Another post that is now public: I would like to make to a kind of Italian sausage (what else would a Jersey girl make) with the pork and venision -- I don't have a smoker... any suggestions? My reply: OK, start with lots of garlic, and you can even add things like rosemary, oregano, thyme, sweet peppers, onion, and even cheese. The onion and peppers I use are dried and don't add more water. The cheese I use is a high melting point cheddar that's cubed, available from one of my sources. All these are also available from the sausage making suppliers. If you like fennel seeds, add that too with a little anise seed. When I do fennel, I grind some in a small coffee grinder and use some whole as well. Also, ground black pepper and coriander are useful as is sage (easy on sage, its hot spicy). I use fresh and dried garlic and any recipe that calls for it I usually double or triple that amount. If the venison is gamey tasting, you can also add a little ground up juniper berries. They take away some gamey taste, but go easy. Italian sausages are usually all pork, no beef, but as mentioned, salami and pepperoni are OK with beef, and pork or venison, as is summer sausages. Things like hot dogs and bologna are pureed meat with cereal or soy added. For a smoky taste, I use liquid smoke. They sell small bottles of Wrights Liquid smoke in some supermarkets near steak sauces, but I usually buy a half gallon bottle from a sausage maker supplier and use maybe 2-3 tablespoons on a 10 pound batch, unless I want a lot of smoky taste. I also make a really good Canadian bacon that uses a whole boneless pork loin. I get a ham or bacon brine cure mixture and inject it into the pork. Then I place the injected pork in a big vacuum tight vessel and fill it with the brine and pull a vacuum on it for 1-2 days. THis last time, I added some maple syrup to give it a special tang. It too gets liquid hickory smoke flavor. Baked slowly at 200 degrees about 6 hours. Cooled, chilled and sliced. Then, I use a Food Saver machine to pack small amounts of it. Store cost about $6+ a pound, my cost under $2.00 a pound!! I have a decent digital scale that also weighs grams. I use Nitrites in all my sausages as they are not completely done in a refrigerated environment like they do commercially. The Nitrite amounts are tiny and that's what gives cold cuts their red color. They are tinted pink and are mixed with salt, so the ratio is easier and more accurate to measure. That's the main reason I don't use Morton Tender Quick, as you have little control if its added too much. I make pastrami out of corned beef, but simply coating them before they are slowly baked. A year ago, I made about 40 pounds of pepperoni and salami each, and the were not only baked very slowly (8 hours at under 200 degrees), but also dry cured for about a month at room temps and refrigerated. I used fibrous casings that are not edible, as I stuff these casings very tightly with the meats. Using edible collagen or fresh casings will burst if I were to use them. So, when I want to slice the salami and pepperoni I peel it first. I gave some to a kid who though it was a bit tough, until I asked him if he has peeled it beforehand.. DUH!! I have a professional meat slicer too as well as some vacuum systems I use to marinate and do a little home canning with. As mentioned, after mixing and before stuffing, cook a tiny sample and taste to see if it suits your taste buds.

Here's one. Here is a link that might be useful: Meat slicer

Another Borner V-slicer owner. I bought a very slightly used one off eBay for a good savings and then, about a year later, found one at a garage sale for a couple of bucks, so I bought that one also. Backup in case anything breaks. What I don't like about the V-slicer is that slicing is confined to predetermined thicknesses (controlled by inserts.) There is no fine-tuning, dial adjustablility. To be truthful, I've only owned one for a couple of years & have only attempted slicing. Haven't explored julienning, etc. As far as slicing, I have problems keeping the veggies situated to get perfect 90 degree cuts. About halfway thru a cuke, I'm getting angled cuts. Also, I've not used it nearly as much as I thought I would...but have found that it earns its keep during harvest season just for making cucumber slices for hamburger dills. Another thing is that my kitchen is dreadful so I have mostly avoided any cooking with much degree of complication. Once I have a somewhat functional kitchen, I'll no doubt have more creativity but suspect that I'll want to upgrade to a mandoline that has more user control. Attaching a link w/ some reviews of various inexpensive mandolines... Here is a link that might be useful: Kitchen Audition (Inexpensive)Mandoline Reviews

It's the thought that's important to me, not the money. The table saw went back today. Typical man who works with tools story. He got it in a place where there's a big display of flattops and salamanders right when you walk in. They do also have things that are meant for residential use, but are seriously set up for smaller food service. What I learned before I took a walk around the store while they were doing the transaction, is that the reason this slicer isn't recommended for cheese is that it has a smaller motor. I would have thought that cheese was easier to cut through than meat, but apparently it takes more oomph. That's something for you to keep in mind while you're looking.