Newbie Sausage maker

  • Some of the links on this forum allow SMF, at no cost to you, to earn a small commission when you click through and make a purchase. Let me know if you have any questions about this.
SMF is reader-supported. When you buy through links on our site, we may earn an affiliate commission.

rob sicc

Smoking Fanatic
Original poster
May 5, 2008
725
26
new jersey
Hi all,

I want to try to make sausage. 

Can anyone offer any information?  I need it all.  I don't want to through a lot of money into this so I don't need high end.  I just want something that is of a good enough quality that it wont frustrate me.

I also need recipes and procedures.  Any help is greatly appreciated.

Thanks,

Rob 
 
The search engine on this site is going to become your best friend.

Also, a trip to a local book store and look for Sausage making books, there are plenty of them out in marketplace.

The question you ask is way to broad for specific answer., so have fun sausage making and always remember, to right the recipe down in a note book, because when you get it right, you do not want to stand there scratching you head wondering what you did to make it so good.

For making sausage, you will need a work area, a grinder, some stuffing tubes to fit the grinder or a separate sausage stuffer.   Then you will need casings, unless all plan on doing is making patties, which most beginners make  Then there are the spice, do not use dollar store spices, find a Bulk barn or source where you can get real fresh spices.  And a source of meat, be you a hunter nor not, some place to source good meats, cheap.

A meat tub comes in handy also.  But a good rule of thumb is, always have an assistant to help.
 
Last edited:
i started making sausage a year or so ago.  A GREAT HOBBY !!!!
as was said on here by one of the true sausage making vets ... "BUY LAST" ..... in other words dont go and buy something you will want to upgrade after a few uses.

a sausage stuffer is a must for a 1 man show, ease of making the product is great compared to using a grinder. i started with my grinder and stuffing tubes and after 2 go rounds bought a stuffer. you will also want a decent vacuum sealer. dont forget bacon and back bacon and all the other treats you will make. you will want a decent slicer, can get a good deal on usedpones if you watch and wait for them to show up on Craigslist etc.

follow the recipes and its basically fool proof. there is a learning curve working with casings etc. the smoking part is also quite straight forward... DID I SAY FOLLOW THE RECIPES ...   HA HA HA

i have always done a basic run thru and then done personal tweeks on the second go round. oh yah ... dont forget about all the stuff you can smoke that isnt sausage... pretty much any meal you can think up.

BIGGEST DANGER !!!!!! once you start to eat you own stuff you will never be able to eat store bought "may contain crap" again. be prepared for all the vultures comin around to sample your goods also ...   LOL

i have all LEM equipment and is a decent price for what i have. good customer service also. Bass Pro usually has free or very cheap shipping.

GOOD LUCK and welcome to the club of no return..... also the gang on here will help any way possible BUT the more clear the question the better the answers. the search engine on this site is also straight forward and easy to use !!!!

Goliath
 
I started making sausage with a Kitchenaid Blender and attachments for meat grinding and sausage stuffing.  If you just  want to get a feel for the task, that may be the way you want to start.  I still use the Kitchenaid to grind the meat, but I now have a Cabala's meat mixer and a 10 lb manual stuffer.  Others, more dedicated perhaps, will use specific meat grinders, powered mixers and powered stuffers of various types.  Search around here, there are many of us doing our own sausage.
 
Goliath,

Thanks for a great reply.  It was as informative as it was entertaining to read.  I know what you mean about making something myself compared to buying in a store.  I have been try new things over the past year and I am spoiling myself.  First Lox, then Bacon, then pancetta.  Now I thought it was time to go to the smoker.  I tried a smoke once before and it was a disaster.  Then never tried again.  After a week on this forum I've learned so much, including what I did wrong that first time. 

I have a pork butt sitting in the fridge injected and rubbed waiting to go into the smoke tomorrow morning.  I will post pictures tomorrow.  Wish me luck.

I have an LEM jerky gun and liked their stuff.  I will check them out for the stuffer.  I have a kitchenaide mixer.  I was going to try the grinder attachment for that. 

Thanks again for your help. 
 
Keep in mind that you can start by just grinding and making patties or even meatballs, and experiment to learn the flavors you like before committing to the casings and all that.
 
Some great tips above, using the search engine is your best resource. LEM makes a great grinder, just picked up the .75hp #12 couple month ago and it's a beast compared to the smaller 70's grinder I used for yrs after the kitchen aide. Should your kitchen aide not work out (that's what I started with and hard to stuff with) the hand crank grinders are inexpensive and will get you started too, probably find on CL in your area. A dedicated vertical stuffer was one of the best investments I made for sausage making.
Keeping good notes, keeping meat chilled when working with it, follow recipes on 1st run and tweak to taste, all very important.
Buy a scale with gram and lbs measurements, $10 you can find them.

Have fun and experiment it's a great and tasty hobby.

Not sure how to post up a link, computer skills not my strong point. But I'll try to pm you a link for recipes.

Good luck!!
 
start with a breakfast sausage.... Here/s a good recipe...... You can make it in bulk patties to start using your kitchen aid grinder...... i don't recommend stuffing with the grinder until you get a vertical stuffer

Joe
 
The two best and Cheapest pieces of Sausage making equipment are the Kitchener #12 Electric Grinder, $99 and a Kitchener or Grizzly 5 Pound Stuffer, also $99 or less. The LEM products are very good, except their bottom of the line Grinder, the 575W Countertop #8 Grinder. It uses plastic drive gears and unless thinks have changed, LEM automatically was sending an extra set of gears because they broke so often. The Kitchener has all metal gears and the plastic material the gears on the stuffer uses are very durable and stand up to all but the seriously hardcore frequent Snack Stick makers. Unless you already have one, the KA Grinder attachment is around $50 and although it is ok for small jobs like grinding a couple of pounds of Chuck for Hamburgers, will eventually Kill your mixer trying to grind the nearly frozen Pork needed to make proper sausage. I have a KA Pro 600 and it always sounds like it is going to break something grinding the cold meat. It is LESS than worthless for stuffing. I will be getting the Kitchener Grinder, when I have the money and have the Grizzly Stuffer. BEST money I ever spent! A slicer is nice if you plan to make a lot of Bacon and smoked lunch meat but is not needed to make Sausage. The Sausage Mixer is nice for 25 Lb batches or larger but is a Luxury item and not really needed for 5 to 20 pound batches. I know guy's are getting good results with a Kobalt 30" Steel Swift Mud Mixer, from Lowes, $10.68. Attach it to a Heavy Duty Drill, get a free 5 gallon food grade bucket like the ones that Bakeries throw away every day, and you are good to go...JJ

http://www.lowes.com/pd_245395-5183...L=?Ns=p_product_qty_sales_dollar|1&facetInfo=

6937607780827lg.jpg
 
 
Last edited:
I second everything the chef said. I have a KA mixer from the 1950's with the grinder attachment and some aftermarket knives and plates that really turned it into a useful tool. I don't know if they made them better back then or what but that sucker just eats through meat now. Like everybody said you will want a stuffer. I have a Weston 5 pounder that was on sale for under a hundred bucks when I got it a year ago. It has metal gears which is something you want to look for. You don't need a mixer for small batches, you can just use your hands. Get some thick food grade gloves. Keeps your fingers from freezing solid. lol. I have used the mixer paddle that the chef has shown and that works great for cheap. We did 200 some odd pounds of venison summer sausage a while back and that is what we used to mix with. You mentioned not wanting to be frustrated. Well, if you try to stuff with your grinder you will get frustrated. Or if you don't chill your meat down to near frozen before you grind. There are some great websites and tons of youtube videos on the ins and outs of the process. I love making sausage now. You will want a scale. Nothing fancy, just a digital scale that weighs in metric as well as imperial weights. You can get started with ready made kits from Hi Mountain and LEM and others. They come with everything you need and are good to get the hang of it all. Happy Charcutere timber
 
You have got some great advice so far but I will disagree with one point. Although it was stated that the Kitchen Aid doesn't do a good job of stuffing, that is an understatement. Stuffing with my Kitchen Aid was worse that getting a root canal from a proctologist. Either don't stuff or get a decent stuffer.

One other piece of advice, keep all your meat and equipment cold. Cold meat grinds better and you lessen the chance of the fat leaving the mixture and giving you a poor texture. Just chill everything well and put the meat in the fridge when you are not working on it. 

I love making sausage and it is easy. As has been stated, use the search bar and find a project you would like. Post questions that come up. Post your projects with pictures and you will get input. 

Disco
 
Thanks Disco.  Thanks everyone.  this is the kind of information I was looking for.

So i totally get the point not to stuff with my kitchenaide.  As a grinder it is exceptable for now for maybe a 5 pound project?
 
 
Thanks Disco.  Thanks everyone.  this is the kind of information I was looking for.

So i totally get the point not to stuff with my kitchenaide.  As a grinder it is exceptable for now for maybe a 5 pound project?
I use my KA for all my grinding but I never do more than 4 or 5 pounds at a time. However, I am very jealous of people with a dedicated grinder.
 
SmokingMeatForums.com is reader supported and as an Amazon Associate, we may earn commissions from qualifying purchases.

Latest posts

Hot Threads

Clicky