Fantastic Pork Butt Sausage

I didn't see any recipes for an easy pork sausage on the site, so I thought I would post one. This is terriffic on a grill or smoker, and is easy to make a couple months supply.

Have a 4 lb pork butt course ground (I do twelve pounds at a time)
Ingredients -
4 teaspoon salt (I use kosher)
5 teaspoons sugar
3 teaspoons sage
1 1/2 teaspoons nutmeg
2 1/2 teaspoons fresh ground black pepper
1/2 teaspoon ground red pepper
1/2 cup hot water
1 teaspoon Old Bay seasoning
a good squirt of maple syrup (optional)

Mix dry ingredients first, then add hot water and stir well, I do this in a pot.

Place pork on flat surface and poke depressions in meat. Pour spice mixture into depressions and using hands (latex gloves are handy here) fold meat like dough until spices are spread evenly throughout.

Lay out a 12 inch piece of plastic wrap and place a baseball to softball size clump into wrap and form a 8 inch roll about 2 inches thick (about a pound). Roll up in plastic wrap working to move air bubbles out, now twist ends and tie in knotts. You should end up with someting that looks like the breakfast sausage you buy in the grocery store. Now freeze.

Cooking -
Heat grill or smoker to 250 degrees. Cut the ends of the plastic wrap, unroll and discard. Place sausage roll in cooker for 20 minutes. Use tongs or hands to gently roll sausage over, cook another 20 minutes. Check for doneness, it will probably require another 5 or 10 minutes to finish, depending on exact heat and size of sausage starting out. Wrap in foil and let rest 10 minutes or so. Slice into patties and enjoy with sauce on the side.

I like this in a smoker better than a grill, but grill is quicker and still very good. I got his recipe from someone and changed it some, you may want to do the same. Everyone loves this, and it can be used in chilli or spaghetti instead of hamburger.

Sounds good. Most sausage recipes use ice water to help keep bacteria growth down while mixing the sausage. You use hot. Is this OK? Please forgive me for asking,I'm just trying to get this straight before I try to make some!! Thanks for any help.

I also question the addition of hot water. I went abck and checked drbbq's book and he has seveal sausage recipes that all call for ice cold water. Several other recipes I found on the net also call for cold water.

I think I'll wait on this one until we hear from Bryan. Otherwise it looks like a good recipe.

Great Sausage making by Rytek says ice cold water only. It's very important when making sausage that everything stays cold so the fat doesn't melt and get sticky.

Well, I have never tried cold water. Starting off hot certainly does a better job desolving the solids. Maybe a more suitable method is to use hot water, then chill the liquid before adding to the meat.
bkh

I would also recommend cold water, as Bryan mentioned the problems you can have with the fat and your are looking at a problem with bacteria growth using hot water.
Jim

It’s easier when using hot water to get the spices into solution. However, it will cause the fat in the sausage to get soft and make it harder to work. Bacteria are not a concern here, recipe says to freeze after mixing and rolling into portions.

I use hot/boiling water all the time to make the brine when I’m smoke fish (Little Chief smoker, not WSM). Sure makes getting the salt and sugar to dissolve easier. I add the fish without waiting for it to cool off then into the fridge overnight before smoking the next day. Never had any problems, even when cold smoking.