EquipmentHeres where it starts getting fun. All the goodies that you didnt know you needed.
Sausage making can be about as simple as you want, or equally convoluted. Your choice. But, ill happily admit that increasing your inventory of kitchen gadgets does make life, and your new found hobby, far more enticing. The good thing, you can pick up extra goodies as time, need, and funds allow. The "funds" part is usually the issue.
I have broken up the discussion into three categories. "Required" ,"Helpful", and "Dedicated". Pretty self explanatory. Required is what I would say is the bare bones. The good news, most items you probably already have in the home kitchen, or have access to. Helpful is the optional stuff that just makes life easier, and/or allows you to take your sausage making to the next level. Dedicated is when you have gotten serious. Real serious.
This list is not exhaustive by any means. Your needs will vary based on what types of sausages, and cured meats you want to make. But, with that being said, after your first grind (so to speak), you might fall in love with the process and already have the next batch planned out. You might even already have your eyes on your next gadget upgrade. Be careful, it can certainly be addictive.
RequiredNylon Cutting Board. You want nylon because it can be sanitized with either commercial sanitizer, or bleach solution. We will discuss Sanitation in detail later.
Meat Knives. You only really need one good sharp meat knife. My personal goto is a Dexter 7 inch Narrow Fillet Knife. It is razor sharp, slicing thru meat with little effort. The blade is thin, with just a little flexibility to it. It also makes quick work of chicken, beef, pork, etc. The handle is a one piece poly material, which is good for the sanitizing process. On that topic, the handle is a meaty handle. Good for those of us with larger hands.
Winco Acero is another brand that I like as well. These knives are of a heavier construction, with a multi-part handle, but still NSF certified. So clearly, these can be properly sanitized as well. I have both a 3 inch pairing, and 8 inch bread knife.
Both brands have been used extensively in my home kitchen, and commercial kitchen space. They do not disappoint. They are very reasonably priced. You can order from Amazon for ease. These are just my personal recommendation.
Digital Scales. Gotta have a way to weigh your ingredients. Look for a set that works in both metric and standard, and can weigh up to 10 pounds. I have had excellent luck with both CDN brand, and Escali.
Meat Grinder. You need some way to grind your meat. There are lots of options, but almost everybody starts out with a KitchenAid mixer, and grinder attachment. I started that way, and it works fine. But, you will quickly learn its shortcomings. Mostly, you have to cut your meat into about 1 inch cubes, whereas a dedicated grinder can work with much larger pieces of meat. This will result in far faster production. Dedicated grinders have a wide range of grinder plates. The KitchenAid uses, I believe, #8 size, and those are rather limited.
Dont let that dissuade you from using the KA Grinder. Its fine for what it is, and assuming you already have the mixer, its a cheaper way to get to the end goal. Ground meat. Looking on Amazon, there are numerous knockoff brands, so do your homework. I DO like the fact that those knockoffs mostly appear to be made of metal. Thats a plus.
Bowls, Containers, Sheet Pans. Naturally you need some of these to contain your whole, chunked, and ground meat during the various stages.
I would consider the above list, the barebones to get started.
HelpfulDedicated Grinder. I wont rehash the above. But your meat processing time will instantly be cut in about half. You will be able to work with larger pieces of meat. You can buy a wider range of meat grinding plates. The parts are usually larger, making cleaning far easier. Also, on most machines, the hopper, chute, screw, etc, are metal. Not plastic.
Mostly importantly, most dedicated machines can run in reverse. Perfect if you get a clog in the grinder plate. No KitchenAid can do that.
I personally have an LEM Big Bite grinder. It works wonderfully.
Dedicated Stuffer. Yes, the KA can stuff casings. I dont recall the sizes, but it does work. Dedicated stuffers simply do a better job. I have a Vertical stuffer (dont recall the brand) and its like night and day.
A dedicated stuffer will not potentially heat up the meat, unlike using a grinder. A stuffer uses a large plunger like mechanism to slowly push the meat into the casing. A grinder uses the screw mechanism to push the meat into the casing.
Vacuum Sealer. About the best way to avoid the dreaded freezer burn. Also, you will want one if you obtain a Sous Vide machine. More about that later. I also highly encourage you to vacuum seal hog casings. This will prevent your fridge from becoming stinky. Believe me, your significant other will appreciate that.
The above will definitely make your life and projects far simpler.
DedicatedSmoker. This once could easily be any where on the list, and have become so common, it almost seems absurd to include it. But, not all sausages, nor cured meats, are smoked. But a lot are. You can also use a smoker as a drying chamber.
One of my long term projects has been an actual smoke house, here on my property. One of these days it will get built. Meanwhile, I stick with what I have. The average smoker can hold a decent size batch of meats, so theres that.
Sous Vide. This a water circulation heater. You vacuum seal the meat, and let it hang out in the swirling water. This will pasteurize the meat, or even fully cook meat if desired.
Ananova is the leader in these devices. I have a couple from a different brand, but they work just fine.
Extra Fridge/Freezer. When it gets to the point that you run out of space, you have decisions to make. An extra fridge/freezer helps with this. You will barely notice it on your electric bill, if thats a concern. Shamefully, ill admit that I have 4 full size fridges, 1 full size upright freezer, and a small upright freezer. We barely notice it on the electric bill.
To be continued.
