[Robert]

We've had the stuffed meat thread and BBQ Style started discussing fresh sausage so I figured I'd start a new thread.

I really want to get into making sausage at home, but have no idea where to start. Any of you out there stuff your own? What are some good places to start? Any recommended stuffers/grinders? 

[bluesman]

Anything and everything you want to know about making sausage is right here.

http://forum.sausagemaking.org/

Here's a favorite.

Louisiana Sausage

5 lbs. medium ground pork butt
1 1/2 tsp. cayenne
1 1/2 tsp. chilli pepper
5 tsp. salt
1 large minced onion
2 tsp. black pepper
4 cloves pressed garlic
1/2 tsp. allspice
1-cup cold-water
2 tsp. thyme

[bluesman]

I like this thread. 

Here's another one.  Brings out the German in me. 

Bratwurst by Bill the Grill guy

Thread
http://forum.sausagemaking.org/viewtopic.php?t=3484&highlight=wittdog


5 pounds lean ground pork, unseasoned
4 teaspoons sugar
1 tablespoon ground coriander
1 tablespoon sage
1 teaspoon paprika
1 teaspoon cayenne pepper
2teaspoons dried rosemary
1 tablespoon dry mustard
1 teaspoon pepper
1 teaspoon nutmeg
5 teaspoons salt
Hog casings (I used about 10')

Made 15 6" brats.

Mix all spices together and work into meat. Stuff meat mixture into hog casings and form links. Makes
about 20 brats.

[Robert]

Any stateside suppliers? That forum seems to be primarily based in the UK.

[hopfenundmalz]

Here is a book that covers it, and more.  Chef Brian was on a No Reservations show segment recently, if you watch Anthony Bordain.  He is an instructor at Schoolcraft College (well known for the culinary school), and owns a restuarant in my small town.

http://www.amazon.com/Charcuterie-Craft-Salting-Smoking-Curing/dp/0393058298/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1286374195&sr=1-1

[nicneufeld]

Would highly recommend that book as well, an excellent guide to a generally obscure culinary art.

[gordonstrong]

+1 on Ruhlman's Charcuterie book.

It's cheating, but Penzey's bratwurst spice blend is actually pretty good.

[The Professor]

I've been making various types of sausages at home for a number of years, having learned sausage making from the old men in the church I lived next door to.  They would convene once a month on a Saturday to drink a case beer, make a  hundred lbs of Hungarian kolbász,  and sell it to the congregation (and interested neighbors) as a fundraiser.  I always liked kolbász, so when they knocked on my door because they were short of help, I was more than happy to oblige.  When I walked into the kitchen, they immediately handed me a beer, and when I saw that the preferred beverage there was the green can of ale with the three rings,   I knew it was some kind of divine intervention that brought me there.     I wound up helping for the next five years.

I've been making various sausages at home ever since.  It's not difficult at all, and a KitchenAid stand mixer with a grinder and stuffer attachment makes it downright easy and quick.  If you cook and/or bake, a KitchenAid is a must have anyway, and well worth the investment.

Here's the recipe for Hungarian "házi kolbász", a very simple and tasty fresh 'farmer' style sausage that was my introduction to tubed meat:

Ingredients:
5lbs pork butt, untrimmed -you want anywhere from 20% to 30% fat content  (lean sausage=fail)
2 1/2 Tblsp Kosher salt or Sea salt
1 Tblsp freshly ground black pepper (more if you like it to have a sharper kick)
2 Tblsp Hungarian sweet paprika  (there is no substitute for this...spanish paprika isn't the same)
5 cloves of garlic, pureed with a bit of ice water
1/4 to 1/2 cup ice water or very cold beer... as needed
Procedure:
Grind the meat coarsely (a 1/4" grinder plate is ideal); add the spices and mix well, keeping the mixture very cold.
Work enough of the ice water (or cold beer) into to the mix to make stuffing manageable, and stuff into hog casings (or if you want hot dog sized links, stuff into sheep casings). 

If you are cooking the kolbász without smoking,  it can be cooked immediately--although I think it's much better after being left uncovered in the fridge overnight;  if you plan to smoke the kolbász,  you really should add about 1/8 tsp of pink curing salt to play it safe.  I know people that don't use a cure when smoking sausage, but are taking what I feel is an unnecessary risk.

[tschmidlin]

I suppose I should have read this thread before posting the green chorizo recipe in the BBQ thread . . . I'll move it here.

There's lots of fresh sausage recipes . . . I never bother packing them into casings, I just use it as loose sausage.  I got this one from a TV show with the Mexican cooking guy.  Rick Bayless?  I leave out the spinach powder because I don't have any, although I might make my own for the next batch.

Chorizo Verde
Makes about 1 1/2 pounds (3 generous cups)

1 large poblano chile
1-2 serrano chiles, stemmed and roughly chopped
1 bunch of cilantro, tough lower stems cut off, the leafy part roughly chopped
1 1/2 pounds ground pork
3 Tbs spinach powder
2 tsp salt

1.   Roast the poblano chile until blistered and blackened all over.  When cool remove the blackened skin.  Remove the stem and seeds.  Quickly rinse to remove any seeds or bits of skin. Roughly chop and scoop into a food processor, along with the serrano and cilantro.  Pulse until uniformly chopped, then run the machine until you have a coarse puree.
 
2.   In a large bowl, combine the pork with the green seasonings, spinach powder, and the salt—your hand is the most efficient utensil for working the seasonings thoroughly into the meat.  Cover and refrigerate for several hours before frying.

[redbeerman]

This is a thread I can really sink my teeth into.  I've made homemade breakfast sausage before and it turned out pretty good.  I'm really interested in bratwurst recipes because I'm German, I love sausage (and of course beer), and would love to put some together at home.

[euge]

Here is a book that covers it, and more.  Chef Brian was on a No Reservations show segment recently, if you watch Anthony Bordain.  He is an instructor at Schoolcraft College (well known for the culinary school), and owns a restuarant in my small town.

http://www.amazon.com/Charcuterie-Craft-Salting-Smoking-Curing/dp/0393058298/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1286374195&sr=1-1

Damn there goes my plans for a "Charcuterie" thread- inspired by that very same No Reservations episode. Been looking at sausage stuffers... maybe the KitchenAide has an attachment for that too.

And all the talk about scrapple has me thinking of terrines and galantines.

[hopfenundmalz]

Here is a book that covers it, and more.  Chef Brian was on a No Reservations show segment recently, if you watch Anthony Bordain.  He is an instructor at Schoolcraft College (well known for the culinary school), and owns a restuarant in my small town.
http://www.amazon.com/Charcuterie-Craft-Salting-Smoking-Curing/dp/0393058298/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1286374195&sr=1-1

Damn there goes my plans for a "Charcuterie" thread- inspired by that very same No Reservations episode. Been looking at sausage stuffers... maybe the KitchenAide has an attachment for that too.
And all the talk about scrapple has me thinking of terrines and galantines.

The last time I saw Polcyn in town he mentioned that he was working on another book.  Don't know what the subject is.
Charcuterie plates were always an experience at FIve Lakes Grill.  That place had to retool do to the Michan economy, and is now Cinco Lagos.
Polcyn used to tell a story about a server saying to her table "Chef is very proud of his sausage."!   

[gordonstrong]

Polcyn used to tell a story about a server saying to her table "Chef is very proud of his sausage."!   

Reminds me of the movie Bachelor Party.  Q: "Is that the foot long?"  A: "And then some"

Euge, KitchenAid mixers have a sausage stuffer attachment.  IIRC, it's a hard plastic tube that you attach to the grinder attachment.  After the meat is all ground and mixed, you run it through again with the stuffer attachment in place.  You put the casing on the attachment and feed it out as the sausage is filled.  I've used it before, but it's been awhile.  I seem to remember the KitchenAid working better as a grinder than as a stuffer.  Manual gives you more control.  Go slow.

You might also check out Bruce Aidell's Complete Sausage Book.  It's a bit old, but the dude knows his sausage.  The Charcuterie book is nice because it also covers a wider range of topics, but not everyone wants to make duck prosciutto.

[capozzoli]

I want to get into this too. I have a kitchen aid mixer and you can get a sausage attachment. Anyone ever try it with that?

This thread is going to turn into a real sausage fest.

[corkybstewart]

We make about 100 pounds of sausage every year for our Oktoberfest and usually only cook about 60 so we have brats all year long.  My wife loves the weisse brats in Bavaria but has some misguided aversion to eating veal so we make it with pork and chicken breast instead.  We normally make about 25 pounds of the weisse brats, 75 of the standard brats.  We also make about 5 pounds of the standard into breakfast sized patties and freeze them.
My standard recipe calls for 60% lean, 40% fat, and we use about a 50/50 mix of pork and beef.    Packer trimmed briskets are my favorite beef cut to use because it does have plenty of fat on it.  Another trick I've learned is to grind the fat separately with the fine disk and the lean with the coarse disk for better texture.
Here's my setup for sausage making:
http://www.northerntool.com/shop/tools/product_36989_36989
http://www.northerntool.com/shop/tools/product_200004374_200004374
http://www.northerntool.com/shop/tools/product_200333527_200333527
These were Christmas presents from my wife and kids, gotta love 'em