffing g through the grinder was a bit of a chore.... may consider getting a dedicated stuffer in the future...

1st ground through largest plate, then I added seasonings and cure, hand mixed well and then reground through the smallest plate I had.

 

[johngolf01]

So I was able to upload a pic to the original post....

Now i want to add more...From my phone I'm clicking "upload a file" and i navigate to the pic, hit upload and nothing happens...bit frustrating
...

 

[johngolf01]

 

[johngolf01]

 

[johngolf01]

 

[johngolf01]

Sorry for multiple replies, only able to get one photo to load at a time

 

[Steve H]

That looks like a good blend of fat/meat. Can't wait to see the results.

 

[johngolf01]

 

[maplenut]

Looking Good.

 

[johngolf01]

Sitting at 106 IT.... Recipe calls for 156 IT.

 

[johngolf01]

Ok just got done researching temps and times.

Hi Mountain said to finish SS at 180 F cabinet temp.

Turns out from reading other posts, "fat out" could occur at this temp, so dropped it to 160F and am gonna let it ride to 152 IT.

 

[tx smoker]

Sitting at 106 IT.... Recipe calls for 156 IT.

You can actually pull it at 150 to 152 and you'll be fine as long as you used used cure #1 when mixing the farce. You may find it even better because it may be a bit more moist.

 

[Winterrider]

Looks like you got it figured out.

 

[johngolf01]

Been running at 160F all night. IT has been stuck at 142 for a while. Think I'll bump up temp to 170 to try and get IT to 152....

 

[johngolf01]

Well had to crank it up to 175 to get it over the 150 IT stall.... maybe a quarter cup of fat in the drip pan.... Is this typical? Hope it is not "fat out".

Pulled them at 153 and then ran under cold water for 10 minutes.

Was measuring the IT in only one log on the top rack, had 3 on top rack and 3 on rack below it in my MES 30. Hope temps were pretty close between the two. Gonna let it chill in fridge for 24h and will follow up with sliced pics.

 

[johngolf01]