Couple of newbie questions...

Fresh Meat to Frozen Sausage is always the best. The concept is each time you Freeze and Thaw, make Sausage and Freeze. You run the risk of mishandling the meat and causing bacterial growth as Freezing and Refer temps don't kill bacteria it just slows its growth. Additionally the relatively Low Freezer temp of a home refer causes the formation of large Ice Crystals that slash the muscle fibers and causes moisture, Leach, to come out when you thaw. There is of course risk of Freezer Burn and so on.

That being said, If Butts were to go on sale for under $.99/Lb...I would not hesitate to by a Hundred Pounds, Freeze, Thaw, make Sausage, Freeze it, and Thaw to cook. There is no major issue just keep the sausage meat and equipment Cold and Clean. Work in Small Batches unless you have a really good Grinder. Just pay a little more attention to Sanitation and always thaw in the Refer not on the Counter. I say GO FOR IT!...

Most Grocery Stores buy mostly trimmed Box Meats and just portion them and wrap. They may have some trim in the back but maybe mixed meat and questionable quality...Falls on the floor tossing scrap to the bucket, etc. Search your area for a Butcher that Custom Cuts from Carcasses as in whole animals or halves. They will be happy to sell fat cheap or even give it to you if you purchase meat from them. As higher quality and Heritage breed meat becomes popular, you will see more old fashioned meat cutters popping up...JJ

Hi teebob,

I just wanted to let you know that all of the sausage I make starts with frozen pork, because I get my pork by the side from a local farmer. I thaw the pork, make the sausage, and then stick most of the sausage back into the freezer for consumption over the course of a few months. Although I do get some of the extra liquid coming out of the sausage when I thaw it (as Chef JJ talked about), the texture of the cooked sausage is good. It is not grainy or mushy in texture.

In regards to the fat, if your pork butt is untrimmed, you probably don't need to add in any additional fat for making bulk breakfast and italian sausage.Untrimmed pork butt already has about the right amount of fat in it for sausage (about 30%); so as long as you keep all of your trimmings from the butt, your sausage will have about the right amount of fat in it.

If your pork butt is really lean, rather than using rendered lard from the grocery store, I'd recommend mixing in a fattier cut of pork such as boneless spare ribs.  My understanding is that rendered lard (which is from pork fat, not beef fat, BTW) will melt at a lower temp than fat back, and seems like this would give questionable results in sausage. Commercial lard is usually processed in some fashion anyway...it typically isn't pure rendered pork lard. 

I'm sure if anything I've said isn't correct, Chef JJ or another person will be around soon to correct my misinformation.

Clarissa

Nothing to add Clarissa, you are spot on...Pretty impressive young lady!...JJ

Chef JimmyJ said:

Nothing to add Clarissa, you are spot on...Pretty impressive young lady!...JJ

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Yay!  I always feel like I've just passed a test when you tell me I got it right, Chef! 

Realy cant add much to what was said above except maby to help out in the pork fat department. First, i have been making sausage for 40 years now and have bought pork on sale, froze it, made sausage, and then re-froze it. Like the great advice you got from the Chef and the Lady, watch your sanitation process and you will be fine. When i first started out as a butcher, we cut  pork loins that were untrimmed and there was lots of fat left over, but it was tossed.  Never thought of putting it out on the counter for sale at the time.  Then as time went on we started putting out pork fat and could not put out enough depending where the store was located that i worked at [I worked at Cub Foods in Minnesota].  Well then as Chef said, more pork came in pre-trimmed and less pork fat was available, including pork butts that had less of a fat cap on them. So we basicly just cut them as is, so to speak. Also a lot of box stores sell beef, poultry, and pork "pre-packaged" so all one had to do is put it out for sale.  Sorry for the long explaination and now about the fat you may be able to get.

Ask your butcher if you can get a case of fresh boneless picnic trim. It is 50/50 pork trim and usualy comes in a 60 pound box. you can divide it up and freeze it [i put it  in 5 pound pacs and take the amount i need at a time]. Like the others have said butts have a decent amount of fat for most sausage. However for breakfast sausage for example i use this in my mix with venison. Just depends what you make and your needs are. Reinhard

I agree, "NO LARD"

If I can't get fat, then I grab a 10# box of Covered Wagon Brand Bacon Ends and Pieces.

This is a box of sliced I bought for pig candy and I paid about $13.00 for it. E&P are even cheaper.