211 replies to this topic

[Chris Amirault]

Just discovered something while looking at the image in this Amazon listing: I'm missing the small plastic piece that holds the rotating-thingie in place when you're stuffing. That's why I have to have a grinding plate in the machine. No wonder it's been a frustrating nightmare to stuff 'em! Just bid on a set on eBay; updates soon.

[Chris Amirault]

Well, that's a pretty big difference! With the proper piece of plastic, I didn't need the grinding plate or the cutting blade to lock the grinding screw in place. That helped a great deal, to say the least. Using the new tips, this batch of chorizo was a breeze. After freezing it for a while, I cut the pork butt into 2/4" dice and seasoned it in batches.



I let it sit in the fridge while I prepared to grind and stuff, both of which went swimmingly:

[jeniac42]

I really want to make some Mexican-style chorizo soon (well, the kind you get in your tacos at a taqueria). I can't decide between that and kielbasa and bratwurst. I've got tomorrow off from work, so I feel a sausage-making is in the works.

[Chris Amirault]

Cool! I look forward to seeing them. BTW, I just snooped through a few books trying to figure out what to do with them; if you don't have the Ruhlman book, Diana Kennedy's Cuisines of Mexico and Rick Bayless's Authentic Mexican have recipes for making the chorizos that look very good.

[Chris Amirault]

Made chorizo and potato filling for corn tortillas tonight using Diana Kennedy's recipe as a rough guide. I boiled some yukon golds and diced them thickly and roughly; meanwhile, I fried the chorizo meat (peeled off the casings), then removed it to fry some diced onion in the fat. Added a bit of cumin, some chopped chipotles en adobo, a bit more lard, and then the cooked potatoes and sausage. Excellent with some cilantro, cheese, lime, and plain yogurt (didn't have tomatillos for the traditional sauce).

I've got lamb defrosting for merguez sausages tomorrow.

[torakris]

I couldn't get this cook off out of my mind as I was drenching in the sun on the beaches of Indonesia.....
The day after we got home I went to the store and picked up 8 1/2 lbs of pork and 3lbs of back fat.
Yesterday my husband and I made 3 kinds of sausages (all from Bruce Aidells' Complete Sauasage Book) Kentucky style pork sausage, chorizo and Italian sweet fennel sausage. We stuffed the Kentucky style one into sheep casings, half of the Italian ones went into hog casings and the other half was left bulk, the chorizo I kept all as bulk.
Everything was then frozen in small packages for easy defrosting and use.
I was too busy handling three recipes to think about pictures, so I pulled the links out of the frezer and took pictures now.

the Kentucky style pork sausage, I froze them on this tray so I could just pull of the links as I needed them. I transfered them to a ziploc after I took the picture.



I will be back with more pictures once I actually cook them!

Some of the Italian sausage links

[Chris Amirault]

Kristin, those look great (and great photos, too). It looks like you ground the meat very fine, yes?

[gus_tatory]

I'd love to have a recipe for banger sausages.  It's been a long time since a local restaurant took bangers and mash off their menu, and absence is definitely making the heart grow fonder.

this might help some of you guys who have less experience, such as myself, with sausage-making:
Montrealfood.com's guide to first-time sausage making... click...

[chickenlady]

Okay, you got me! I, too, received the Charcuterie book this Christmas (from myself, but hey--it was just what I wanted and, as it turns out, it's a perfect fit!). Plus, my husband has been mocking me for never using the meat grinder I bought last year for practically nothing because it was missing the box and instruction manual. What with a Friday that will be dedicated to waiting around for various repairmen to show, I feel sure that the stars are perfectly aligned for a sausage making session.

So I'll peruse my book tonight and set to gathering my supplies. Chris, you made the Italian sausages? Have you made others from Charcuterie? Any recommendations?

[Chris Amirault]

Go for it! I just had the chorizo from that book tonight for an early supper, and it's fantastic. The Italian sausage is good, too. If my sick daughter can get to bed in time, I'm hoping to finally get to the merguez tonight.

[torakris]

Kristin, those look great (and great photos, too). It looks like you ground the meat very fine, yes?

My hand cranked meat grinder only has two sizes, 1/4 inch and 1/2 inch. I actually would have liked my Italian sausages chunkier but I forgot about changing the disc until it was two late.

I normally use the 1/4 inch one for the majority of sausages and have only used the 1/2 inch one for a chicken sausage I made and found it to be a little too chunky...
What size discs is everyone using??
Where can I buy more sizes?

[Doc-G]

Kristin, those look great (and great photos, too). It looks like you ground the meat very fine, yes?

What size discs is everyone using??
Where can I buy more sizes?

You guys have all made some great looking 'snags' by the way!!!

We always first use 'kidney' plate and then a 10mm plate and then we mix in our dry ingredients and work it for 8 minutes and then we mince again through a 10mm and a 5mm plate or 3mm plate. If I am making a 'thick' sausage, I will probably use the 5mm plate and for 'thins' I use a 3mm plate. If I am making an emulsion type sausage, we will use the 3mm plate and mince it through 3-5 more times to really get a fine texture. We will then work it (mix) for another 5-8 minutes ensuring that the mixture does not rise above 7 degrees centigrade.

I dont know what machine you have so I'm not sure where you will be able to buy more mincing plates.

Hope this is of use.

Cheers,

Doc-G

Edited by Doc-G, 10 January 2006 - 06:58 PM.

[Chris Amirault]

Doc-G, so many questions! I'll start small: how do you maintain the low temps with all that grinding and mixing?

[prasantrin]

I couldn't get this cook off out of my mind as I was drenching in the sun on the beaches of Indonesia.....
The day after we got home I went to the store and picked up 8 1/2 lbs of pork and 3lbs of back fat.

What kind of equipment are you using for the grinding and stuffing? Did you buy it in Japan or in the US?

And where'd you get the casings and back fat? Did you have to special order them?

I really miss good sausages--those Johnsonville brats from Costco are the best I can get, and I want better!

[torakris]

I couldn't get this cook off out of my mind as I was drenching in the sun on the beaches of Indonesia.....
The day after we got home I went to the store and picked up 8 1/2 lbs of pork and 3lbs of back fat.

What kind of equipment are you using for the grinding and stuffing? Did you buy it in Japan or in the US?

And where'd you get the casings and back fat? Did you have to special order them?

I really miss good sausages--those Johnsonville brats from Costco are the best I can get, and I want better!

The grinder/stuffer I am using is the Porkert model and I picked it up in the US.

The casing I picked up in the US but last year I was able to get a local sausage shop near my house to sell some to me. The place I got them at in the US is called Leeners and when I was at the shop this summer he said he sends a lot of stuff to Japan, especially their cheesemaking kits (which I also have ). This is a really cool shop!

I picked up the back fat at shop called Hanamasa, they don't seem to have any shops in Kansai though...
I paid about 300 yen for 2kg, I am sure almost any meat shop could get you some.

[Doc-G]

Doc-G, so many questions! I'll start small: how do you maintain the low temps with all that grinding and mixing?

Hi Chris,

I dont know what I've gotten myself into here!!!

For a start we have refridgerated rooms so it means that everything in the room is 4 degrees or less (except the people...I hope!!). I fully understand you wont have this situation at home though. Secondly, if the temperature of the meat (which is measured after every grind) rises to 5 degrees centigrade, we will put it back in the fridge until it goes back down to 1-2 degrees centigrade and then keep going. Generally speaking however, the meat stays between 1-4 degrees centigrade. Within the realm of Australian Food Standards, this is considered safe practice and this is something that you can do in your do in your own kitchen although you will spend more time waiting around looking for something else to do. We always have something else to do!!! Finally you can use ICE cold water (assuming you mix water in as an ingredient) which will help too.

Also, we dont make any emulsion sausages in production for sale. We occasionally make some for our own use like the Weisswurst earlier in the thread. If we did, we would buy a bowl cutter which would mean we wouldn't have to do 5 grinds on a 3mm plate. However if making emulsion mixes for our own use, we do the 3-5 grinds.

edit: Just looking over the thread, I see you are chilling before you start which is good. You may if you feel like want to chill the mixture again before filling it out.

I've only just ordered the Ruhlman book, so I'm not sure if I'm 'sucking eggs' here but a little secret is that the mixing time is 'ESSENTIAL'. Mixing salt with meat and working it hard by kneading or mixing, extrudes the myosin from the meat which makes the mixture extra 'sticky' and really helps the mixture bind. You will find that a properly mixed and made sausage will not have to be pricked when cooked and will not release much (or any) fat or water whilst cooking.

For someone making it for themselves in their own kitchen, I would say, have your ingredients ICE cold before you start. This can include your dry ingredients too! (When we make schnitzels, we can put up to 1 tonne of breadcrumbs in our chiller the night before the next days production in order to bring all the ingredients down to temperature). After you have finished mixing before you are ready to fill out your sausages, I would recommend leaving the mix in the fridge for an hour or two, to bring down the temp and then fill the skins and then back into the fridge.

Torakris,

Having had a look at your mincer from the link you provided, I would use the large plate first and then mix in your water (if using) and dry ingredients and then mix it and then put it through the small plate and mix again, chill and then fill.

I hope this helps....

Cheers,

Doc-G

Edited by Doc-G, 10 January 2006 - 09:30 PM.

[fifi]

Doc-G . . . I haven't been participating in this cook-off but I find your explanation of temperature and the effect on the final product very informative. My nephew and I have toyed with the idea of doing sausage and I have added this to my favorites to be able to recall it when we get down to business. Thanks.

[chickenlady]

Sausage making has begun... And ended!

I chopped up and mixed all my ingredients for the Fresh Garlic Sausage last night & it's been chilling ever since. I just started grinding & it seems my practically free grinder was not such a good value after all. I don't know if I've got it set up wrong--I don't think so; everything seems to be doing what it should do--but very little is actually coming out of the grinder. After 30 minutes of monkeying around, starting and stopping, I have a whopping 1/2 cup of ground meat. (The grinder is a Waring Pro. Anyone have one of these?) So, I'm giving up, for now. When I go out later I'm going to pick up the KitchenAid & attachments from work and give it another try tonight.

As a "recovering vegetarian", the only thing that bothered me was rinsing off the casings. But then I filled one with water and that is just so cool, so I think I'm over it.

Impatiently awaiting more sausage-making,
Julie

[jmolinari]

if you mix and knead so hard, how do yo ustop the fat from smearing?

[chickenlady]

Yeah! I have Fresh Garlic Sausage!!!

After picking up the KitchenAid, I gave it a try again, only to find I had the same problem: very little ground meat coming out. Gee, do you think there could possibly be some operator error? That's when I realized I was missing one crucial element: something sharp. After pawing around in the box of KA attachments, I found the the missing piece and all was smooth after that. The KA made quick work of the meat, and after mixing and letting the mixture chill again, I used my Waring Pro to stuff the casings. (By the way, I found stuffing to be a two person operation, one to feed the ground meat in and another to control the casing. Are you all working alone or do you have a helper?) The earlier sausages were a little too skinny, loose and very lumpy, but by the end I got the hang of how fast to let the casing off the stuffer. As I tied the sausages off, I squished the meat together a bit to make plumper, smoother links. Tonight we're planning on cooking some according to the directions in Charcuterie. I had to threaten my husband with certain death if he cooked them for breakfast instead of waiting for dinner. Next up, probably next weekend, will be the Merguez. I can't wait!

By the way, my Waring Pro grinder is missing the blade (I bought a floor model that was super cheap as it was missing the box/manual). Anyone know where I can get a replacement? The KA blade doesn't fit it.

[Pam R]

I've been following this thread but haven't been able to contribute. The next order to meat supplier in Toronto I'm going to request some casings. I want in on this sausage thing.

[little ms foodie]

Dayne's making Toulouse sausages today from Wolfert's 'Cooking of Southwest France' and the recipe calls for 4 ounces very lean salt pork without rind, washed to remove surface salt, dried carefully and cubed by hand.
12 ounces pork tenderloin, trimmed of all fat
4 ounces pancetta, at room temperature

My question is about the lean salt pork, we have pork back fat- can this be used in place of the salt pork? Can someone explain to me what salt pork is?

Thanks!

[Doc-G]

if you mix and knead so hard, how do yo ustop the fat from smearing?

For a cooked sausage, (ie a banger etc) I wouldn't worry about fat smearing. However if you wanted to make a cured and smoked/fermented salami where the meat and fat granules have to be the same size, you would need to use a bowl cutter. The other thing is if you really wanted to prevent fat smearing would be to use very hard fat and keeping the mixture very cold helps too although the colder it is, the more mixing is required to extrude the myosin.

Hope this is of help

Cheers,

Doc-G

[jmolinari]

I normally work with cured meats, so fat smearing is an issue for me. I mix my meat/fat mix by hand, but i was wondering if htere was a trick to mix with a paddle mixer and not have it smear...
guess not.
j

[Chris Amirault]

My question is about the lean salt pork, we have pork back fat- can this be used in place of the salt pork? Can someone explain to me what salt pork is?

Salt pork is cured pork fat, so it can't really be substituted for fat back or belly. Trust me, I know.

[Chris Amirault]

Cook-Off XVIII: Asian Noodle Soups.

[little ms foodie]

Thanks Chris, we found the salt pork and Dayne made his first sausages. The recipe was from Wolfert's book- The cooking of southwest France and we used the sausages in my casoulet. They were fantastic

[bjcohan]

By the way, my Waring Pro grinder is missing the blade (I bought a floor model that was super cheap as it was missing the box/manual).  Anyone know where I can get a replacement?  The KA blade doesn't fit it.

Julie, try http://www.culinaryparts.com. They carry Waring parts as well as many other brands, and always seem to have whatever I need. Whenever I order from them, I check around for any other spare parts my other kitchen appliances may need and get them all at once to save on shipping. I've found parts there that I couldn't find anywhere else.

Barb

Edited by bjcohan, 18 January 2006 - 10:00 PM.

[Pam R]

I received a shipment from my meat supplier yesterday and they were nice enough to send a bunch of synthetic casings for me. I picked up a small electric grinder on Sunday.

Now what do I do?

Do I need to prep the casings at all? or do ya just stuff 'em?

And... does anybody have a good recipe for chicken and apple sausages? I'm going to put a couple of pounds of boneless chicken thighs in the cooler to thaw a bit before I leave work today... any suggestions would be appreciated.

[Doc-G]

Hi Pam,

You might want to consider adding some chicken skin to the mix. You will find that you will not only get a better flavour but the mixture will bind much better too. I would if possible add 25% of the weight of the meat with chicken skin.

Personally I would add (btw I have not tried this recipe and have just made it up now, this is just an idea):

Per kg meat weight (includes skin):
Salt 16g/kg
Black Pepper 2g/kg
Ground Cinnamon (to complement the apple) 1g/kg
Chilli Powder 1g/kg
Onion Powder 2g/kg

Optional ingredients:
MSG 1g/kg

The other thing you could consider adding is some breadcrumbs to 'loosen' the mixture somewhat. I leave the amount you add up to you as I have forgotten the usage that we would use (sorry!).

Apple (peeled and cored) chopped or grated and added as you see fit. (1 apple per 1.5kg meat?).

Coarse mince chicken and skin through the large plate (10mm). Then add all dry ingredients and mix well by hand for 10minutes ensuring that temperature of mixture does not rise above 5 degrees centigrade. If temp rises above 5 degrees, refridgerate until temp reaches 2-3 degrees centigrade.

Mince again through small plate (3 or 5mm plate) and mix in grated or chopped apple and mix well again for 10 minutes. The mixture should be VERY sticky. This means that the reaction between the salt and myosin has occurred and the protein has extracted. Refridgerate again until mixture reaches 2-3 degrees centigrade whilst you get your sausage filler ready.

Fill into casings and link, then refridgerate until ready for cooking.

With regards to your casings, I assume they look slightly yellow in colour but are completely dry and look like a long 'ruffled up' tube of skin. We refridgerate ours in the boxes they come in but you MUST ensure that they stay dry!!


I dont want to tell you how to suck eggs here but just in case you have not done this before, here is a very brief and possibly convoluted method for filling your sausages.

If these are the casings you are using (I assume they are made of collagen) you dont need to do anything to them before you start filling. You put the tube onto the end of your filler and start the filler to get the air out of the end of the filler then tie a knot in the end of your skin and start filling being careful not to overfill or underfill. You will eventually know from experience what this means! If the skin breaks, tear it off, tie the end and start again. You will end up with one reeaallly long sausage. You then have to link it. If you have not done this before, the easiest way is to grab the end and pinch with your left hand (I assume you are right handed) where you want the first sausage to end, then you pinch with your right hand where you want the second sausage to end (hint: it should be the same length as the first one funnily enough!!). Then you twist or 'roll' the link towards you a couple of times. You have now made the second link. You now get the long end and measure off again with your left hand and then again with your right and again twist or roll except this time, the other direction (ie away from you). Continue until you have a whole heap of sausages.

Enjoy!

If you do use this recipe or a modified version, please let us know (with pictures) how they worked out.

Cheers,

Doc-G

Edited by Doc-G, 25 January 2006 - 05:36 AM.