Got an email about some sausage making supplies and casings. Instead of private, I chose to post the members question and my reply here: [This message originated at GardenWeb] Did you happen to catch the show I think it's called "Good Eats" with Alton Brown. He did a show about making sausages etc...I was just wondering if you saw it and your opinion on it. He use d collagen casings on his Italian sausages. Al My reply: Hello, No, I missed that show, but recall that he made a sausage show a while back. He used the meat grinder with attached stuffing nozzle to stuff the sausages as opposed to a separate stuffer. I use my meat grinder just for the meat grind, and then have a separate meat mixer where the spices are added as well as some water and liquid smoke (optional). Then. my stuffer is now motorized and allows me to fill 11 pounds of sausages per filling. The stuffer is vertical uses a big round piston and drive screw. http://www.texastastes.com/p39.htm Its a red frame with green color motor that takes the place of the hand crank. I bought it from a distributor called Weston Supply. They used to have these as well as professional meat slicers and when I was searching for them, Weston bad clearance sales that allowed me to get these for less than half the price. The method Alton used to stuff was to cut the pork into 1 inch pieces and then mix in the spices at that time. The stuffing was then done using a course cutter plate of about 1/2 inch. There are two types of collagen casings. The larger fibrous ones are inedible and are used for cured luncheon meats like salami, pepperoni, etc. The edible collagen casings are quite thin and are dry, and shrunken up (like an accordion) into a short tube length. I use a very small 1/2 inch diameter one for making pepperoni snack sticks, and my sausage stuffer labors greatly as its a lot of force to push meat into a 10 inch long 1/2 inch diameter tube. In any case the edible collagen comes in two colors, clear and brown (mahogany). Clear would be for things like breakfast and italian sausages. The mahogany color is for darker sausages like pepperoni and chorizo. I use mostly fresh (natural) sheep casings for my breakfast sausages as the cost for a hank of casings is a bit cheaper than the molded and edible collagen ones. Sheep and hog casings are not as consistent in their sizes or diameters. The natural casings also need to be rehydrated by soaking in water about 10 or more minutes. They last forever and are packed in course salt and refrigerated. Years ago, a whole hank of sheep casings (enough for about 150 pounds) cost only about $9. But today, they are way up there in price. At first, when I was making italian sausages years ago, I used supermarket type hog casings under the Hormel brand. These tended to be short pieces and had holes and were not sized very well, so you could get 1 inch to almost 2 inches in diameter in the same container. The holes in the casings were a real pain, but you found this out when they were rinsed and filled with water prior to the soaking. I used to see 2-5 foot lengths too, and that's not easy to deal with either when you stuffing 11 pounds of meat at one time. In any case, you can use either natural casings or the edible collagen ones for making italian sausages. I have some natural hog casings I bought which are slightly larger and properly sized for use in making Kielbasa. The sheep casings are used only for my breakfast sausages. Breakfast sausages use sage, ground black pepper, and coriander for its spices. For italian, I like adding lots of garlic, peppers, onions, and also fennel and even oregano, summer savory, or even hot red peppers.. For some, I mix in high melting point cheddar cheese. I also make brats with beer added (dried beer). The Kielbasa use lots of garlic, marjoram and also some whole mustard seeds. My grinder plates vary from smaller than 1/8 inch diameter holes to almost 3/4 inch holes. The pork fat is ground separate form the pork meat. I use a smaller plate for the pork fat, as it distributes better in a mix, than large chunks the same size as the pork meat. The sausage making suppliers sell dried beer, high temp cheddar cheese, dried peppers, and dried onions which are easier to deal with as they do not have extra water. The bottom line though, is to know exactly how much salt, herbs, and spices to add to the coarsely cut meat, as well as how much pork fat to use. Once its ground to the proper size, and salt and spices mixed in, I cook up a small piece to taste and see if it needs more or less salt or more herbs. You could end up with a bland sausage or an overly salty one if the recipe was not followed exactly. You don't have much control over the way the meat mixes with spices and salt while in the grinder and while its stuffing the sausage casings. That's the main reason I chose a separate stuffer and separate meat mixer device. Like every other recipe, it all goes back to your own taste preferences too. Beef fat should never be used in sausages. Pork fat can be refrozen without any concern about quality. Never use salt pork or pork fat back as these are cured and will melt away giving a wet sawdust texture. Ken

I took a class on sausage making years ago, and if you ask me it's all about the seasonings, so I'd suggest checking out Penzeys Spices while you're seeking recipes. I've used their Breakfast Sausage Seasoning mixture for years and you will find a number of spice/seasoning mixtures from Penzeys that might help you out - either to purchase or make-your-own mixtures. I often grind my own meat mixtures, or I've also used homemade ground gluten (aka "wheat meat" or seitan) to make "sausage". Although I've made a lot of patties over the years, more often than not these days I'll fry-off the bulk sausage (like you would hamburger - what my MIL called "scrambled") and package it in small containers destined for the freezer. Now I can use it in any number of things - add to eggs, topping for pizza, added to a casserole, etc. - much easier than using patties. Another make-ahead and freeze breakfast favorite is a version of Jimmy Dean Sausage Cheese Balls, which are more often used as appetizers, but we like them as a breakfast meat. I make it with homemade or commercial bulk sausage, and instead of Bisquick (baking mix) I make a gluten-free, low-carb version, but the results are the same. They freeze nicely and reheat in a toaster oven or probably in a microwave. -Grainlady Here is a link that might be useful: Turkey Breakfast Sausage

I use a 1 pound chub of turkey burger and mix in sage to taste (about 2tsp. or more) black pepper and a little salt. Makes a great low-fat sausage.

Orange pepper was a good addition, and I'm sure it was fine with just onions and no garlic. Adding spinach (which you can still do if you have leftovers) would make it more like minestrone, but I've never put sausage in my minestrone. If I were making it, I would have added a couple of chile de árbol (for heat), a couple of guajillo or pasilla chiles, and some oregano. I would not add cream cheese, but I might add some grated cheddar and some chopped cilantro (or some parsley) when serving. I made some bean soup recently (and had leftovers last night), but mine did not have sausage, although I do have sausage on hand. It sounds like a good addition!