Sausages--Cook-Off 17

[jeniac42]

Well, I did manage to get some pork fat. I'm not sure it was back fat, because the guys at the Giant Eagle butcher's counter just threw it together for me. At least there was no charge....

I would say for a first attempt it went pretty well. I forgot to put the knife blade in the grinder initially and could NOT figure out why the meat was just getting stuck to the back of the grinding disc. Oops. After that it seemed to go fine, though.

As for stuffing the sausage into casings... man, putting the casing onto the sausage horn is just... well, no comment. I tied the end first as suggested in one or another of the books I've read since Friday, and it immediately filled with air when I turned the mixer's motor on. I untied it and placed the end of the casing even with the end of the horn and waited for the meat to start flowing, and then it was all OK. I had Eric feeding the sausage mixture into the hopper, and it seemed really difficult to keep a steady flow going. Like it was taking a really long time somehow to shove it all down in there. Any suggestions?

I used the Kentucky-Style Pork Sausage recipe from Bruce Aidell's cookbook, minus the nutmeg and plus a little brown sugar. I found the seasoning to be a little on the bland side for me; next time I'd use more sage, maybe a little more sugar, and definitely more cayenne and black pepper.

Also, the size of casing that I got (the only size that was available) was far too large for normal breakfast sausage. Still, since the sausage itself is a little underseasoned, I think it'll make for decent sandwiches - it's about the right size for that.

Photos! First we have the spice mix (salt, brown sugar, black pepper, cayenne pepper, sage, coriander), the casing being soaked, and the newly instituted sausage notebook:

Also the grinder attachment on the KitchenAid, because it looks exciting:

The meat mixture:

The links, minus the one that split and was thrown back into the loose sausage bowl:

And finally, a cooked piece with some bread.

[Doc-G]

Nice job Jeniac!

I just thought I would post another couple of pics.

The first is of some polish sausage that we made. These you need a large nozzle for your sausage filler and some special skins that you should be able to get from your local butcher or butcher's supplier.

You need to ensure they are filled out tightly and then you tie them by hand or if you have a clipper, you then clip them.

Here you can see that they have already been smoked and are sitting on the smoke sticks, ready to be taken off and stored or eaten!!!

The next picture is of biersticks which are made in a similar way to polish sausage except that they have a 'thin' natural casing and are filled using a smaller nozzle.

Both of these products have cures and are both smoked until an internal temp of 68oC has been maintained for 10 minutes.

I can assure you that both products were delicious.

I hope you like them.

Let's see what others have done.

Cheers,

Doc-G

[Chris Amirault]

Jeniac42, I think I've figured out a few things about that KA sausage attachment. I made a big batch of Italian sausages using the proportions in Ruhlman and Polcyn's Charcuterie and seasonings (1T each of sage, oregano, fennel, and red pepper flakes). The instructions in that book are outstanding; if the rest of that Christmas present is that good, I'm going to be a happy camper. Some useful tips from R&P: cube your meat in fairly small chunks (1/2-3/4" or so) so that they feed easily; season the meat after cubing and let it sit for a good while (1-2 hours at least, a day if you'd like) before grinding; place the bowl for the ground meat in another bowl of ice. Go buy it, seriously.

So a few photos. Here's the pork in the freezer chillin':

I also kept all of the grinder attachments, the cup of wine, and the KA mixing bowl in there until I used them:

Here are the Whole Foods casings that I mentioned up thread. It's a bit pricey compared to the salt-packed ones, but they're already rinsed and ready to go:

KA ready to go. I hadn't used an ice water bath before, but it's a great idea :

I then ground the meat with the smaller grind plate:

Next, I mixed the meat for a minute with the paddle, then added 1c of red wine (first time for that) and mixed again to get to the "primary bind." Hadn't ever done that before, either.

I was getting a bit worried about the meat warming up, so I don't have any stuffing images. However, I found that switching to the larger grind plate for stuffing was a major step. I had never thought to do that before, and it seems obvious to me now. Just as important, I found that it really was crucial to apply a good deal of pressure when feeding the meat into the grinding attachment; otherwise, the consistency of the meat in the links was too fine for my taste.

The final results:

I think that we're going to be making calzones on Wed, giving those links a couple of days to blend.

[jeniac42]

Thanks for the advice, Chris. I'm trying to get a copy of the R&P book but so far I have had no luck.

This weekend I might try a fresh kielbasa to use up the rest of the (now-frozen) pork butt.

Edited to add that just now I am eating some storebought summer sausage, cheddar cheese, spicy mustard, and crackers - one of my favorite ways to use sausage.

Edited December 29, 2005 by jeniac42 (log)

[Chris Amirault]

Last night I fried up the sausages using R&P's method, first searing them and then covering them for 6-7 minutes, all at medium. I used the instant read thermometer to get them to 150F and then they finished in a warm oven to 160F. Here they are in the pan:

I served them with some homemade spaghetti and a pretty simple tomato sauce (bacon, onions, garlic sauteed a long while; crushed tomatoes, sage, bay, pinch of allspice and clove), which turned out really swell.

The sausages were universally beloved -- "the best sausages I've ever had," said all of my guests. I agreed that they were great. Much of that was due, I now know, to some basic things that I'm going to repeat in the future: cutting the meat into smaller chunks (I'm going for 3/4" next time); seasoning the meat and letting it sit for a good while (overnight, next time) before grinding; keeping things cold, cold, cold; creating that "primary bind"; sauteing then covering; measuring the internal temperature for doneness; adding that ice cold liquid (I used a cotes du rhone). I also really, really like the R&P ratios. I did a bit of math to make it a bit more easy for me to figure out:

R&P's ratios, makes five pounds of sausage

• 1.5 k meat : 750 g fat : 40 g kosher salt : 250 ml liquid
  

R&P's ratios using 1 k meat as base, makes 3+ pounds of sausage

• 1 k meat : 500 g fat : 27 g salt : 170 ml liquid
  

A few things I didn't do that I'm going to do next time: understuff them for better tying (notice that one sausage has popped its string off) and frying (I burst three of them); poke a few more needle holes in them to limit bursting; grinding to a less fine consistency (I would have preferred that, though my guests might not have done so); keep the saute pan dry (the juices limited the browning).

[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.

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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?

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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?

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What size discs is everyone using??

Where can I buy more sizes?

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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 January 11, 2006 by Doc-G (log)

[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!

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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?

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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 January 11, 2006 by Doc-G (log)

[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.