Italian Sausage and New Stuffer

[snadamo]

Well, we had a pork butt defrosted and something had to be done with it. The wife request italian sausage and I obliged


5lbs of cubed pork partially frozen in the freezer ready to go.

Not pictured: I think I found the root cause of my ozidation issue this time; it's most likely the blade, ordering a new one soon.

Used my new LEM 5lb stuffer. Smaller, lighter, more yield from the stuffer, and super easy to clean. Only had 2 burst on me so it wasn't too bad.

I think I got about 17.25 links in total. I set them on a wire rack and put in fridge overnight so the knots dried up and made it easier for snipping.

Vac sealed and put in the freezer for a quick dinner down the road.

Not super exciting, but it was fun to do. Not sure what else is in the cards. I have some eye of round for jerky, and another shoulder for breakfast sausage. Oh and BACON!

Thanks for looking.

 

[Stingerhook]

Looks like some good future meals Adam.

 

[SmokeOCD]

Nice!
Congrats on the new stuffer.

 

[cowgirl]

Nice work Adam!

 

[Phrasty]

Those links look perfect!!!

Hey Adam, I meant to message in the last post about that grinder oxidation issue. If its a new grinder the blade, auger and die plate usually needs a little time to break into each other and in my experience its not so much oxidation but the natural fats lubricating the parts as they break in and seat properly against each other along with a little wearing in (usually occurs where the auger pin goes through the center of the die plate and not so much of the blade against the plate).

I wouldn't worry too much about it tho. All my grinders have done it from the cheap amazon ones to the $7000 Hobarts... If you see it while you're grinding just pick it out the grey stuff. If it is excessive then yes you may have an inferior part made of the softer steel that's wearing away excessively but if its just a lil bit probably no need to replace the part and its not going to affect the final product... Just make more sausages like these and break the parts in! :thumb:

Oh... and you definitely see it more with the carbon steel plates than the stainless steel ones, but again not a huge issue.

Hope I didn't side jack the thread... lol

Cheers!

 

[BackYardRob]

Sure looks exciting to me!!

 

[Big George's BBQ]

Very nice. I see Good Eats in your future

 

[Tkruse]

Looks great. Do you use a cure or not? How long will they last in the freezer and or once defrosted? I've only made bratwurst once with no cure, so I didn't keep them past a week. Thanks in advance.

 

[TheHojo]

Looks like a successful day of stuffing sausage

 

[02ebz06]

Looks great!
Did you use a recipe, or a store bought mix ?

 

[SmokinAussie]

Nice work Adam. Sausage making weather here too but I sold all my stuff!

 

[snadamo]

Those links look perfect!!!

Hey Adam, I meant to message in the last post about that grinder oxidation issue. If its a new grinder the blade, auger and die plate usually needs a little time to break into each other and in my experience its not so much oxidation but the natural fats lubricating the parts as they break in and seat properly against each other along with a little wearing in (usually occurs where the auger pin goes through the center of the die plate and not so much of the blade against the plate).

I wouldn't worry too much about it tho. All my grinders have done it from the cheap amazon ones to the $7000 Hobarts... If you see it while you're grinding just pick it out the grey stuff. If it is excessive then yes you may have an inferior part made of the softer steel that's wearing away excessively but if its just a lil bit probably no need to replace the part and its not going to affect the final product... Just make more sausages like these and break the parts in! :thumb:

Oh... and you definitely see it more with the carbon steel plates than the stainless steel ones, but again not a huge issue.

Hope I didn't side jack the thread... lol

Cheers!

No Hijack at all! I really appreciate your input. That further strengthens my suspicions. I may have to get a new stud and blade (as soon as I figure out the best way of removing without breaking the auger and cutting my hands lol). This batch I noticed a larger amount of it than normal.

 

[snadamo]

Looks great. Do you use a cure or not? How long will they last in the freezer and or once defrosted? I've only made bratwurst once with no cure, so I didn't keep them past a week. Thanks in advance.

On these ones, no cure. I cased and let them sit on wire rack overnight in the fridge so the twists would stay and it was getting late. I've kept brats and no cured stuff in the freezer for months before with no issue.

As a matter of fact, we defrosted a pack and about to make them for dinner!

 

[snadamo]

Looks great!
Did you use a recipe, or a store bought mix ?

This one is store bought (Sausage maker), but I've used my own before.

 

[sudsandswine]

I used that same mix from Sausage Maker, I thought it had good flavor and everyone seemed to enjoy it. I want to try some using more fresh herbs and ingredients sometime, if nothing else, for visual appeal.

 

[snadamo]

I used that same mix from Sausage Maker, I thought it had good flavor and everyone seemed to enjoy it. I want to try some using more fresh herbs and ingredients sometime, if nothing else, for visual appeal.

Agreed. Subjective I know, but compared to my homemade mixes, this one lacks some flavor just a little bit. But it's good and very convenient and I already had it opened.

On the contrary, I made brats once and used some coriander that was "organic" or "fresh ground" or whatever and it totally overwhelmed the flavor. We as a family forced ourselves to each the majority of the batch. There's still one pack left in the freezer nobody wants to touch haha.

 

[sudsandswine]

Something I’ve done is use a premix seasoning in combination with fresh ingredients I introduce. I make roasted garlic jalapeño brats with the Sausage Maker Bratwurst seasoning as a base, then mix in roasted garlic, charred jalapeños, and sometimes high temp cheddar. Some of the sausage recipes contain so many oddball ingredients that sourcing all those things and maintaining their quality long term seems like too much work for home use, so I just outsource that operation with a premixed seasoning.

 

[Itsdone]

Agreed. Subjective I know, but compared to my homemade mixes, this one lacks some flavor just a little bit. But it's good and very convenient and I already had it opened.

On the contrary, I made brats once and used some coriander that was "organic" or "fresh ground" or whatever and it totally overwhelmed the flavor. We as a family forced ourselves to each the majority of the batch. There's still one pack left in the freezer nobody wants to touch haha.

Tried LEM brand yet? I ordered some breakfast seasoning, not sure when i will get around to making a batch, but i recently had breakfast at a local diner that makes their own regular sized sausage links with breakfast seasoning. Omg was it good. Puts jimmy dean and bob evans to shame.

 

[snadamo]

Well we had some Italian sausage subs with onions and peppers, slathered some of our homemade pasta sauce, provolone, on a mini hoagie roll. DAYUM GOOD MEAL!

 

[snadamo]

Tried LEM brand yet? I ordered some breakfast seasoning, not sure when i will get around to making a batch, but i recently had breakfast at a local diner that makes their own regular sized sausage links with breakfast seasoning. Omg was it good. Puts jimmy dean and bob evans to shame.

I have not, but I may give them a look next time. Just ordered a new knife blade for the grinder yesterday from them, lol.