Time to restock country sage sausage

[jcam222]

I made 17 lbs about a month ago , shared a few lbs and sold a 5 lbs to a friend. The rest didn't last long so time to restock. My buddy wanted in on some as well. Local Savealot has butts on sale @ $1.99 and due to overstock deboned and ground for me at that price. I got 34 lbs.

I mixed in 10 lbs batches, mixed each batch by hand several times until I got some nice protein extraction.

After the first 10 lbs fry test I bumped up the sage ( I'll document my spice mix at the end of the post.) Once they were all mixed and tested they went into the fridge overnight. I like to let mine rest a day as I'm convinced the flavors develop a lot. I fry test again to make sure I'm happy. Tastes great so time to patty up. Weighing out 1/4 lbs balls first

I patty them up using a silicone Pampered Chef burger press. I have that pretty down pat and can do a lot fairly quickly. Ended up doing 24 lbs of patties and 6 lbs bulk.

I had 4 lbs leftover and wanted to finally try some chorizo. Still working on the spices blend but man it is AWESOME! I'm going to tweak a little and probably do 10-15 lbs when works on sale again. Buddy loved it too. It was spicier than your average store bought.

Below is my basic mix for the sage sausage. Very simple but so good I don't see any reason to complicate with other spices. I may add some MSG in a batch though. I ended up using a half cup of the mix below plus 4T more of the rubbed sage per 10 lbs. With variations in fat content and strength of the sage I often find I have to manipulate the sage to get the taste I'm after. Working on the math to permanently add the 4T safe to the mix. Thanks for looking!

• 1 cup coarse kosher salt
• 1 cup course black pepper
• 1 cup rubbed sage (adjusted after fry test as noted above)
• 8 T red pepper flakes after the dry

 

[indaswamp]

Hell yeah!!

 

[chopsaw]

Nice work Jeff . That bulk mixed picture is spot on .
Time for some sheep casings ?

I just put some cured Chorizo in 32 mm hog casings on the Gas grill .
I keep some in bulk for taco meat too . Good stuff .

 

[sawhorseray]

LOOKS GREAT, SOME NICE WORK THERE JEFFRO! I BELIEVE IF YOU LOOK AROUND YOUR GARAGE THERE'S A 20LB MEAT MIXER TO FIND, USE IT! RAY

 

[jcam222]

Hell yeah!!

Thanks!

Nice work Jeff . That bulk mixed picture is spot on .
Time for some sheep casings ?

I just put some cured Chorizo in 32 mm hog casings on the Gas grill .
I keep some in bulk for taco meat too . Good stuff .

I may do some in casings soon. I do love the patties though. Man I love the chorizo. So much better than the store. This is pretty spicy with a good amount of chipotle powder in it.

LOOKS GREAT, SOME NICE WORK THERE JEFFRO! I BELIEVE IF YOU LOOK AROUND YOUR GARAGE THERE'S A 20LB MEAT MIXER TO FIND, USE IT! RAY

Thanks Ray! Yessir I have that mixer you gave me and plan on trying it out next run.

 

[Gonna Smoke]

That looks great, Jeff!! Sage sausage is our favorite, especially Sheila, and I make Eric's SmokinEdge recipe...

 

[chopsaw]

I may do some in casings soon. I do love the patties though.

Same here . I do both links and bulk . Bulk goes for gravy , or I press it into patties .

Man I love the chorizo.

I like it in bowls or tacos . Mine is more cumin / chili powder flavor .

 

[Hijack73]

Hell yeah!!

X2!

 

[jcam222]

That looks great, Jeff!! Sage sausage is our favorite, especially Sheila, and I make Eric's SmokinEdge recipe...

Thanks David! I do love a good prominent pop on the sage.

Same here . I do both links and bulk . Bulk goes for gravy , or I press it into patties .

I like it in bowls or tacos . Mine is more cumin / chili powder flavor .

I'm definitely making more chorizo. Mine had chili powder, chipotle powder, paprika, cumin, Mexican oregano , cinnamon, cloves, salt and red wine vinegar. I only have 1 lbs left and already wish I had more!

X2!

Thanks!

 

[indaswamp]

FYI, marianski's site has a great fresh chorizo recipe. As Does Two Guys and a Cooler... I think his is a mexican chorizo....it is good, I have made it.

 

[jcam222]

FYI, marianski's site has a great fresh chorizo recipe. As Does Two Guys and a Cooler... I think his is a mexican chorizo....it is good, I have made it.

I'll check it out!

 

[SmokinEdge]

jcam222 , have you tried fresh minced sage vs the dry rubbed? I think the fresh is very much worth it and more predictable in flavor.

 

[Fueling Around]

You are the go big champion. Looks great

...
Mine is more cumin / chili powder flavor .

Cumin has been my go to for any Mexican flavored meat.

 

[jcam222]

jcam222 , have you tried fresh minced sage vs the dry rubbed? I think the fresh is very much worth it and more predictable in flavor.

I haven't but perhaps will at some point. I thought about converting to ground sage thinking it might dispersed a bit more easily.

 

[jcam222]

You are the go big champion. Looks great


Cumin has been my go to for any Mexican flavored meat.

Lol I have a lot of hungry friends! I love cumin

 

[SmokinEdge]

I haven't but perhaps will at some point. I thought about converting to ground sage thinking it might dispersed a bit more easily.

Made it for years with ground or rubbed, always had to adjust but it was good and worked fine. Then I tried fresh minced and while it really needs to site overnight for the oils in the fresh to meld with the meat for final flavor, the taste is very much worth the effort. I hope you give it a try some time.

 

[DRKsmoking]

That looks and sounds great Jeff
thanks for the recipe.

Now the chorizo, I have made Chorizo Verde and I love it mainly because of the vinegar in it , I used white. But mine was not really on the hot side , but very flavourful.
Any chance when you have a moment you could jot yours down just so I can see the difference, I like a little more heat then what mine had.

Thank you

David

 

[BrianGSDTexoma]

Great looking sausage and going to make some very happy people! You said used a 1/2 cup of mix. How much meat was that for? Never thought about using the press for sausage. I will do next time.

 

[chopsaw]

bumped up the sage

I often find I have to manipulate the sage to get the taste I'm after.

I've found that adding more black pepper brings the sage flavor out .
I've been using freeze dried for my sage . Self stable and cheaper in the long run .
In the produce isle .

You can see the sage leaves in the mix .

Rehydrates in the sausage , so it does need to sit for a bit if
doing it fresh .


You'll get it to what you like ,, I have no doubt about that .

 

[zwiller]

Looks great Jeff! On the formula, TOTALLY agree on the sage. Needs a lot and is variable. It's like other green stuff I used to buy that varied in strength LOL

I've found that adding more black pepper brings the sage flavor out .

+1. Rich knows but I did some CRAZY high BP+sage BF runs. Yes you can add too much. That said, you DO need a healthy amount of both. Most recipes posted are far too low and bland to me. I got skunked buying fresh sage from store. Was weak and grassy. Also thinking of sage extract. Have not perfected my BF but getting close. I REALLY like some acid in mine. Lemon juice works great. Tried citric and works great too but easy to overdo. Franks hot sauce also was tasty and gave a little acid bite. From here I think you need ginger and or some nutmeg but we're getting into personal preference. For me, McDs is pretty much to the target but a little more bolder.