I have been wanting to make sausage at home for some time now so I placed a request to Santa for a KitchenAid meat grinder attachment and a sausage stuffer. Having done some research online for techniques and recipes I decided to give it a try today. I set aside the entire day to do this as I had read about some areas that might cause problems. Here are some of the facts I learned after my research.
My KitchenAid grinder, plastic pusher, and sausage nozzles
Equipment:
-a grinder with a coarse die
-sausage stuffer (larger nozzle)
-Larger tray for the grinder was an addition. It makes the task easier than the small tray that comes attached to the grinder
Ingredients:
-Pork with fat content of approximately 20% or leaner meat with addition of pork fat
-a variety of spices
-sausage casing either synthetic or natural. Natural is the best. Usually hog casings made of intestines are considered the best and used by your local butcher (even at the the chain store meat department). Just ask your local butcher and he can get it for you, or you can order it online.
Concerns:
-The kitchen aid grinder works well enough but the weakness is with the plastic pusher used to feed the meat into the grinder. KitchenAid previously supplied a wooden pusher which was much more effective but discontinued it probably because it's more expensive to produce. In fact, most of the online KitchenAid grinder ads still display the grinder with the wooden pusher. The problem with the plastic pusher seems to be inadvertent introduction of air into the grinder.
-The KA sausage stuffer nozzle gets very bad reviews. The problem seems to be that it heats up which causes the meat/fat to also heat up. It's inexpensive so I thought I would give it a try. I don't foresee becoming a serious sausage maker so I didn't want to invest a couple of hundred bucks on a nicer stuffer.
-Everything I read indicates that the equipment and the ingredients must be kept cold at all times or the process fails. This is mainly to keep the meat cold to prevent the formation of harmful bacteria. Additionally, as the fat warms, it become more difficult to run through the grinder during both the meat grinding and the stuffing.
Armed with the above information, I decided to make a spicy Italian sausage. My local butcher recommended pork shoulder for its correct proportion of meat to fat. He did say that some people preferred more fat, but he likes the shoulder and uses it for the store's sausages. I decided to buy a quantity that would allow me to process everything in a manageable size. 5 Lbs. seemed like an ideal quantity for my Kitchen aid mixing bowl. Most recipes I came across seem to add about 1Lb of fat to 5 Lbs of shoulder, but I decided to go with my butcher's recommendation of not adding the fat.
-a grinder with a coarse die
-sausage stuffer (larger nozzle)
-Larger tray for the grinder was an addition. It makes the task easier than the small tray that comes attached to the grinder
Ingredients:
-Pork with fat content of approximately 20% or leaner meat with addition of pork fat
-a variety of spices
-sausage casing either synthetic or natural. Natural is the best. Usually hog casings made of intestines are considered the best and used by your local butcher (even at the the chain store meat department). Just ask your local butcher and he can get it for you, or you can order it online.
Concerns:
-The kitchen aid grinder works well enough but the weakness is with the plastic pusher used to feed the meat into the grinder. KitchenAid previously supplied a wooden pusher which was much more effective but discontinued it probably because it's more expensive to produce. In fact, most of the online KitchenAid grinder ads still display the grinder with the wooden pusher. The problem with the plastic pusher seems to be inadvertent introduction of air into the grinder.
-The KA sausage stuffer nozzle gets very bad reviews. The problem seems to be that it heats up which causes the meat/fat to also heat up. It's inexpensive so I thought I would give it a try. I don't foresee becoming a serious sausage maker so I didn't want to invest a couple of hundred bucks on a nicer stuffer.
-Everything I read indicates that the equipment and the ingredients must be kept cold at all times or the process fails. This is mainly to keep the meat cold to prevent the formation of harmful bacteria. Additionally, as the fat warms, it become more difficult to run through the grinder during both the meat grinding and the stuffing.
Armed with the above information, I decided to make a spicy Italian sausage. My local butcher recommended pork shoulder for its correct proportion of meat to fat. He did say that some people preferred more fat, but he likes the shoulder and uses it for the store's sausages. I decided to buy a quantity that would allow me to process everything in a manageable size. 5 Lbs. seemed like an ideal quantity for my Kitchen aid mixing bowl. Most recipes I came across seem to add about 1Lb of fat to 5 Lbs of shoulder, but I decided to go with my butcher's recommendation of not adding the fat.
5 Lb. Pork Shoulder ($10.50)
I began by cutting the meat into bite sized pieces. This facilitates the grinding process. I then placed the grinder, attachments, and the meat in the fridge for about 1 hour before starting. while waiting, I assembled the spices. There are no rules here, only your own taste preference dictates the herbs that you choose. The only rule is that some sort of liquid needs to be used to bind everything. 1 cup of liquid is appropriate for 5 Lbs. of meat. Here is what I used:
4 TBS ground red pepper flakes
4 TBS Oregano
4 TBS toasted fennel ground
2 TBS onions finely chopped
1 TBS sugar
2 tsp paprika
2 tsp ground coriander seed
salt and pepper to your liking
1/4 cup red wine vinegar
3/4 cup red wine
4 TBS ground red pepper flakes
4 TBS Oregano
4 TBS toasted fennel ground
2 TBS onions finely chopped
1 TBS sugar
2 tsp paprika
2 tsp ground coriander seed
salt and pepper to your liking
1/4 cup red wine vinegar
3/4 cup red wine
Herbs and the vinegar
I combined all of the spices along with the liquids in a bowl and placed it in the fridge to keep cold.
Next, I retrieved the equipment and the meat from the fridge and began grinding. I recommend using speed 4 on the mixer and don't rush the process. The plastic pusher seemed to work fine as long as I didn't try to force the process too much. The entire grinding took about 20 minutes.
Next, I retrieved the equipment and the meat from the fridge and began grinding. I recommend using speed 4 on the mixer and don't rush the process. The plastic pusher seemed to work fine as long as I didn't try to force the process too much. The entire grinding took about 20 minutes.
The plastic pusher and grinder in action
The Ground meat
When I finished the grinding, I placed the meat back in the fridge while I disassembled and cleaned the grinder. I noticed that some sinew had been caught in the blade and the die which explains why the mixer seemed to bog down at times. The next time I do this, I'll stop in the middle of grinding and clean them a couple of times to help speed up the process.
The next step is combining the spices with the meat. To aid in doing this I set up the mixer with the dough hook and used speed 4 and 6 to mix. You only want to do this until the meat and spices are well mixed as evidenced by clumping.
The next step is combining the spices with the meat. To aid in doing this I set up the mixer with the dough hook and used speed 4 and 6 to mix. You only want to do this until the meat and spices are well mixed as evidenced by clumping.
Using the dough hook to mix the spices with the
ground meat
The pork is ready to be cased
The pork is now ready to be cased. During my research I came across an excellent suggestion by an author to take a little of the pork and make a hamburger to test for proper seasoning. This way, you can make adjustments before casing it.
Testing the seasoning by making a burger
These days I seem to use every opportunity to practice plating. This being no exception, I decided to plate it with a ring molded fried egg, some pickled red onion slices that I made last week, and my wine- pomegranate reduction sauce. I think I have been watching too much Top Chef!
decided to have fun with my test burger
Making a test burger turned out to be a good idea because my mix needed more salt and more "heat." I decided to add some tabasco.
It was time to bring it all together. I opened the package of casings that my butcher gave me. Not knowing what to expect, I was pleasantly surprised to see that the casing had been threaded onto a plastic "tube" which made it a cinch to slide onto the sausage stuffer.
The hog intestines as they came from the
butcher, pre-cleaned
and threaded on a plastic tube ($5.00)
I placed the plastic tube on the stuffer and the
casing easily slid off onto the nozzle
Yeah, yeah....I know what you're thinking
Next I began feeding the meat through the grinder. With one hand holding the casing to prevent it from falling off and to meter the amount of meat, and the other hand plunging the meat, I began. After the initial inch of meat comes out, stop, pull the air out of the casing and tie off the end. As I continued I began to understand the negative reviews about the plastic pusher. When pushing the ground meat with the pusher, some of the meat begins to actually come up along the sides of the pusher instead of being pushed down which creates a seal. Then, when the pusher is extracted, because of this seal, it tends to create a suction which pulls the meat out from the grinder chamber. This in turn causes the introduction of air pockets into the sausage with the next insertion of the pusher. Not what you want! This created some frustration throughout the entire process.
I stopped several times to remove the stuffer to clean out the blade from the build up of sinew. It took a while but I developed a rhythm and feel for the whole process. One of the challenges is to control the thickness of the sausage which is exasperated with the formation of air bubbles. When I was finished, I had used only a small portion of the casings (maybe 20%).
After the casing was filled, I went through and tried to even the thickness of the link and was a bit aggressive with my handling. I tore the casing as you can see above. Not a big deal. I just performed a tubal ligation and removed the damaged section. Next, I just sectioned the links by pinching and twisting.
Finished Product
I would say that the entire process took me about 5 hours. That includes stopping to take pictures and having to clean up each time for the shot. It was a lot of effort for something that's readily available at my butchers; however, it's always nice to know how something is made. I think now that I have seen the process, I will be more efficient the next time. I plan to call Kitchen aid to see how I can get a wooden plunger to solve the air bubble problem.
POSTSCRIPT:
After spending a great deal of time and energy making the sausages today I was wondering if the effort was really worth it. Tonight I grilled some of the sausage for dinner. It was DELICIOUS! It was better than any store-bought sausage. The flavors were great, the texture was nice, and it had nice heat. Any doubts I had about whether the effort to make sausage at home is worthwhile have been removed.
Things I would do differently:
-Try to get a wooden pusher from ebay. The plastic pusher is a cheap and ineffective tool.
-As good as the sausage was, I think I would use more fat the next time. It tended to be a little dry when I cooked it. I will use 1 Lb. of pork fat with 5 Lbs. of pork shoulder the next time.
-I did not cut out and remove the sinew when I initially cut the meat into bite sized pieces. This caused the grinder blade and die to become clogged.
-I will use an ice bath to house the meat while working on it to keep it even colder so that it grinds more easily
-I will place a pan or sheet tray to catch the sausage as it come out of the grinder instead of doing it right on the counter top. You don't see it in my pictures because I cleaned before taking the pictures, but it was VERY messy to have the meat/fat/blood/casings all laying on the countertop as the sausage was being formed.
-There is a leverage problem when using the pusher because of the height of the grinder which is already well above the countertop level. Unless you're well over 6' tall, it's very awkward to push down on the pusher from that angle. So, maybe a foot stool would help.
POSTSCRIPT:
After spending a great deal of time and energy making the sausages today I was wondering if the effort was really worth it. Tonight I grilled some of the sausage for dinner. It was DELICIOUS! It was better than any store-bought sausage. The flavors were great, the texture was nice, and it had nice heat. Any doubts I had about whether the effort to make sausage at home is worthwhile have been removed.
Things I would do differently:
-Try to get a wooden pusher from ebay. The plastic pusher is a cheap and ineffective tool.
-As good as the sausage was, I think I would use more fat the next time. It tended to be a little dry when I cooked it. I will use 1 Lb. of pork fat with 5 Lbs. of pork shoulder the next time.
-I did not cut out and remove the sinew when I initially cut the meat into bite sized pieces. This caused the grinder blade and die to become clogged.
-I will use an ice bath to house the meat while working on it to keep it even colder so that it grinds more easily
-I will place a pan or sheet tray to catch the sausage as it come out of the grinder instead of doing it right on the counter top. You don't see it in my pictures because I cleaned before taking the pictures, but it was VERY messy to have the meat/fat/blood/casings all laying on the countertop as the sausage was being formed.
-There is a leverage problem when using the pusher because of the height of the grinder which is already well above the countertop level. Unless you're well over 6' tall, it's very awkward to push down on the pusher from that angle. So, maybe a foot stool would help.
No comments:
Post a Comment