Some sausage making pics…

[YZ-80]

My long time hunting buddy and I processed these 2 does shortly before Christmas. We made Sweet Italian and Hot Italian. I'm sure many of you guys do it too. We use a 50% pork shoulder ratio and double grind it. Then, mix in the seasoning for each batch along with red wine, fennel seeds, Parmesan cheese, knead it good and refrigerate the grind for 2 days before we extrude it. We were able to find the good casing this year so twisting the links off was a snap. Here's some pics:

 

[cajun]

Nice. Last year we made about 200 # in one sitting. Made for a long day. What casing were you using?

 

[74honker]

Man those look good! Great job!

 

[YZ-80]

Nice. Last year we made about 200 # in one sitting. Made for a long day. What casing were you using?

I think they are from sheep intestine. Brian has to try finding the better quality ones every year, as I guess they are the better type and have been harder to find in recent years. By the way, the extruder (Sausage stuffer) he has is really nice. It is stainless with a teflon lid with an O- ring seal for a good gas check. He said he paid about $500 for it 20 years ago. It sure makes things go smooth.

 

[YZ-80]

I'm sorry. I forgot to give credit to the 2 main contributors:

 

[338 dude]

I make some summer sausage every year to give out as Christmas presents. I don't know why they call it that it never seems to last until summer.lol
Jalapeño pepperjack and cheddar

 

[FireFlyFishing]

Here's some of my processing this year.

 

[cajun]

Here's some of my processing this year.
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Nice set up. Where did you get the hooks to hang the sausage?

 

[cajun]

I see you guys using stuffers. We just take the grind plate off the grinder and use a stuffing tube. With a foot pedal on the grinder it goes pretty quick. But I wonder if a stuffer might make for a better product.

 

[FireFlyFishing]

Nice set up. Where did you get the hooks to hang the sausage?

I believe they're a LEM product. Either sportsman's or Cabela's. I haven't seen them in quite a while. Not sure you can tell in the pic, but there's several of them in there on the top rack.

I see you guys using stuffers. We just take the grind plate off the grinder and use a stuffing tube. With a foot pedal on the grinder it goes pretty quick. But I wonder if a stuffer might make for a better product.

I used to do that and got a stuffer. After a while, the grinder gets too hot and literally starts cooking the meat when stuffing. Maybe you can get away with it if you're doing like a 5 LBS. batch, but much more and it just gets too hot. I have a much more consistent an better tasting product with the stuffer.

 

[Calvin45]

Here's some of my processing this year.
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When I saw that backstrap…in a post about sausage making…my heart and soul screamed "NOOOOOOO!!!!!!!!!"

Relieved to see it left as backstrap. Is that butter in the bag with it?

 

[FireFlyFishing]

Opps I misspoke. They'r made by Masterbuilt and can be found here too.

 

[FireFlyFishing]

When I saw that backstrap…in a post about sausage making…my heart and soul screamed "NOOOOOOO!!!!!!!!!"

Relieved to see it left as backstrap. Is that butter in the bag with it?

Indeed it is. As well as fresh thyme and rosemary from my garden. Sous vide my friend. Are you familiar?

 

[Calvin45]

Indeed it is. As well as fresh thyme and rosemary from my garden. Sous vide my friend. Are you familiar?

Not really. I have heard of sous vide and am familiar with the basic idea but have no personal experience with it at all.