homemade sausage

sandsawmill14 · January 27, 2016, 09:48:33 PM

last fall we made about 75 pounds of pork breakfast sausage in 3 25lb batches using the leggs brand seasoning just like every time we made it for the last 30+ yrs my brothers ground it all and i done the mixing same as every time we each took 25 lb. mine tasted fine but was tough when cooked even on low heat :-\ it tasted fine but was real tough for sausage. the other 2 batches were just right ;D digin1 all 3 tasted the same, i mixed them all and cooked them all so all should have been the same. anyone here make their own sausage know what i might have done wrong to mess up just 1 batch ???
getting ready to make some more and dont want to mess up again :

beenthere · January 27, 2016, 10:38:17 PM

The unknown may be what was different in the meat that went into the grinds. Would be my suspicion.

Mooseherder · January 27, 2016, 11:40:47 PM

After the meat is ground with the coarse plate don't overmix the sausage spices for too long. Let them sit for 20-30 minutes before moving on to the stuffer plate. Could also be from tougher muscles on the animal. Ground meats do better for me on a medium to hotter fire. You have to attend to it but that's part of the fun. Are you adding moisture like ice or water to your leggs spice mix? I like grinding the first pass with a few chips of ice. Just enough to get the blend wet so spices to stick to. We used Leggs commercially for many years. It was a great product. Where are you buying it? I remember when that stuff was cheap. Not so much anymore.

sandsawmill14 · January 28, 2016, 12:00:29 AM

it could be i guess. it was bone in butt roast we ground in stead of a fresh killed hog. thats what happens here when food giant puts them on sale for .99 lb ;D this week the bone in pork chops are 99 cents per lb

mooseherder our local grocery keeps it in stock along with all the curing and canning/pickling supplies (not food giant i only go for the meat specials) i trade with the local guy all that i can

we add a little ice water

Mooseherder · January 28, 2016, 12:25:03 AM

We used the boston butt also. Makes great sausage.
Do you use a medium plate or a coarser one?
The medium plate will make the grind more tender if your only grinding it once.
If your grinding once into the casing with a coarse plate that could make it tougher.
We used to mix/grind with ice on a coarse plate for the first pass and the second pass went into the stuffer with a medium plate.
Going through a plate twice makes a better blend. I would only grind it once if using a fine plate.
Those are great prices you have in your town. Much higher here.

LeeB · January 28, 2016, 02:12:32 AM

x2 on possible over mixing.

sandsawmill14 · January 28, 2016, 07:10:09 AM

over mixing is what i suspect to but i have never had it happen before :-\ i be more careful this time

we grind 1 time through the medium plate but i dont remember if its 1/8 or 3/16 dia though

those are the get you in there prices normally they are the highest price around but when they have the sales they dont sell out we bought about 85 pounds all together and they had to wrap some for use and ask the butcher how much they had and he said he didnt know how many pounds they had but i could have all my 3/4 ton truck could haul if i wanted it

:D :D :D its about 25 miles over there so i dont go other than just for the sales maybe 3 or 4 time a year they will run ground beef for less than 1/2 sometimes to but not near as often as the pork

pineywoods · January 28, 2016, 08:57:13 AM

Sounds like maybe somebody snuck a big old wild boar into the mix...There are guys around here that capture wild hogs and run them through the livestock auctions mixed in with domestic porkers..Some castrate the males, then turn them loose for later capture...Beats stealin for dope money ;D

WDH · January 28, 2016, 08:40:17 PM

You can keep your tough, old, nasty, wild boar hogs

.

sandsawmill14 · January 28, 2016, 08:45:56 PM

Quote from: WDH on January 28, 2016, 08:40:17 PM
You can keep your tough, old, nasty, wild boar hogs .

x2 >:(

sandsawmill14 · December 18, 2016, 12:12:57 AM

well its been a while but food giant ran their sale on the boston butts again so i made me 40 more lb of sausage monday ;D my brothers didnt make any this time said they still had some ??? they only made 25 lb last time so they must not like sausage as much as i do :D
this time it is really good and it aint tough either ;D i wonder if it was because i used the stuffer last time ??? our stuffer doesnt hook to the grinder you put the meat in and pull the handle which pushes the meat into the casing

last time i may have made 2 lb susage links :D :D :D

drobertson · December 18, 2016, 08:15:19 AM

I used the same kind this year with ours, did mix of 70/30 venison and pork. Same cut you used the deer blend is more tender than straight pork for whatever reason, both are good,

thecfarm · December 18, 2016, 08:50:55 AM

2 pounds sausage link,just my size. ;D

I like my burgers on the 2 pound size,but sausage that size don't leave much room for eggs and toast. ;D

WDH · December 18, 2016, 10:28:39 AM

In the spirit of the Holidays, I won't even say it. It will do no good and just stir one particular faction.

thecfarm · December 18, 2016, 10:37:36 AM

It's almost Christmas,but I still don't believe that grits would go good with sausage. I believe in miracle,but not that much of one.

sandsawmill14 · December 18, 2016, 01:33:04 PM

Quote from: thecfarm on December 18, 2016, 10:37:36 AM
It's almost Christmas,but I still don't believe that grits would go good with sausage. I believe in miracle,but not that much of one.

>:(

:D :D :D

Raider Bill · December 19, 2016, 09:39:08 AM

I made 150 pounds of Italian sausage last month. Invested in a crank 5 lb pressure stuffer that LeeB suggested. Worked very well.

I need to find a better casing though. I like a slightly thicker one so you get a snap when you bite into it.

We also got 47 lbs of bacon and a few pounds of jowl meat cured and smoked.
2 hogs, 310 and 280 pounders.

LeeB · December 19, 2016, 11:31:25 AM

You're making my mouth water Bill and no way to cure it over here in the pork deficient part of the world.

caveman · February 20, 2017, 02:08:17 PM

A friend of mine whacked a pretty good wild hog Friday evening. Someone had cut it and released it. My friend, Jimmy, ground it up into sausage and mixed in Legg's seasoning and stuffed it into casing. He came down this morning and got my little grill and I gave him some noodles of cherry to make some sweet smoke. He smoked them cool, about 150° for an hour or so to impart a smoke flavor but not to cook them throughout. I sampled some a little while ago and it was very good-no gamey taste at all.

starmac · February 20, 2017, 02:30:41 PM

Interesting thread, My neighbor gives me sausage links from moose and caribou both every year. These are always tough, I just thought it was the nature of the beast (and it could be). He has them commercially processed, now this thread causes me to wonder if they are not doing something right.

When I was still living at home, we always raised and butchered our own hogs, but always made patty sausage instead of links. Sometimes if killing more than one, we would make sausage out of a whole hog, less the hams.