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Sausage Making 101 - The Basics & Breakfast Sausage

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RuralNc:
Eupher, you did well. Heres my comments..


--- Quote from: Eupher on April 10, 2023, 03:47:31 PM ---OK, here's my report on a batch of breakfast sausage.

I bought a bone-in Tyson pork shoulder from Wal-mart. Brought it home and parked it in the fridge for about 3 days.

Finally got around to processing it and cut away the meat from the bone using my filet knife. I wound up with 90 ounces of meat. (Gave the bone to my yellow lab, Zoey.) Broke the meat down into two batches of 32+ ounces x 2 and a batch of about 20 ounces. I made no effort to cut away fat or gristle, but my next time around, I think I'll try to isolate gristle and cut it away. Froze the two 32+ ounce batches and ground the 20 ounce batch using your method.
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Im spoiled, my grinder will pretty much handle anything you put in there. But your cutting away the tougher stuff is certainly not out of the question. You dont want to ask TOO much of your grinder. That never has good results. Trust me.


--- Quote ---My attachment (Kitoart) for my KitchenAid mixer wasn't very explicit about where/how to affix the 4-blade knife and after the first attempt to grind half of the 20-ounce batch, I took the whole thing apart and reversed the blade. Worked a lot better after that, but make no mistake -- the knife needs to "feed" the meat through the plate, not the other way around. The knife blade (4-prong) needs to ride up against the plate.
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I promise you, everybody makes that mistake, at least once or twice. Some of the cutter knives have a curve on the backside. That curve is highly misleading. You nailed it. The blade must go up against the plate to work properly. Been there and done that.


--- Quote ---The first grinding was the most problematic - a lot of that was learning curve stuff, but some had to do with gristle. Bottom line -- if you can cut away gristle, the grinding will go better. The second grinding went much smoother. I took apart the Kitoart gear, cleaned it, and the first-grind meat and parked it in the fridge before doing the second grind about 3 hours after the first grind. Seemed to work well. The colder the meat is, the better (up to being frozen, of course).
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This brings up a good point that I didnt address up above. Do not put your Grinder in the freezer. Dont. DO NOT. NO MAS...  I did. It froze up solid with bits of ice and meat in it. I didnt realize it. I attached it to the motor, flipped the switch. Heard a hum then a crunch crunch sorta sound.

I had to buy a new Grinder. That was an expensive mistake. Now days, I dont even recommend putting the meat in the freezer in-between grind 1 and 2. The fridge will do just fine.


--- Quote ---Added the spices per your directions, though I definitely had some questions about the use of nutmeg. I have some fresh-ground nutmeg from an online store because the store-bought stuff is usually about 45 years old, but I would never think to use nutmeg in a recipe like this. Thyme, sage, even rosemary yes, but never nutmeg.

I just got done frying off a test patty and I am impressed. The nutmeg doesn't appear to be overwhelming (though I used a bit too much salt -- probably because I am used to using kosher salt). The sage balance seems OK and I like a lot of black pepper so I used what I thought "looked right." Definitely more than your recipe calls for.

The upshot is, I like what I got. Even with the nutmeg, though my next batch is going to include some thyme and a touch of rosemary. It can't be too savory, IMHO.
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Glad you enjoyed it. The nutmeg is subtle but gives it a little something. My mother who grew up on a farm, which raised a few piggly-wigglys told me about Nutmeg in sausage. When she told me that, I had the exact same thoughts.

As I have pointed out previously, adjust the spices to your taste. These recipes are a starting point. Feel free to adjust. Nothing is set in stone. At least not with these recipes.


--- Quote ---Thanks for your recipe and your directions. Yes, using the Kitoart with the KitchenAid mixer is a PITA, but in small batches it's probably the most cost-effective way to run. No way am I going to pony up $300 for a meat grinder.

And there ain't no way I'm going to deal with stuffing sausages though the Kitoart attachment comes with two sausage-stuffing tubes. That's an entirely new level of pain that I don't need.  I'm probably going to take the rest of this breakfast sausage and turn it into gravy with biscuits.

 :hi5:

--- End quote ---

And you now know why I recommend a stuffer.  :-)

RuralNc:

--- Quote from: Eupher on April 10, 2023, 04:39:14 PM ---I forgot to add - grinder plates. The Kitoart attachment comes with four plates. Obviously, I used the "coarse" plate for the breakfast sausage I ground.

After washing the plate and the 4-prong knife, I put them on the stovetop (gas) and put a small fire on it to drive off the water. Then, after cooling a bit, I sprayed them with Pam cooking spray. Then put the plate and the 4-prong knife in a small baggie and put that with the other parts for next time. No rice.

--- End quote ---

Sounds like you have a solid storage plan.

Im guessing one plate, has 2 or 3 very large holes? Thats a "kidney plate" that is used with the stuffing tubes. Then probably one plate that has very very tiny holes. Thats more for emulsified sausages. Like Hotdogs and the such. The other 2 plates are probably 3/8 and 3/16. Those two will serve you the most.

Eupher:

--- Quote from: RuralNc on April 12, 2023, 09:01:54 PM ---Sounds like you have a solid storage plan.

Im guessing one plate, has 2 or 3 very large holes? Thats a "kidney plate" that is used with the stuffing tubes. Then probably one plate that has very very tiny holes. Thats more for emulsified sausages. Like Hotdogs and the such. The other 2 plates are probably 3/8 and 3/16. Those two will serve you the most.

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Yes, one plate is as you described - a kidney plate. The medium and fine plates I assumed were for hot dogs and such.

As reported above, I turned the 1 lb. of breakfast sausage into sausage gravy. I even had to add a bit of bacon grease to the meat after browning it to combine with the flour - the taste was fantastic and definitely better than the store-bought stuff, though I am OK with JC Potter. I am not OK with Williams. Jimmy Dean (regular, not the hot) will do in a pinch.

RuralNc:

--- Quote from: Eupher on April 13, 2023, 05:42:10 AM ---Yes, one plate is as you described - a kidney plate. The medium and fine plates I assumed were for hot dogs and such.

As reported above, I turned the 1 lb. of breakfast sausage into sausage gravy. I even had to add a bit of bacon grease to the meat after browning it to combine with the flour - the taste was fantastic and definitely better than the store-bought stuff, though I am OK with JC Potter. I am not OK with Williams. Jimmy Dean (regular, not the hot) will do in a pinch.

--- End quote ---

Yes sir. As I have told many people, when making gravy, there wont be many drippings. Got to add something. Bacon Grease is a fine choice. I always have a quart jar in the fridge for such an occasion. That, and for seasoning Green Beans.  :-)

I had to Google the two companies you mentioned as I wasnt familiar with those. On the other hand, Jimmy Dean.... cant stomach the stuff. And truth be told, I have no doubts that its the spice blend they use. I have seen plenty of Copy Cat recipes. Its just not something I want to personally make.

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