211 replies to this topic

[prasantrin]

I've decided that if I'm going to stay a fourth year in Japan, I need to get me a grinder and make some sausage. Now do I get me an electric grinder or a hand-cranked one? I vaguely remember an acquaintance telling me to stay away from hand-cranked, because by the time I get the meat ground, it'll be warm. (Also, I have tendinitis in both my elbows, and carpal tunnel in my left wrist.)

What do you sausage-making gods and goddesses suggest? I can't stand just looking at all the sausages being made in this cook-off. I need to participate!

[Pam R]

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.

I've never sucked an egg either


thanks so much for the guidance! I now have a basic idea of how to go about this.

I did forget to take the chicken out last night - but I have a bunch of things to bake today, so it's thawing now - and I'll debone it as soon as it gets workable (does that make sense?).

for flavourings... I was thinking more of a sage and or allspice thing with the apples... but we'll see what I come up with when I actually get going. I'll report back when it's done.

Thanks again!

[Pam R]

I have pictures - but I forgot my notebook with what I did at work. So I'll leave the big post for tomorrow.

I have a couple of questions though - my casing was in fact the slightly yellow synthetic stuff ... is this supposed to be edible? are you supposed to boil/steam it? This really is new to me.

I will tell you that I cooked a couple tonight - in a frying pan. Once the plastic casing was pulled off the meat it was delicious! More tomorrow...

[Doc-G]

Hi Pam,

I'm not exactly sure what sort of casings you have but if they are collagen casings made possibly by Devro then they are totally edible. Collagen is the stuff your skin is predominantly made of and this stuff is basically grown in tube shapes. It is popular because it does not break and produces VERY consistent results.

It is possible that it is skin designed more for smallgoods which are inedible and are not supposed to be eaten. However without knowing exactly which skins you have, I cant tell for certain.

Sounds as though it well well however. I loo forward to seeing the pictures.

Cheers,

Doc-G

[Pam R]

Doc-G - first of all, thanks for the help. While I had some problems stuffing the casings, in the end they tasted so good it didn't matter! Your guidance was a great help - though I did deviate somewhat from your instructions.

The recipe:
200 g chicken skin and fat
1 kg chicken meat (2 breasts and 6 or 7 thighs)
18 g kosher salt
2.5 g black pepper
1 g allspice (I added some more after a taste test - but didn't measure)
2 g onion powder
4 sage leaves (and added another 4 after taste test)
230 g Granny Smith Apple, peeled and diced (2 apples)

The meat - It never fully thawed - and I kept popping it into the freezer as I was working so it remained cold throughout the whole process:


One pass through a course grinder - ready for spices and mixing:


So I mixed it for a while... then back through the course grinder. I decided that since I was going to grind it a third time, that I would just keep it course (I don't know why I decided to grind it 3 times, nor do I know why I kept the course plate in - but I did). Rested in the freezer while I was prepping the apples and then I added them and mixed:


Here's the casings my meat guys sent me... I still don't know exactly what they are. I thought that they told me that they were the same casings (synthetic) that they use to make their hot dogs and sausages... but they remained plasticy after I cooked them and their products do not have a plastic coating. I have a few left in the fridge - I thought I'd try boiling a couple to see what would happen to the casings... we'll see.


The problem I had was that the casing was too small for the feed tube on my grinder ... by the end I had a system down - but the first few (or more) were really wretched - involving a lot of string to fix! They went through one more course grinding as they were filled.
Here they are:


By the time I was done it was after 8 PM, so I took them home and fried up a few for dinner:

They looked much better in person! Can you see the plastic? I took a picture of a beautiful peeled one, but it was so blurry you couldn't really see anything.

I wish I knew more about the casings I used - but all in all it was a great experience... they tasted amazing! Seasoning was wonderful and the apple, though I didn't get a great apple flavour, contributed to the overall flavour and added a hint of sweetness.

Thanks again!

[Doc-G]

Hi Pam

Great job. You are right, they do look a little 'plasticy'. Now that I've seen them , I really do wonder if they are more designed for cured or smoked sausages ..

Next time you order some casings, ask for either natural sheep or hog skins or if you want synthetic ones, ask for collagen casings. The ones we use are made by Devro-Teepak in Germany. I'm sure you can get these or something similar where you are.

Anyway, well done. I think they look great.

Cheers,

Doc-G

Edited by Doc-G, 26 January 2006 - 08:54 PM.

[Pam R]

Thanks Doc-G. My issue with the casings is that they must be kosher. this limits the options. But I'll ask they guys if I get a chance. They sent me these as a gift - so I'm trying not to bother them with too many questions!

[Adam Balic]

OK here are my first efforts. An Italian sweet sausage from Ruhlman and Polcyn's "Charcuterie" and an English Pork sausage form a 17th century recipe (pork, sage, nutmeg, mace, pepper and cloves).

Overall I was very happy with these, the only issue I had was that I would prefer a slighly coarser texture, so next time I will grind half of the mixture fine and the rest coarse or maybe even chopped.

An excellent experience, just as much fun as making a terrine really.

The larger are the sweet Italian the smaller sausages the 17th century version.

[Chris Amirault]

Those look fantastic, Adam. I defrosted and cooked up the merguez sausages from Charcuterie tonight, served with a potato pancake and a simple salad. They were great.

[torakris]

The are probably the best ones I have made so far!!

andouille sausages just pulled from the smoker

[Chris Amirault]

Those look remarkable, Kristin! What recipe did you use? And "the smoker" is what, exactly? I'm dying to know all of these things.

I have a sneaking suspicion that you and I seek andouille for the gumbo-related reasons.

[torakris]

Those look remarkable, Kristin! What recipe did you use? And "the smoker" is what, exactly? I'm dying to know all of these things.

I have a sneaking suspicion that you and I seek andouille for the gumbo-related reasons.

The recipe was straight out of Bruce Aidells' Complete Sausage Book, page 44.
I hot smoked them grill/smoker (3rd one down).

[JeffWIce]

Hello fellow chorizo lovers!

I am new to this discussion and am looking for a savior, or at least a little reassurance! That said, my apologies if this is a repeated question...

I'm a culinary student and like so many have a love of Spanish-style cured chorizo, lomo, etc. and have tried several attempts at making them, to various levels of success.My most recent attempt at chorizo dulce, out of a charcuterie book, is curing for 72 hours at 70F and 70% humidity, then I'll smoke at 110F for 12 hours, and finally raise the temp. to 115F for 1 hour.

My questions: Is this crazy, correct, safe? Following Penelope Casas's traditional chorizo recipe, I am not using saltpeter or other preservatives. Does anyone out there have an opinion on this?

I promise pictures of the finished product in the near future...Thanks to anyone with an opinion!

Jeff

[Ore]

Safe is for you to decide. What are you doing to keep the temp/humid constant? What are your protein sources? Pork and Beef have different characterisitcs too watch out for when speaking of food safety.

Enjoy the meats and have fun with it. I have eaten many random things and I am still here so you should be okay. Just as a note, we used to taste the raw meat paste prior to making salami in Italy - RAW!

[JeffWIce]

Safe is for you to decide.  What are you doing to keep the temp/humid constant?  What are your protein sources?  Pork and Beef have different characterisitcs too watch out for when speaking of food safety.

Enjoy the meats and have fun with it.  I have eaten many random things and I am still here so you should be okay.  Just as a note, we used to taste the raw meat paste prior to making salami in Italy - RAW!

Thanks for the advice, Ore....
I am using a proofing box for the 70F, 70% humidity, 72 HR phase, and will switch to an electronic smoking cabinet for the final phases. The meat is straight lean pork and pork fat with hog intestine as the casing. Are the characteristics you are referring to simply temperature zone-issues?

Another question: To saltpeter or not to saltpeter?

[snowangel]

Jeff, please do read the Food Safety with Cured or Smoked Meats and Charcuterie topics for more on this subject. More details on your projects, too!

[mdbasile]

cold smoked chirizo....

[Hawthorne]

i had the KA stuffer until my KA broke, then i got a DLX assistent -- works wonderfully especially on large batches... except sometimes it chokes on gristle and fat. 

want a "free" sausage stuffer?  take a 2-liter bottle of soda, cut out the lower 2/3 of the bottle, put your sausage casings -- like a sock -- onto the mouth of the bottle.  put your sausage mix into the used-to-be-upper-third of the bottle.  push down with knife or spoon or whatever works for you.  crude, but works in a pinch, or when you don't want to spend $$$ on a stuffer, or when like me, you're too lazy to take out the parts of your machine and put them together.  especially for small batches this is what i usually end up doing -- either this or make skinless sausages instead.:)

I'm a johnny-come-lately to this discussion, but as I've been thinking of making skinless sausage, (KA, all that planning ahead to get casings, etc), I'd like to hear more on this.

I have made sausage (loose) a couple of times, but still working on the seasonings ... I'm trying for McGarry's (Canada), and/or bangers.

I have searched every way I can think of here for a recipe for bangers, but can't find one - surely that can't be right???

tia :-)

[Bombdog]

I'm a johnny-come-lately to this discussion, but as I've been thinking of making skinless sausage, (KA, all that planning ahead to get casings, etc), I'd like to hear more on this.

I have made sausage (loose) a couple of times, but still working on the seasonings ... I'm trying for McGarry's (Canada), and/or bangers.

I have searched every way I can think of here for a recipe for bangers, but can't find one - surely that can't be right???

tia :-)

I found one in Professional Charcuterie by Kinsella and Harvey.

I'm not sure I can quote the recipe, so I'll just list some ingredients and see if it will fly.

They call for beef at the standard ratio of 20 percent fat and then salt, sage, thyme, cloves, nutmeg, onion powder and dried parsley.

Hope that helps

[Hawthorne]

I'm a johnny-come-lately to this discussion, but as I've been thinking of making skinless sausage, (KA, all that planning ahead to get casings, etc), I'd like to hear more on this.

I have made sausage (loose) a couple of times, but still working on the seasonings ... I'm trying for McGarry's (Canada), and/or bangers.

I have searched every way I can think of here for a recipe for bangers, but can't find one - surely that can't be right???

tia :-)

I found one in Professional Charcuterie by Kinsella and Harvey.

I'm not sure I can quote the recipe, so I'll just list some ingredients and see if it will fly.

They call for beef at the standard ratio of 20 percent fat and then salt, sage, thyme, cloves, nutmeg, onion powder and dried parsley.

Hope that helps

Yes, thanks, it does - this is really the best forum ever; having posted that rather desperate query, I discovered that bangers are also Oxford sausages, and that I did have a recipe - which apart from calling for pork and veal is seasoned as you have said. It wouldn't have occured to me to make them with beef, truthfully.

So the pork should be just about thawed in the morning, and I'll have a go at them :-)

Would it be right to assume that trying to make skinless sausages at home would be pushing the envelope? I have what is probably a lifetime supply of hog casings, but not sure I can find sheep casings locally, and skinless has its attraction -

thanks!

[tristar]

I'm a johnny-come-lately to this discussion, but as I've been thinking of making skinless sausage, (KA, all that planning ahead to get casings, etc), I'd like to hear more on this.

I have made sausage (loose) a couple of times, but still working on the seasonings ... I'm trying for McGarry's (Canada), and/or bangers.

I have searched every way I can think of here for a recipe for bangers, but can't find one - surely that can't be right???

tia :-)

I found one in Professional Charcuterie by Kinsella and Harvey.

I'm not sure I can quote the recipe, so I'll just list some ingredients and see if it will fly.

They call for beef at the standard ratio of 20 percent fat and then salt, sage, thyme, cloves, nutmeg, onion powder and dried parsley.

Hope that helps

Yes, thanks, it does - this is really the best forum ever; having posted that rather desperate query, I discovered that bangers are also Oxford sausages, and that I did have a recipe - which apart from calling for pork and veal is seasoned as you have said. It wouldn't have occured to me to make them with beef, truthfully.

So the pork should be just about thawed in the morning, and I'll have a go at them :-)

Would it be right to assume that trying to make skinless sausages at home would be pushing the envelope? I have what is probably a lifetime supply of hog casings, but not sure I can find sheep casings locally, and skinless has its attraction -

thanks!

Traditionally British bangers are made with pork, Oxford sausages are a mixture of half pork and half veal, but the critical Ingredient in any British Banger is rusk or breadcrumbs. A typical Oxford Sausage recipe is as follows:

1/2 lb ground lean pork
1/2 lb lean ground veal or lamb
6 ounces suet
fresh breadcrumbs, made from 3 slices of white bread,including crust
1 teaspoon seasoning salt
1/2 teaspoon lemon pepper
1/2 teaspoon black pepper
1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper
1/4 teaspoon grated nutmeg
1/8 teaspoon mace
1/8 teaspoon dried thyme
1/8 teaspoon dried marjoram
2 teaspoons dried sage
2 teaspoons onion powder
1 teaspoon finely grated lemons, rind of
1 large egg
prepared hog casings (can't get sausage casings, shape the sausage mixture into patties instead of link sausages)

Knead together the pork, veal, fat, and bread.
Stir the salt, pepper, cayenne, nutmeg, mace, thyme, marjoram, sage, onion powder and lemon peel into the egg, and then knead into the meat mixture.
At this point, fry a small sausage patty and taste it so that you can adjust the seasonings, because the recipe so far is fairly mild.
Firmly stuff the mixture into the prepared hog (sausage) casings.
Prick any air pockets with a pin.
Poach, broil, grill, or fry them before serving.
Serve the bangers, drowned in nice thick onion and mushroom gravy, with a heap of mashed potatoes.
The raw sausages can be refrigerated for 3 days, cooked sausages for 1 week.
They can also be frozen (raw, poached, or broiled) for 3 months.

A more traditional British recipe for Bangers:

British Breakfast Sausage courtesy of Len Poli

2 1/2 lb Pork shoulder, cut in cubes and chilled well
1 lb Fresh pork fat, cut in cubes and chilled well
2 tsp. Salt
1/2 cup Rusk or dry bread crumbs
1 tsp. Ground white pepper
3/4 tsp. Rubbed sage
1/2 tsp. Mace
1/4 tsp. Ground ginger
1/4 tsp. Nutmeg
3/4 cup Chicken broth

Grind pork and fat together using
the medium plate of your meat grinder.
Add all ingredients except stock, mixing well.
Grind again through a finer plate.
Add in the broth and mix well.
Stuff mixture into casings and tie
in 4-5 inch lengths.


Best Regards,
Richard

[Abra]

I don't actually get how to make skinless sausages. When we did the hot dog trials my husband was wishing for skinless dogs, but neither of us could figure out how it's done. Has anyone done it successfully at home?

[Chris Amirault]

Have you tried wrapping them in plastic wrap and boiling them in it? I've seen that suggested, though I've never tried it.

[Hawthorne]

I'm a johnny-come-lately to this discussion, but as I've been thinking of making skinless sausage, (KA, all that planning ahead to get casings, etc), I'd like to hear more on this.

I have made sausage (loose) a couple of times, but still working on the seasonings ... I'm trying for McGarry's (Canada), and/or bangers.

I have searched every way I can think of here for a recipe for bangers, but can't find one - surely that can't be right???

tia :-)

I found one in Professional Charcuterie by Kinsella and Harvey.

I'm not sure I can quote the recipe, so I'll just list some ingredients and see if it will fly.

They call for beef at the standard ratio of 20 percent fat and then salt, sage, thyme, cloves, nutmeg, onion powder and dried parsley.

Hope that helps

Yes, thanks, it does - this is really the best forum ever; having posted that rather desperate query, I discovered that bangers are also Oxford sausages, and that I did have a recipe - which apart from calling for pork and veal is seasoned as you have said. It wouldn't have occured to me to make them with beef, truthfully.

So the pork should be just about thawed in the morning, and I'll have a go at them :-)

Would it be right to assume that trying to make skinless sausages at home would be pushing the envelope? I have what is probably a lifetime supply of hog casings, but not sure I can find sheep casings locally, and skinless has its attraction -

thanks!

Traditionally British bangers are made with pork, Oxford sausages are a mixture of half pork and half veal, but the critical Ingredient in any British Banger is rusk or breadcrumbs.

[snip]

I made them today - I split the difference between two recipes, very like the two you have offered but not identical .. Mace seems to be pretty nearly a requisite, and it turned out I don't have any, so I went with a pinch more nutmeg and a hit of savory. Will have to get some mace.

The test fry came out very well, and I went ahead and stuffed them. As I have not stuffed any before, these aren't as pretty as they might be, but I'm sure another foray or two will mend that.

We will eat the first round tomorrow, by which time the seasoning should have matured a little, and I expect they will be better in the skins than the bit I test fried.

Thank you for the recipes - all input gratefully accepted. I have a hunch this will be an ongoing project!

Lynn

[tristar]

I'm a johnny-come-lately to this discussion, but as I've been thinking of making skinless sausage, (KA, all that planning ahead to get casings, etc), I'd like to hear more on this.

I have made sausage (loose) a couple of times, but still working on the seasonings ... I'm trying for McGarry's (Canada), and/or bangers.

I have searched every way I can think of here for a recipe for bangers, but can't find one - surely that can't be right???

tia :-)

I found one in Professional Charcuterie by Kinsella and Harvey.

I'm not sure I can quote the recipe, so I'll just list some ingredients and see if it will fly.

They call for beef at the standard ratio of 20 percent fat and then salt, sage, thyme, cloves, nutmeg, onion powder and dried parsley.

Hope that helps

Yes, thanks, it does - this is really the best forum ever; having posted that rather desperate query, I discovered that bangers are also Oxford sausages, and that I did have a recipe - which apart from calling for pork and veal is seasoned as you have said. It wouldn't have occured to me to make them with beef, truthfully.

So the pork should be just about thawed in the morning, and I'll have a go at them :-)

Would it be right to assume that trying to make skinless sausages at home would be pushing the envelope? I have what is probably a lifetime supply of hog casings, but not sure I can find sheep casings locally, and skinless has its attraction -

thanks!

Traditionally British bangers are made with pork, Oxford sausages are a mixture of half pork and half veal, but the critical Ingredient in any British Banger is rusk or breadcrumbs.

[snip]

I made them today - I split the difference between two recipes, very like the two you have offered but not identical .. Mace seems to be pretty nearly a requisite, and it turned out I don't have any, so I went with a pinch more nutmeg and a hit of savory. Will have to get some mace.

The test fry came out very well, and I went ahead and stuffed them. As I have not stuffed any before, these aren't as pretty as they might be, but I'm sure another foray or two will mend that.

We will eat the first round tomorrow, by which time the seasoning should have matured a little, and I expect they will be better in the skins than the bit I test fried.

Thank you for the recipes - all input gratefully accepted. I have a hunch this will be an ongoing project!

Lynn

Just watch out that it doesn't take over your life Lynn

Regards,
Richard

[tristar]

I don't actually get how to make skinless sausages.  When we did the hot dog trials my husband was wishing for skinless dogs, but neither of us could figure out how it's done.  Has anyone done it successfully at home?

Hi Abra,

One way of producing Skinless Hotdogs is to use collagen casing! I made some Chicago Style Hotdogs a few months ago and used collagen casings, as I placed the hotdogs into the simmering water to poach they were fine, but after the required cooking time the casings just fell apart as I removed them from the water, they had become very loose and fragile. Whilst I am sure that this is not the correct way, it certainly worked by mistake.

For a chicken mouselline type of sausage I have also used food grade plastic bags. In indonesia they produce a small plastic bag for making flavoured ice sticks, these stuffed with forcemeat and poached at a simmer worked fine, without any unpleasant taste or more importantly without bursting or falling apart!

Regards,
Richard

[Chris Amirault]

Sausage season has arrived, and I just finished a nice batch of hot Italian sausages. I realized that it might be worth documenting a quick tip for cooling the meat that I picked up somewhere around here (snowangel may be the culprit):



This is the bowl of ground meat prior to being beaten to form the emulsion, and in order to cool it down, it had to spend an hour or so in the freezer. I punched a hole into the middle of the meat to hasten the cooling, which got it down to a malleable 30F very quickly.

[Mallet]

I suppose you could put a bag of ice in the depression for even quicker cooling...

[Henry dV]

C`mon people, it`s sausages lets get thinking of what tastes good/different. Don`t get bogged down in the mundane, try something different, smoked duck, fish, pork trotters, HAGGIS even..............

Come on, it doesn`t even need to be in a skin, try skewering it as a kofta(curry) kebab...........

I`m a sausage virgin, no jokes please, as I`ve only been mincing, stop it!, for 2 years and I have had good and indifferent results.



Pork and rabbit

1/4 kilo of each meat, pork was 50% visible fat(belly)
100gm oatmeal soaked in game stock
50gm sauteed shallots
50gm sundried tomatoes
salt & pepper to taste.
Hog casings.

The pale sausages were without the toms and heavy on shallots, garlic, thyme and sage.

Come on people where are your poached sausages............

[Henry dV]

...............or your Kofta kebab sausages.........



1/4 kilo each of Woodpigeon and Belly pork(50% visible fat)
Small handfull of fresh breadcrumbs
Tbsp corriander seed(toasted and ground)
1/2 Tbsp cumin seed(toasted and ground)
2 Tbsp corriander(cilantro) chopped
1 Tbsp mint chopped
salt, pepper and chilli powder to taste.


...............come on you know you want to !!

Edited by Henry dV, 04 September 2007 - 02:15 AM.