Ken may come on and have some input. I know some forum members have ordered this one from Northern Tool and found it very good value.

We've ordered from Northern Tool, just not this particular item. We've found them very satisfactory.

Carol

Here is a link that might be useful: Northern Tool Power Meat Grinder

Hi JT -

You might try E-Bay. I bought one called "Small Timer" that was compared to Tasen. I tried to find it among those listed that are available now. It would be like those near the end of the list - that advertise at 1.5 hp and 1200 watts. The grinder parts are all stainless steel, and come apart well for easy cleaning and assembly.

I bought mine when I became interested in buying meat in bigger portions, then grinding for sausages, hamburgers, etc.

The name "Small Timer" may be a tradename of another merchandiser, but darned if I can find it.

It was less expensive than those advertised on E-Bay presently, that are 1200 watts and at least 1.5 hp.

Just my 2 c's.

Bejay

Nothing like multiple typos to assure you can't follow-up, John. The brand name is Tasin, and the model is TS-108. Other than that, I don't understand why you had any trouble. :>)

The Northern Tool machine that Carol linked to is the exact same grinder, complete to accessories. Were it me, for the 20 bucks difference, I would definately go with the power model.

Yes, that is the exact Northern Tool model I have, and I even bought a couple more grinding plates from the Sausage Maker people. They sell #10 plates with big cutter area openings for small chunks, all the way down to very small holes. I like the stainless steel plates, which are a bit more $, but don't rust. I also tried to order a replacement knife blade from SM, the type used in most #10 grinders, but the blade on the Northern has a larger square area behind rounded shaft. The SM cutter knife blade would not fit, without some serious grinding to open the square hole, which I wouldn't do, because it would weaken the area too much. The Northern model comes with 3 blade sizes, but I bought another two from the SM, one with 1/2 inch holes and one with 1/4 inch holes. I don't use the grinder to stuff the sausages, but instead have a vertical 15 pound capacity stainless steel stuffer with various nozzles, including a custom made one that gives me the ablity to stuff edible collegen of less than 1/2 inch in diameter for a 'slim jim' pepperoni snack stick. Its a two speed hand crank model stuffer bough through Weston Supply. The coursest plate I use (only three big holes in the plate) for making Kielbasa, but use a smaller holed plates for grinding the fat separately. I also have the Northern Tool meat mixer, that can handle about 10-20 pounds at a time. Its great for mixing the salt and spices, and takes a few minutes to get a really good mix. Its 100% stainless, very heavy, and efficient. NT also has a higher priced model meat mixer with a reduction gear and more capacity. I like the meat grinders' feature of being able to reverse the motor in an instant, if it is bogged down and pops the built in circuit breaker. I see this happening when I grind up the tougher pork skins (yes, I use them too!). The NT grinder also has a chubb maker, but I have never used that part of it. Weston sometimes has refurbished stuffers. I also have a very old Sausage Maker stuffer rated at 5 pounds. It was bought many years ago from SM, and is cast aluminium. With these cutters, etc, suggest that you also purchase soem food grade lubricantts, especially for rust protection, shaft lubing and other needs. They sell lube sprays and even a grease in a can, which I use on the drive screw of my stuffer.

Here is a link that might be useful: Weston Supply

Ken writes: > The Northern model comes with 3 blade sizes,...

Ken,

Would you mind measuring the hole diameters on the coarse plate? I might not have to order the 3/4" stainless from SM.

Pretty sure this is what will go with. Will search Amazon and Ebay a little first. I've ordered from Northern many times and always was happy.

Thanks

Searches:

Amazon meat grinders

Ebay meat grinders

John,

On the Tasin (which I believe to be the same unit), the large plate has triangular-shaped holes. They measure 3/4x3/4x1/4. I've always found it more than sufficient for coarse grinding.

My advice, if you order the Northern Tool version, is to hold off ordering any extra plates until you see what you get standard. Could be you don't need anything else.

Brook writes: > ...the large plate has triangular-shaped holes. They measure 3/4x3/4x1/4.

Is the 1/4 a typo?

JohnT

Nope. The holes are isosoles (sp?) triangles with the two long sides 3/4" long, and the base 1/4" wide.

If you go to the Northern Tools link posted by Carol you can see them clearly.

Yes, that is the dimension of the course disk that comes with the NT grinder. I use that one for making the italian sausages as it has the right size. The smaller sided round holes (about 1/8 inch diameter) are for breakfast sausages and for a single grind for chili meats. There is a very small hole plate for regular hamburger, but that one is a bit too fine for my needs. When I make things like big salami, or the kielbasa, I needed to have a much chunkier size meat cut, so I opted for the 3 holed one from SM, and use a fine plate just for the fat. Its center hole diameter is the same as the plates that come with the NT grinder. The issue is that the 3 bladed knife on the NT grinder has no replacement, as far as I know. The knife blades sold by SM are round too, but both kinds rest on a square portion of the grinder shaft at the end of the auger, and the SM grinder square area is smaller than the NT knives square shaft. All plates are about 1/4 inch thick.

John, when you start making sausage, use lots of fresh garlic, and although others may disagree, I like fresh shallot and cilantro as well.

And if you do make sausage, here's a trick I learned from a pro: Cut the meats into pieces small enough to go through your grinder. Then toss them with the herbs and spieces you'll be using. Then grind them.

This assures that all those flavorings are evenly distributed through the meats.

At about the time I purchased my meat grinder, I also bought a Waring food slicer. At the time, I had hoped to use it mainly for shredding cabbages in making kraut.

It didn't meet my expectations, however, as it doesn't slice multiple vegetables at one time. But will do singles, and is good for slicing cooked hams, turkeys, deli meats.

I prefer using a mandolin for the small amounts of cabbage that I put up individually.

It was a big disappointment, mainly because I had used a commercial style food slicer, that worked great for slicing multiple veggies - but these smaller ones just aren't versatile enoough.

On the other hand, it has proved itself useful for the meats. Especially, when I buy large cuts of meat for freezing or sausage making. It will cut small size pieces for steaks, and ground meats, and halve bigger ones for roasts.

Cutting the big portions of meat into 3/4 inch slices on the slicer, then hand cutting into strips, facilitates feeding the sausage grinder, rather than hand cutting all of it.

A nice meat saw would be ideal, (cutting bones, halving a turkey, etc.) but there is not enough demand for its use here otherwise.

Bejay

I ordered the grinder this morning from Northern Tools. And have not ordered the 3/4" plate or any sausage making supplies because really don't know what should order and taking gardenlad's advice abt waiting on the plate.

Making sausage was not my primary reason for buying it, but would really like to make a good hotdog. I ordered these last year Steak Dogs and was sadly disappointed. Most are still in the freezer.

If you ordered the one that Carol posted - it looks identical to mine - (named Small Timer - compared to Tasin), that I found on E-Bay awhile back. It has worked well.

You will have a lot of fun with it, knowing how you like to "dabble" into the unknown.

I'll bet someone on this forum can give you lots of recipes - great too.

Bejay

Hot dogs' texture requires a very fine grinding plate, which comes with the NT grinder. Besides that, some cereal (like soy flour and binders) are used, as well as a very powerful blender or food processor to puree the meats down to a level where its smooth without any bits in it. They can be stuffed into sheep casings which are very tender when cooked, or stuffed into edible collegen casings. The latter are a bit more expensive as they are made from collegen thats been processed and formed into a long tube, then dried. I like adding the high melting temperature cheddar cheese to my pork sausages. Also made beer bratwurst which had dried beer added, along with 30% beef. Suffing can be done on the grinder, but is a slow process and is only useful if the mixture has a limited amount of flavorings or additives. Besides that, air seems to get in all the time, making the tight stuffing and filling very difficult. For hot dogs, the use of ground turkey, chicken, pork and beef can all be used. Just be sure the poultry meat is well chilled at all times.

Hi, I have a Sam Baere meat grinder #10.. It's a 1.5 HP, 1200 watt.. I have the sausage stuffer tubes for it, & it works great for stuffing for me.. But I would like to get a coarser grinding plate for Polish sausage etc.. I would like the one that has the long slits like the NT has for chunks.. Can anyone direct me where I can purchase one.. i went to Sausage Maker, & they only have one that has 4 or 5 round 3/4" holes... Ken or anyone, can you please comment.. thanks in advance..

Actually sausage maker has some cutter disks that have only 4 holes total on the plates. The 3/4 inch round holes will give you a decent cut for Kielbasa and Italian types too. The link below is the 4 hole, and they have one with a slighly smaller 5 hole. The 4 hole gives you 1/2 to one inch chunks.

Here is a link that might be useful: Sausage Maker plates

OK I ordered the 4 hole one.. I want to make Polish garlic sausage..

Polish garlic sausages are great. Kielbasa is the kind I mke as it used lots of garlic and Marjorum as and herb flavoring. I also add a bit of ground mustard seed. The cooking of these sausages is done in a covered casserole dish (like Corning Ware). Add water only up to about half the height of the sausages, and bake at 325 for about half an hour, then remove the cover and flip the sausages over to finish up. Be sure to cover the dish again. This cooking process makes the casings very tender, especially if they are fresh hog casings. I serve my Kielbasa with some very spicy mustard, made from some Grey Poupon, mixed with ground up brown mustard seeds (much spicier compared to yellow mustard seeds) and some white wine vinegar. At Costco, you can buy two boneless pork butts (Cryopack) that are perfect for sausage making, and have sufficient fat. To make the sausages retain more juiciness, adding a little water with dissolved sodium phoshate will give a better 'mouth feel', and also help them to retain their firmness.

Thanks Ken.. Would you happen to have a link for Kielbasa mix with lots of Garlic.. I am in South Texas for the winter, in a 5th wheel, so don't have much room for storing spices & making my own mix, until I get back home..
I prefer to make 5 to 10 lbs at a time.. I did buy a smoker here, can the Kielbasa be hung in a smoker with the Hog casing? I also want to leave some fresh , then frozen, to bake as you suggest..Back home I do smoke, but I use sheep casing, & a mix called American Garlic that I purchase in Sask. but shipping here would be costly.. Thanks, John

The hog casings are OK for smoked or raw meats. For smoked Kielbasa you can use the edible collegen or the hig casings. Also, I have had good luck with the liquid smoke and add some of that to breakfast sausages too. They taste slightly hickory smoky when cooked. For fresh and frozen Kielbasa you can use hog casings. As to mixes, Sausage Maker offers several as do Butcher Packer. Some mixes are just coriander, pepper and garlic (usually called polish sausages), or the Kielbasa with the same ingredients as well as marjorum. Your option is to add as much garlic as you like, buth finely chopped fresh and dried granulated or dried minced. The only thing you can easily adjust is the amount of necessary salt you add. Using a mix is fine, but most of these spice blends also have lots of salt, sometimes too much for what kind of flavor you want. I also get soem of the sausage flavors from the Ingredients store where they also sell dried cheese and salt-less sausage mixes, where you use your own Morton Tender Quick as the salt.

The following link also has some helpful tips:
http://www.sausagemania.com/tips.html

Here is a link that might be useful: Ingredients store

My grinder arrived this afternoon while I was taking a rare afternoon nap. Yipee! That was quick. Might be a few days before try it out though as have just too much else going on at the moment.

5th wheeling in south texas... sure brings back a lot of memories. My folks were snowbirds too. Starting in '69 they pulled a huge 5th wheeler and would spend the winter there. After a few years they bought a winter home in Brownsville and got a small Winnebago for back and forth. My dad's name was Johnny too.

Thanks for the link, Ken. And the tip about Morton Tender Quick.

jt

Gardenlad, good call on putting the herbs & spices on the pre-ground meat cubes. Whenever I forget that, my sausage ends up tough because I've squeezed it up so much trying to mix in the spices.

I find that grinding my meat partially frozen distributes the fat the best because it doesn't stick in the plate. I cut the meat at fridge temperature, put on the spices, and spread the cubes on a baking sheet that goes into the freezer for 15 minutes. Then I move the cubes to a pile on one side of the tray & catch the ground meat on the other side, moving it along as cubes become grounds.

Melissa

Here is a good source for a very heavy duty stainless steel meat mixer. It makes quick work of mixing liquids (water) and solids (herbs and spices) into pork or beef. Without it, I just cant get the same mix when doing the mixing of herbs with the unground meat, then letting the grinder do it instead. The source also has a more expensive model with a gear reduction and more capacity.

Here is a link that might be useful: Meat mixer

Ken, another good call. Someday I hope to have enough time, money, and mouths to feed that I can make sausage on your level. Till then I'll be pre-mixing my spices and sighing happily into appliance catalogs. :-)

Melissa

Soon, it will be Canadian bacon time, as well as making some really lean pastrami. Both are easy to do with brine soaks and injecting the brines into the meats.

I do salt brines for smoking and grilling and also do injecting. Really nothing quite like a simple brine for superb results.

I found Tender Quick rather easily this morning. WallyWorld StuporCenter didn't have it. It was the place where I go to buy those little Tones spice shakers that I so love. 88¢ everyday and often on sale 2/$1.

Anyways, my new grinder hasn't been unpacked yet because so busy. I have a 3# beef sirloin to practice on. It's about 1 1/2" thick. Might be Sunday before can get to it.

I want to make the coarsest grind possible with what came with the grinder and will fry for burrito meat or chili. Would you suggest I use the Tender Quick as a dry rub and refrigerate? Perhaps as a liquid brine? Should I cut the sirloin up first? Or do I add the dry Tender Quick into the ground up beef and then refrigerate? Or perhaps TQ isn't helpful at all for ground beef?

So many questions all the time... hope that I'm not asking too many here. Sometimes newbie questions exhaust me on forums where I do have some knowledge to share.

We have a one day warm up going on here and I'll be the rest of the day on my beloved deck doing other cooking related projects.

jt

Finally unpacked the grinder and wish had done sooner. The coarsest plate has holes about 13/32". Am going to order the 3/4" plate as soon as post this.

Guess I will cut the sirloin into 1 1/2" wide strips and make a brine out of the Tender Quick and soak for 24.

Not a whole lot of instructions came with the grinder.

Morton Tender Quick is salt, sugar, and nitrates. The proportion added to meats for curing are what would be done to a meat if you only added salt. MTQ is ok for the beginner as it has all that you need to salt or cure it, without any favorings. The 13/32 plate will give you small chunks almost a half inch in size, but will they shrink slightly once cooked. A plain food processer is a quick way to chop it up too, and the more you whizz it the finer it becomes, almost like regular hamburger. If you want a tender and MOIST firm cut, then the addition of a solution of water mixed with about a teaspoon of sodium phosphate will give you that result. Allow it to soak in that for 24 hours, then drain and chop or grind. Because beef does lose most of its juices if its salted, brined, and soaked, it would be advisable to limit the MTQ to just a small amount. For 3 pounds of beef, the amount of 1 tablespoon to 2 tablespoons mixed into a cup or two of water is sufficeint. Keep in mind that your wanting to flavor the meat while its cooking, so any salt added prior to cooking could give it too much salt, which you can't take out. On the grinder, there is a small compartment at the back top, which has the chubb attachment as well as two other cutter plates (provided its the Northern Tool model). Essentially MTQ works better with curing pork, compared to beef. Rarely do I use it now, unless I am in a hurry and want to add the sugar, and nitrates to the meat at the same time. The Morton package will tell you what amount to use. Sprinking it on the meat will not be as effective as soaking the meat in the brine. Sirloin is a bit expensive for making a chopped beef recipe, a good choice is a chuck, top of the round, or other lesser price cut that will tenderize when its chopped fine and cooked slowly. MTQ is really a misnomer as it really doesn't tenderize a beef based meat per se. No, there are no instructions with the grinder and because its a simple machine it really doesn't need any, as you just put it together with the cutter plate and size of cutter disk you need. If you consider the physics involved, the grinder would require a different spiral to push meat faster to a bigger holed cutting disk. The grinder cannot do it any faster than its designed to do. A 13/32 opening will give you a sizable piece, but because the beef is also crushed and mangled in the grinder prior to cutting, it will tenderize a little as well.

Not sure I want to add sugar, but am going ahead with this anyways except will make the strips 3" wide & stick with the MTQ instructions. When I first started brining the instructions were "add enough salt to the water to float an egg".

Ordered 32 MM Smoked Collagen Casings. There is no way I will ever make 30 lbs of brats etc in a years time. It says to refrigerate the casings. Can they be frozen?

Thanks for the info!

If the casings are dried to begin with, they only need storage at room temps. I only store the fresh casings like hog and sheep in the fridge with plenty of salt. The dried are collapsed down to a short length and will open up like an 'accordian' in some cases. If they are just fully formed casings with a string tie at one end, they are just fine in the pantry if stored in a pastic bag. My non edible casings are heavy duty and hold up to a serious amount of pressure when I make salami and pepperoni. These are typically dried and cured with the other slow breakdown nitate product used for dry cures. MTQ, does contain sugar, but only a small amount. If it were meant to make Canadian bacon, they also need brown sugar. When I made my last batch of bacon, I added some maple syrup as well as liquid hickory smoke to the brine. Latest sale price for a whole pork shoulder was .99 a pound locally. I also buy a boneless pork butt from Costco in a two pack. Its a bit higher priced, but all the bones are removed and you usually have the perfect amount of fat to meat.

Ever look for pork fat? If so, you realize its very hard to find any due to the selective breeding out of fatty pork. When I am able to find fresh pork fat, which is used with beef to make salami and pepperoni, I usually buy as much as I can find. Never use pork fat back or any cured pork product as a a necessary fat in sausgaes. Pork fat freezes well, and can be thawed, ground, and refrozen again without any noticable loss of quality.

Never looked for pork fat in my life. I cook with lard (blessed with great cholesterol levels), would that work? How about bacon?

Link below is for the casings that I ordered.

Here is a link that might be useful: casings

Unfortunately, the lard will not work as it totally melts and turns into a total liquid, where pork fat will not totally render down. Yes, those are the dried 'accordian type' ones that store just fine if kept in a plastic bag un-refrigerated. If they sit in a very dry hot climate, they do become brittle and crumble, but you should be able to store them without any problems for quite a long time. They can be put in the fridge well wrapped too, and will last a long time. When I stuff the snack sticks, its done in the smallest diameter casings they make, which are only about half an inch in diameter. These need a very special, very narrow stuffing tube, mine is custom made and is stainless steel at about 10 inches long, and will hold a 40 foot length (collapsed) of the dried edible casing. My stuffer really takes a lot of effort to stuff things that small. The dried edible collegen are a bit more expensive compared to natural casings. If your wanting the size for cold cuts, like salami they recommend the non edible types at about 20 inches long and anywhere from 1.5 to 5 inches in diameter. If your making pork based sausages, up to 40% of the weight should be fat. Either that, or add soy protien, some fat replacer, and some of the sodium phosphate to help the meat retain the natural juices. When I made my last batch of breakfast sausages stuffed in sheep casings, I used only about 25% fat, with an added fat replacer (grain based), as well as a little soy protein, as well as that all important phosphate. The phosphate is used in may meats, seafoods, and poultry to help retain natural juices. Without it , the sausages would be like crunbly wet sawdust.. UGH! If you have a local butcher shop or big supermarket, ask them to put aside a few pounds of trimmed fat off their pork. The ther option is to use a whole pork shoulder, skin and all. The skins will grind down well too, but the meat grinder will be labored down and may trip the built in breaker. If it does, just reset, and reverse a second, then forward again. The fat replacers are just that, and have no tastes of their own, and don't even affect the cooking properties. Sausage Maker has a decent one. I do add water to my sausage meats as they must have enough looseness to stuff into the casings. The narrow pepperoni need the most added water as its really hard to push out a half inch size from the stuffer.

Bacon is pork fat, but even for that, its already cured and will melt too much once ground up for a substitute for sausage meat fat. Ever notice the 'cracklings' and crisp texture of cooked bacon. Nothing can substitute that unique flavor or texture.

My cholesterol is very high, and even with 3 different meds, I still have to watch what I eat when consuming meats high in cholesterol, so when I make the sausages, they are made as lean as I can make them without sacrificing taste and texture.

> The fat replacers are just that, and have no tastes of their own, and don't even affect the cooking properties. Sausage Maker has a decent one.

Ken,

Would you tell me what it is? I might be able to amend my order and get some. The S & H was high to start with and would not order just by itself. I might be able to get the pork fat as local employee owned small (220 stores) chain store (Hy-Vee) is very accommodating.

Amazing how much there is to sausage making. Never would have guessed before this thread.

Thanks!

jt

Unfortunately, I just check the sausage maker site and found that it was discontinued, and even the 2 pound box as also discontinued. I still have some here though. The product below isn't quite the same, but with the sodium phosphate and soy added (need very little), it should give you a juicy sausage. I also look through all of my other links and don't find the fat replacer anywhere else, I must assume that they stoppd selling it due to its limited popularity. I do know that if too much is used, it will not make a very good texture in the sauages.

The link I have below is also a 'cute' site, geared to those who want to build their own smoker.
http://lombardi.wctc.net/~wizard/

The site below also offers a 'flour binder', which is very similar to the one that the SM people used to carry. Its a mixture of different grains, that swell up and hold moisture. They usually get dissolved in a little water, then added to the meat when its finished its grinding and is ready to stuff..

http://www.sausagesource.com/Merchant2/merchant.mvc?Screen=PROD&Product_Code=SSM-BFL&Category_Code=5

Here is a link that might be useful: Soy protein

If you haven't ordered that grinder yet, Cabela's has one on sale for 59.99 down from 99.99. Item # 51-6666

mojo,

I already have the grinder and the 3/4" plate from SM so am ready to roll. What worries me is that the 3/4" plate has a noticeably larger diameter hole (the center one) than the ones that came with the grinder.

Been too busy to try it out and might be a week or more. Super Bowl Sunday here and will probably cook my annual batch of chili in my new 12 qt Calphalon stockpot and hope is ready by game time.

jt

All the sausage maker plates I had bought had the right center hole. It was the square part behind that that is bigger on the NT model, so the SM cutter knife wouldn't fit over the square part of the auger shaft. SM had no problem with accepting a return of the knife blade. If you get the SM catalog, they have a couple of pages of outline dimensions for plates, and the #10 seemed to fit just right. Not a bad deal from Cabela's though.

JT, I get some of my sausage making stuff from Pittsburg Spice and Seasoning. Best prices I can find and quality products. They have some good mixes. I use their Wiener Seasoning, enough to make 25 lbs for $2.34 or so. Last time I made hot dogs out of chicken breasts. Also their Kielbasa [Kolbassi Seasoning] seasoning is great. They have most all sausage making items available. The only thing is, you have to phone or fax the order. Then they'll call you back.

http://www.pghspice.com/product_listing.cfm

Oh yeah, if you're going to get into sausage making, then you should get a stuffer. Getting one was the best thing I ever did when it comes to making sausage. I got mine from Grizzly Industries. Couldn't do without it.

http://www.grizzly.com/products/h6252

Bought my original 5 pound cast aluminium stuffer (vertical hand crank model) from the Sausage Maker. The newer one holds 15 pounds and is all stainless except the piston. It was bought through Weston Supply and was a second choice, due to the original horizontal model not being suitable for stuffing very narrow 1/2 inch casings. They were quite accomodating when it came to the point where I knew what I needed and they were able to give me options until I found the right one. The cost of the 15 pound vertical model I have now. They also supplied me with the parts to make the custom stuffing tube. Kielbasa is basically just coursly ground pork with 30-40% fat, and lots of garlic and marjorum. Also black pepper can be used. I freeze mine and when cooking, place in a covered corning ware casserole dish with glass cover. Its baked with some water added to the corning up to about half the height of the sauages, and after about half an hour the sausage is flipped over to lightly brown the surface of the meat. I use fresh hog casings for this, and they are usually a bit larger than that used for italian. I make about a 12 to 16 inch length, and coil it for freezing. Many suppliers of sausage seasongs are fairly cheap, but thats usually because they are loaded with salt. Salt is really cheap and added to a spice mix can be more than 70% of the sausage seasoining mix. I like to buy mixes that have no added salt, or just use freshly ground spices and herbs, and add the necessary salt to taste. After mixing, spoon out a tablespoon or two and cook in a small frying pan until done, taste, and adjust seasoning as needed.

On a side note, the Cabelas meat grinder is listed as a 400 watt unit, while the NT model is listed as being 600 watts, or up to 1000 watts peak. With a lower wattage for the Cabela, I am not sure if it could handle tough meats, or the skin of pork. My 600 watt NT model does labor on that skin part of the cut, and will sometimes stop and trip the built in breaker. I just reverse a second and switch back to grinding again, and it will continue without a problem.

Earl,
Nice sources for spices and casings, and the stainless stuffer. My cast aluminium model stuffer looks similar, but is quite heavy. My stainless steel 15 pound model also looks similar to the one from Grizzly. The 15 pound stuffer I have has two gear ratios, slow, for stuffing and fast for retracting the piston nack up to the top. I plan to sell my old 5 pound stuffer for about $30 or so, provided we get decent weather during the late spring early summer garage sales.

Ken, earlier you mentioned grinding pork skins for making sausage.. does this refer to all kinds of sausage, Polish, Kielbasa, Pepperoni, etc..?? Does grinding pork skins replace fat?? how about hamburger?

The skins of the pork fat help to give some texture and flavor to things like pepperoni and salami. If available, I may also use a little of the skin when making italian or kielbasa sausages, but the regular uncured type sausages usually get just the pork fat. Because my recipes call for mostly lean beef for salami and pepperoni, the need for pork fat and skin is greater. Usually its 60% beef meat and 40% pork fat and skin if available. The skin rinds are a bit tough if left in chunks, but do grind up nicely using a 1/8" fine grinding plate. Because most pork today has been specailly bred to be lower in fat, its hard to find extra fat for sausage making. Luckily, around here there are many italians who like making home made sausages and will ask the supermarket butcher to package up some fat. Last week, I found some at a local Stop & Shop and when I repackaged and froze for later use, I trimmed it of any meat. The cost was .79 cents per pound and I had more meat from that purchase than fat. The seperated meat was ground up, and the fat was frozen for use later. I don't think that beef hamburger would benefit very much by using pork skins. For hamburger, the ideal amount of beef fat should be about 10-15%, anything over is a bit much, and under 10% is very dry. Beef fat tends to render out too much when the meat is cooked, and the pork skins would give it only some rubbery bits to deal with. It just seems that the pork skins work well when I dry cure the pepperoni and salami, as these meats are usually sliced fairly thin. If you were to buy a whole pork shoulder, you would just cut away the joints and bones, and use all the rest for sausage making, which would include the skin. I medium grind the pork meat for italian, and do a course grind for kielbasa. The pork fat and skin get ground up seperately using an 1/8" plate, then, its mixed into the pork meat.

I haven't progressed further with sausage making, other than to grind up the pork and freeze in styrofoam packages.

It depends mainly on how a family eats - but I prefer not to serve too many salty foods - even though we really like them.

For that reason, all of my ground sausage is packed in 1 to 2 lb sizes, placed in a baggie, then into the butterfly styrofoam cartons (used mainly for carry-out hot dogs), then frozen.

I don't add spices until ready to use - fennel, salt, pepper - for Italian type sausage, or mix with beef for a nice multi-meatloaf. It depends on what flavor I want in the final dish.

I appreciate that I haven't finished my course in sausage making, but grinding my own meat and using it ad lib has proven to be very worthwhile in the food cost department.

Have you ever priced Italian sausage in the market??

Just my 2 c's.

Bejay

Ever see what Canadian bacon costs? I get whole pork loin for under $2.00 a pound and once cured, baked, and sliced, I have quite a lot of it. I use the Food Saver bags and freeze about 10-20 slices per bag. It does hold up well to freezing and even the low salt ones, made with added maple syrup are very good. I do prefer to add a liquid smoke to the brine when its injected and soaking in it prior to cooking. When making sausages, I also don't add much salt, and prefer to mix my own spices which are freshly ground, or are made from a no salt spice blend. The two of the most common spices I use a lot of is coriander and black pepper.

Hi to all, a newbie here. I have been reading the posts on the NT grinder and bought one friday. I am a home sausagemaker, and like you guys, I want to control the amount of fat in my sausages. A friend and I make about 50 pounds per month of several types, mostly italian, kielbasa, snack sticks and hickory sticks. I was wondering if anyone has ever made a sausage with just ground chicken, with some spices. Any recipe would be appreciated.... Jim

Yes, ground chicken is great in sausages. I use mostly the thighs as they hold up much better to cooking compared to the breasts alone. You can avoid adding the skin too. A couple of herbs that go well are, rosemary, thyme, sage, coriander, pepper, and even onion. They can be stuffed fresh and frozen, or smoked. Even adding things like BBQ sauce wil give you a nice combination. Be sure to use well chilled poultry and tools. Also, add a bit of nitrates as it is more risky to handle compared to beef or pork. Because chicke is somewhat milder in flavor, you can also add some chicken bullion or flavoring which contains salt, so reduce any other added salt. Also, add a bit of sugar (dextrose type) so the meat will hold up to cooking. I also use a bit of the sodium phosphates to help retain the firmness and juiciness. Something like 3/4 highs and 1/4 breasts are a good mix. You can add a bit of skin, but it will render out quickly and cause flair-ups on the grill.

I see you list sodium phosphates in some of your other posts, and I am wondering if that is what the Butcher Packer calls # 414. We use 414 in hickory stick, beer sticks,and others to hold the moisture in the sausage when it's smoked, is that the sodium phosphates or another product.. I have read a lot of posts about sausage talk and hope to get some answers from those who have all those great recipes that leave you smiling after everyone fills thieir face at a good cookout... Jim

Yes, 414, meat binder, Amesphos, and the like are all blends of phosphates. You add only about two teaspoons to a gallon of curing brine, or a teaspoon dissolved in water for about 5 pounds of meat for sausage stuffing. They do take a while to dissolve in water. I mixed mine with water seperate from the pastrami brine, then added it after the brine salts were dissolved. I also added a bit of liquid smoke to the brine. It is now almost 24 hours in the brine, under vacuum. I rushed out to get another small chunk of beef, as I had a lot of leftover brine, I just didn't want to throw away. The brine has now taken on a reddish color. I release the vacuum today, then reapply it for another 24 hours, and repeat for a third day. After that, it gets drained, coated with the ground up spices and baked slowly for about 6 hours. I usually put a piece of foil over it to help it from drying out too much. The phosphates help to give the meats more moisture retenion, as well as encouraging the natural binders to help hold them together once cooked. There is nothing like seeing lean sausages cooked to a point where they turn out like wet sawdust (ugh!). One of the suppliers I deal with also has dried beer flavor as well as a bratwurst spice mix . I also like to add the high melting point, finely diced, cheese to some of my pork sausages. It gives them a really creamy taste. Any kind of sausages can be made, just use your creativity! I will be doing some beef and sun dried tomato sausages soon. The link below has many recipes.

Here is a link that might be useful: Basic sausage making and recipes