want to try making sausage

[sparky]

new adventure for spark

when i was younger i remember making sausage w/ my roommate mike one afternoon. long time ago before married. we ground 3 different types of meat (i don't know what they were, i was just having fun making it) w/ spices. stuffing them really good was key. we grilled them fresh on a weber that night during a party. the best sausage i have ever eaten. fresh, oh. the only way to go. after seeing 383d making sausage i thought why not. by the way. i thought your sausage was the bomb. for first time out, outstanding. so, back to me. what's the better way to go? grinder and sausage stuffer in one unit or buy different machines? ok, plz give me 3 different grinders and sausage stuffer machines so i can pick the one best for me. i would like machines that are easy to use. less parts the better. and, 1 book to get me started. i not looking for hanging or drying sausages. i want to make my own, stuff them and put on my grill. fresh, only fresh. thank you for y'all input.

PS, thanks 383d for getting me started.

 

[Deb]

One book huh? That's easy but tough - do I really need to stop at one ?

If it can only be one..... this one is my choice....

Great Sausage Recipes & Meat Curing
Amazon.com: Great Sausage Recipes & Meat Curing: 4th Edition (9780025668607): Rytek Kutas, Ben Kutas: Books

If I get to pick a 2nd and third.....
Amazon.com: Charcuterie: The Craft of Salting, Smoking, and Curing (9780393058291): Michael Ruhlman, Brian Polcyn, Thomas Keller: Books
Amazon.com: Bruce Aidells's Complete Sausage Book : Recipes from America's Premium Sausage Maker (0028195081598): Bruce Aidells, Denis Kelly: Books

Sparky - do you have a kitchen aid mixer? I use the grinder attachment and it works fine for smaller batches . The KA stuffer attachment really stinks and is a waste of money.

I have this stuffer - some people don't like them becasue they have plastic gears, I haven't had any problem with mine but I don't make the quantity that some people do
H6252 5 lb. Sausage Stuffer-Vertical

 

[cowgirl]

Sparky another option.. there are some really great recipe sites online. This is one of my favorites. Sausage
(hit the "impatient" button at the lower right)

I got my grinder several years ago through Northern Tool Company. (Oster) It was around $100. and has lasted a long time. I grind and stuff at least 2 pigs worth of sausage a year and ususally 2 to 4 deer in the fall. It's held up great.
It has the stuffing attachment included.
Just one more option!

 

[squirtthecat]

I have those same books, and that same stuffer... Just haven't gotten brave enough to try it yet.

 

[ACW3]

I made ten pounds of kielbasa using the recipe from the Rytek Kutas book. GREAT!!! I have to make more. Everyone in the neighbothood loved it.

Art

Go sparky! Make some sausage.

 

[383inTheD]

I've been managing with the Kitchen Aide attachment for my grinding but I'd really like a dedicated unit for the amount of meat I've been putting through it. The one at Northern Tool looks real attractive. I never thought to look at NT for food processing equipment.

I bought a 5 pound Omcan vertical stuffer that is described as "Perfect for the beginning sausage maker" and I'd have to say I don't find I need more from the unit. I usually make 25# batches so I'm refilling only a few times. There's one advertised on NT that looks nearly identical for 35% less $$$.

I'm still working my way through "Home Sausage Making" by Peery & Reavis. The folks at Butcher & Packer (local meat processor) recommended this one.

 

[Redfish1]

Fun economical hobby.I bought a #64350 TSM-8 Meat Grinder from the Sausage Maker for
$120 and the same book by Rytek Kutas.Excellent reference. The grinder has paid for itself
time and time again. I make sausage out of briskets and pork butts. The brisket also makes
an awesome burger.

 

[jimsbarbecue]

The stuffer attachement for a grinder can be tricky. There is no money savings doing the combo because you need a foot switch if you use the meat grinder. It is just easier with a stand alone stuffer. Average pellet smoker will do fine with a 5 pound unit. If you start with collegen casings it will give you the feel of using a stuffer. The natural one are the one used the most. You can get them precleaned and sleeved for ease of use.

 

[sparky]

thank you very much for all the information. i am going to start saving up some money. got a b'day (nov 30th, you ppl don't forget. i would like spices plz) coming up and xmas. should be getting xmas presents too i think. i been a good boy. santa will help me out.

 

[TentHunter]

I agree with Jim. A separate stuffer is the way to go. When I asked that question every experienced sausage maker told me the same thing; A grinder is for grinding and a stuffer is for stuffing. That was sound advice.

The time it takes me to stuff sausage into casings was cut WAY down by getting a stuffer and that is important when trying to keep the sausage as close to 40° as possible while working with it.

Be wary of the stuffers with nylon gears as they have a reputation for stripping. I am happy with the Weston Vertical Stuffer I got. It's built like a tank and will most likely never have to be replaced.

Whichever stuffer you get be sure to order & keep a spare O-ring seal for when they break/wear out.

 

[roburado]

Just a few words about Brian Polcyn's book--well, really more about his food. I've had a lot of his charcuterie (cooked by him and/or one of his executive chefs, David Gilbert), and it's phenomenal. I eat at their restaurant The Forest Grill a fair amount. Both are James Beard nominated guys. Brian actually has won for this book. David was recently up for Best Chef Great Lakes (or was it Midwest?) the last time around. Just FYI, these guys know what they're doing.