Home Made Sausage


 
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Kevin K

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I did a trial run of some home made sausage tonight and have some unanswered questions:

o Is there any way to repack the hog casings so I can store them? I only did 3 pounds of sausage, and hardly used any of the 1 lb of casing.

o My plan is to smoke the sausage, then eat some, store some, and freeze some. Should I smoke them all until the meat is completely cooked, or should I partially smoke the ones I am going to store? If so, any suggested temps for beef, pork, and poultry?

o If I do smoke and store, should I be adding any preservatives? When I do jerky, I know a lot of people say you should use some potassium or other preservative (my jerky is usually gone in a couple of days, so I never do).

Any info would be appreciated.

k

fyi - the trial run was 3 lbs of spicy turkey sausage.
 
Kevin
I just started doing sausage myself so only limited knowledge to base this on.
Casing my understanding is that, it can be place back in the solution it came out of and be stored.
If you are going to cold smoke and the sausage will be in the 40 to 140? range for more than 4 hours then preservatives are needed.
So far I've only played with a Chicken/turkey
habenero recipe and I cooked it to 180? (used thighs).
Interesting topic hope others with more info post.
Jim
 
Hey Jim,

What kind of solution did your casings come in? Mine were dry (not totally dry, but no moisture) and packed in salt.

k
 
The casings I'm dealing with came in salt water solution, but as I say I'm learning as I go. Am interested in how things go for you.
Jim
 
The sausage I did was a spicy turkey. I'd post the recipe, but it needs some tweaking. I was so anxious to taste that I didn't smoke any of the first batch yet (I'll do that today). I parboiled and grilled them.

Just to add more depth to this thread, what equipment are you using to make the sausage with? I picked up the KitchenAid meat grinder and sausage stuffing tubes (same as Hobart I guess).

k
 
Some of the USDA recommendations I've read say that you should not partially cook meats, rather you should cook them to a safe internal temp (varies depending on the meat) then refrigerate and reheat for later use. Ground meat that is partially cooked can leave bacteria that may not be killed during a second cooking or reheating process. I think sausage would be especially susceptible to this.

Chris

[This message has been edited by Chris Allingham (edited 08-24-2001).]
 
Good point Chris, but the USDA are a pack of wussies. Look at all the trouble they caused with this mad cow thing
wink.gif
.

k
 
If you are interested in some real good information about sausage making go to www.northwestsmoking.com Jerry has a great site and is very knowledgeable. He was here in Indiana a couple of years ago and came over, visited, and we made a couple of different sausages.

Hog casings will keep for ever if packed in salt or a strong salt water solution.

Smoke sausage as needed. I wouldn't cook and then freeze although you can try it and see if you like it.

Tender quick or Instacures will increase safety. I wouldn't worry about any (supposed) health effects of preservatives. There is more risk in not using them.

I use a KA grinder and it works well. I'm looking for a small Enterprise Stuffer. I had dinner the other night with Stogie. He said he will roll sausage in plastic wrap, smoke for an hour remove wrap and continue smoking. Paul Kirk does this too.
 
Excellent thread - "STOP AND STUDY"

As a culinary grad who still maintains a food sanitation managers certificate I cannot warn you enough - go to Amozon and buy a few sausage books as prep and cooking temps are very important with forcemeats, also search the net. Chris is also correct with the USDA (I even read the CDC). Everytime you grind or mix something you heat it up and everytime you use a tool with it you expose it to potential problems, that is why sausage is a real critical affair.

My father is 75 and I nearly killed him with a fresh game bird last year also fried oysters which I knew fresh - his system is breaking down and the very young and very old are at risk.

As for Mad Cow - it is no joke, it is already in this country.

Best wishes to all,
Steve

[This message has been edited by NJ Steve (edited 08-25-2001).]
 
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