www.sausagemaking.org

Hello folks. My father owned a butcher shop and offered specialty
items that he made himself like Kielbasa and various types of sausage.
They were quite popular, and people would go out of their way to
purchase them at his store. Well, he recently passed away after a
bout with Leukemia, and we now have to decide what to do with his
shop. We could sell or lease it, but it will take some time to find a
buyer. I'm currently not working, so I've been mulling over some
business ideas related to the shop that might be viable. I'm not a
skilled butcher but I'm familiar with making sausage, having helped my
father with it when I was growing up, and I have all of my father's
sausage recipes. So the idea would be to focus purely on sausage
products, and a few other specialty items. I've spoken to a few of
folks who used to work for him, and they would assist me with those
aspects of the business that require the knowledge of a skilled
butcher.

The sausage products that he offered were as follows: smoked
Kielbasa, hot Italian sausage, sweet Italian sausage, parsley and
cheese sausage, and Chorizo sauage, and pork sausage (same as English
Banger, but without the breadcrumbs). I'd like to expand on this list
and have been Googling to find new and interesting recipes. Here's a
few that I've found that look good:

Greek Sausage (Loukanika):
http://www.bellaonline.com/articles/art14600.asp
Andouille: there were so many recipes for this, I wasnt sure which
one would work best
Potato Sausage: http://groups.google.com/groups?q=%22po ... net&rnum=2
Chicken and Apple Sausage:
http://home.att.net/~g.m.fowler/frame/S ... ausage.txt

If you have any thoughts for other types of sausage that might work
well, please let me know, and provide the recipes for them if you can.
I want to stay away from breakfast sausages, and finely minced
sausages like bratwurst. We do have a smoker, so maybe that opens up
more possibilities. Also, if you have recipes that are better than
those listed above please share them with me.

Finally, I would be grateful for any input you have on how to make
this a viable business concept. Perhaps focusing strictly on sausage
products is to narrow, and won't attract enough customers. Are there
complimentary items that might make it more attractive? I was
thinking along the lines of various types of cheese, and other gourmet
items. In any event, I appreciate any feedback, both negative and
positive.

Sam

You should determine what your local market wants.

There is no point in producing sausages, meat pies, bacon or whatever if:

1. You produce Italian sausage and the local community is Germano-Dansk-Norwegian based. If you live in a regional/national part of the US, you will have to take that into account in your product range and ensure you cater for it

UNLESS:

2. There are a sufficient number of people with adventurous and international food tastes to whom you could cater. But if you go for that market, it is likely to be discerning and unforgiving. So you have to get it right FIRST time. No second place winner.

Best to see if you can make the business run. Do not be too ambitious at first. Local promos, free tastings, after games snacks for the High School football team (free of course), get your name arround. Cultivate discerning customers. Listen to their criticism. THEN do the tour of the countrys whose sausages you are trying to produce.

Keep all the receipts and contact names, should be fully deductible business expense for the IRS (But consult your own advisor. This is not a free lunch).

Then you can decide if you want to run a hobby susage factory, or a business with outlets in NY,SF, LA, etc.

Best of luck.

You might find some useful information here


http://www.food.gov.uk/multimedia/pdfs/ ... essfhc.pdf

http://www.agmrc.org/pork/pnmwg/newprod ... opment.pdf

kind regards

Parson Snows