Sausage

[Vindii]

Not sure if this is the right spot to post this?

We made some sausage last weekend. Ended up with 63lbs. It took most of Sunday with me and my Dad. We still have some learning to do but it came out pretty good. We trimmed some of the fat off the shoulder and replace it with some berkshire fat that I had for a little extra flavor.

We made 6 different kinds.

Sweet Hot Italians (Thanks Brican)
Gloucester Pork Sausage (Banger - Thanks Oddley)
Oktoberfest Brats (Thanks Big Guy)
Johnsonville Brats with Jalapenos and Cheddar cheese
Breakfast sausage (Thanks Skins)
Kielbasa

Here's the pics.

Dad doing the first grind. We double ground for the first time and we like the texture better. Final grind was 3/16.



Here's the stuffing. We stuffed them a bit too full as some burst when we linked them.





Here's the finish sausages. Next time I wont put some many in the tub. Bottom ones got a little squished.







Here's a sampler platter I cooked up the next day.



On the keg



Dinner



Packaged and ready for the freezer

[dorsets21]

if you part freeze the sasuages before you shrinkwrap they keep there shape also you packer looks like it sucks a bit to hard can you seal before 100%of the air is out thats a big batch to start off with

[Vindii]

Good idea.

The vac sealer flattens them out a bit but they are fine once you take them out.

Smaller batch next time and then I'd have room to par-freeze them. Making 6 different recipes at once wont be happening again. Too much to keep separate.

Learn something each time.

[vagreys]

When I freeze linked fresh sausage, I dry it out on stacked baking racks in my fridge, first, and then partially freeze them, open, in our stand-alone freezer. Then I vac-pack them. They hold their shape and I let the vac-pack remove absolutely as much air as possible. They keep very well. Refrigerating before freezing makes them freeze faster and with smaller ice crystals, so they don't lose as much liquid when you thaw them, and stay moister when cooked.

[Vindii]

I wanted to dry them a bit but again ran out of fridge space. I loaded that tub up and that was a bad idea also as the bottom ones were squished. Next time smaller run that I can at least get the casings dry.

Is the casing bursting while linking only cased from stuffing them to tight or is there something else that can cause it?

[vagreys]

Casing can burst for many reasons, including because the casing just happens to be weak. Freezing the casing weakens it. It can be scored by grains of salt. It can be overstuffed. It can be wound too tightly while linking, pulling on the casing in the middle of the link and stressing any weak points. Overstuffing is certainly common, but by no means the only reason for casing to split.

[Wunderdave]

63 pounds through a 5lb stuffer? Yikes! I get frustrated doing anything more than 15 lbs with all the refilling. They look great.