Making Italian sausage in real time !

[Boaz]

Ok I Found some pretty good looking pork in the grocery store bargain bin on the way home . Boneless country ribs , end cut pork chops . My side by side refrigerator went out bout 3 months ago , lost all my sausage , buckboard bacon ..... Lot of meat .
Time to 'stock up' again ! Gonna make Hot Italian sausage . Have heard and been told Legg's Italian is real good .

http://i.imgur.com/j1KbpBW.jpg

Snagged some Legg's seasoning cheap on evil bay so we shall see . I'm also going to make Hot Italian with jalapeno and onion ..Kind of a Mex Tex experiment ? Here's what we got ...

http://i.imgur.com/lgObnoq.jpg

I'm gonna get the meat boned and read to grind and cut up the jalipinos / onions . Be back pretty quick ! (hopefully )

[Boaz]

Dang it ! Just had a thought ! Italian Texas sausage ? ..........Well we shall see !

[Preacher Jim]

And I have not had anything to eat Charlie that sounds great. Who can go wrong when onion and jalapeños peppers .

[Boaz]

You dang Right brother !

[Boaz]

Ok ..done !

http://i.imgur.com/zNhoUQP.jpg

http://i.imgur.com/r8x1S3i.jpg

After boning and trimming the meat weighs in at 6 pounds 2 ounces ..bout what I figured judging by the weight on the packages . Now if I'm going to drag everything out to make sausage I usually make 10 pounds . But never used this seasoning and wanted to experiment . I'll do two batches . One regular Italian and one with the jalapenos and onions ...2 three pound batches . OH ! Meat cost $6.98 and with seasoning and onions/jalapenos it's a pretty cheap experiment ...bout $10.00 for making 6 LB of sausage . LETS DO SOME GRINDING !

[DerekP Houston]

That looks delicious, I've been itching to make some sausage again. Send us some pics once its cooked up too!

[Boaz]

It's a comin Dereck ! LOL I'll 'Critique' the finished product ...although it means little as we all taste differently .

[Boaz]

Grinding done ! You know I figured the meat might be too lean , I tried to pick 3 packages and try to get bout a 20-30% fat content . It looks really , nice light pink color , plenty of fat . I have made pork sausage with lean meat and it's no good . HEY LOOK ! Castboolits is in the background !

http://i.imgur.com/FdWxv6I.jpg

Nice color !

http://i.imgur.com/GDB0vyA.jpg

I blended/mixed 1/4 of the seasoning into the ground meat . One package is spose to do 25 lbs so roughly figured . Mixed by hand and mixed separately the batch with onions and jalapenos .

http://i.imgur.com/wsvBFnW.jpg

Meats warming up and want to let it marry , meld , morph ...Dang I love those 50 cent words ! I'm gonna put it in the icebox and soak up the seasoning ! See ya tomorrow and we will stuff casings !

[DerekP Houston]

You got that right on the fat content, it's where all the flavor hides! I'm pretty jealous of that grinder mine is the kitchen aid attachment...it leaves a lot to be desired.

[randyrat]

Nice Grinder..That Leggs is the Cats meow. I like the regular sausage and i can buy it local..The Hot Italian is great stuff also.
I'll be over for Breakfast

[Boaz]

You got that right on the fat content, it's where all the flavor hides! I'm pretty jealous of that grinder mine is the kitchen aid attachment...it leaves a lot to be desired.

Derek It's a Cabela's 3/4 horse ,I read folks posting bout having a 5 hp commercial and that's cool but this grinder took me bout 5 min to crank out 6 pounds of meat . It is more than I need actually . Bought it in the ..Bargain Cave for $89.00 bout 2 years ago . Far as I'
m concerned it's already paid for it's self .

[Boaz]

Nice Grinder..That Leggs is the Cats meow. I like the regular sausage and i can buy it local..The Hot Italian is great stuff also.
I'll be over for Breakfast

Randy this is my first venture into prepared seasonings ...You are encouraging ! thank you .

[randyrat]

You can always add more seasoning but you can't take it out. I've been using LEGGS for at least 35 years. I like the Bratwurst seasoning also..I add Butter milk and is just fantastic

[Boaz]

OH REALLY ! Then you have experience with Legg's ! That's encouraging . As I said ..my first attempt with prepared/commercial seasoning . Thank you . ............But the onion /jalapeno is a wild card event ..lol . I checked quite a bit and seemed Legg's was the 'premiere' Italian seasoning blend .
As an aside I have made polish with onions and bell peppers . Me and several others really liked it , will make it again .

[Boaz]

One thing I find odd about this seasoning is there are no caraway seeds , they must be ground up in the powder instead of whole . I have made a good chicken Italian sausage (well...good as chicken sausage can get I guess) most Italian recipes call for whole seeds .

[MaryB]

I use Legg's, the bratwurst is great mixed in a pound of hamburger then fried as a burger, hot Italian I use to boost the wimpy MN "hot" Italian the butcher shop makes. Breakfast sausage seasoning is good stuff too! I need ot get a whole pork butt and grind it for breakfast sausage. I make patties with a hamburger press that when fried up cover an English muffin.

[DerekP Houston]

dang with reviews like this I'm gonna track some down! Thanks for sharing yall

[Boaz]

ok , forgetting a couple of details . I'm using a 3/16 grinding plate in the grinder and scooped the seeds out of the jalapenos . It's supposta be 'hot Italian" seasoning so skipped the seeds to see where it stands on it's own . Recipe can be amended by results .

[DerekP Houston]

fry up a test patty for breakfast before you stuff the casings

[Lloyd Smale]

out of the prepackaged spices leggs and witts are the best. That said over the years ive kind of perfected what I like and do most of my own. meatman.com carries a full line of both and about any sausage making supply you would ever need and are great to deal with.

[Boaz]

Ok got home from work (finally) and got the stuffer out and set up . Been soaking the casings all day in the ice box , rinsed em out an good ta go .

http://i.imgur.com/4d7MXG8.jpg

Put the Regular hot Italian in the stuffer first .

http://i.imgur.com/y5j3EjV.jpg

Be back di recktly , time to link it up !

[Boaz]

Well heck several pictures didn't come out ! Was trying to get er done . Got it stuffed and linked , My sausage buddy wasn't here and first time to crank and work the sausage off . Links are not a pretty as usual but not bad .

http://i.imgur.com/x4xkwbu.jpg

Pricked em . And zip locked bagged em till tomorrow when I vacuum em and freeze .

http://i.imgur.com/H2SNePk.jpg

[Boaz]

Got one of each in the oven ...be back in a while !

[Boaz]

They are cooked and I tried both .

http://i.imgur.com/ZsMwhAJ.jpg

The Hot Italian sausage was fine ..tasted good , I might use a little more seasoning next time but was very satisfied with it .
The onion and jalapeno was even better (in my opinion) , new flavor for me , I think the added onion and jalapeno worked out nice . Lot more 'flavor' . Was no hotter than the regular but you could taste the jalapeno and onion ...stepped it up a lot .

http://i.imgur.com/nmp0crJ.jpg

Will defiantly do both again , might add a tiny bit of ground red pepper to the jalapeno sausage to step it up a bit more .
You might make a couple of pounds of it next time you make Italian to try it .

Thank you for looking !

[DerekP Houston]

man those look delicious, thanks for sharing and the write up.

[Boaz]

Derek I'll vouch for the Legg's...good seasoning . Would have been even better with a bit more seasoning . I just eyeballed amount by recommendation on the package . I like a lot of flavor . The jalapeno/onion was even better . I thought it might be a dud but did well , of course you may think different but worth a try .

[MaryB]

I took the recommended amount and divided it out then I weighed enough for 1 pound and poured it into measuring spoons until I found one that was close. I do have an advantage in a small scale I use to weigh hops and beer water minerals with in the kitchen.

[DerekP Houston]

Looks like 1 pack makes 25lbs of sausage? I'm usually a fan of more heavily seasoned items so I'll probably split it in half and make 2 10lb batches. I dig adding the jalapeno and onion, my favorite fresh sausage from the store is pork with cheddar and jalapeno added. Yall make me hungry everytime I visit this side of the forum. Will have to watch the ads and catch some pork butt on sale to give this a try. Still got my pickled eggs ageing waiting for me.

[Jeff Michel]

This is a good source for AC Legg products http://www.sausagemakersupplies.com/
I have found that if you are going to make a smaller than twenty five pound batch, you will want to carefully weight the seasoning after you remix the spice packet ( the spices will separate from the salt/sugar carrier). The spices are formulated for a specific weight of product and if you can find some friends to split a 25 pound batch you will get your best results.

[randyrat]

Oat meal just is not going to cut it for breakfast today after seeing the pics of your sausage.

[Boaz]

I thank everyone for the comments . I had some others cheering me on while I was making the sausage . A team of sausage experts watching my every move , really hoping for success .

http://i.imgur.com/QGiFCHZ.jpg

[Thundarstick]

Looks like my kitchen helpers. Hoping you'll fumble something! He he

[DerekP Houston]

This is a good source for AC Legg products http://www.sausagemakersupplies.com/
I have found that if you are going to make a smaller than twenty five pound batch, you will want to carefully weight the seasoning after you remix the spice packet ( the spices will separate from the salt/sugar carrier). The spices are formulated for a specific weight of product and if you can find some friends to split a 25 pound batch you will get your best results.

Hmm thats a good point about the distrubition of seasonings inside the packet. I think I'll just go whole hog and make 25lbs properly rather than try to separate it. Looks like my cabelas points will be going towards a proper grinder for my meat instead of more primers ;).


Boaz, that's how my kitchen looks every time I'm in there too ;). 2 little floor cleaners that keep the meat from hitting the ground. I call it recycling and better than it just going in the trash.

[Boaz]

lol , my team is up for any new cooking experiment/adventure . Couldn't make it without them , Ariel is on the far right . Her ears usually flop over...she is on full point with em up ! These guys are dedicated to good cooking and they love Mex Tex !

[Jeff Michel]

All this talk of sausage making got me off my duff, I've been putting this off for about a month.202266. New recipe, in between Sweet Italian and Hot Italian. Very good in my opinion, the 25 pounds won't last long.

[Boaz]

Looks great Jeff ! Wish I could try it ...but I already know I'd like it !

[castalott]

Will you guys just stop! Just stop it! ( Just kidding- wish I was there to be chief taste tester!!! :))

I love good sausage... with kraut too!

[buckwheatpaul]

Charlie, I have heard you say: "I would eat a piece of chocolate cake with a jalapeno pepper!" Where is the chocolate cake?

[Boaz]

lol , I might try to make one pretty soon Paul !

[Lloyd Smale]

I get all my sausage making supplys here..http://www.askthemeatman.com/weekly_special.htm

[Jeff Michel]

Thanks Lloyd, never enough resources. FWIW, I go to a number of plants that use "Witt's" seasonings in their secret recipes. Between them and AC Leggs, you can't go wrong.

[Lloyd Smale]

if you happen to make summer sausage. Meatman.com has the hands down best bagged mix ive ever tried. I doctor it with a bit more garlic and a bit of brown sugar and some high temp pepper jack cheese but that's just my personal preference. Right out of the bag its hard to beat.

[Boaz]

I'll keep in it mind Lloyd , I'm trying to hold off till cooler weather so I can smoke a lot of sausage and other things . Thanks !

[WRideout]

I believe in the health benefits of sausage!
Wayne

[762 shooter]

Legs #10 breakfast I highly recommend.

Butcher and Packer is an excellent source and good pricing.

I made my first 5# batch of fermented soppresseta Sunday. Only 5 or six weeks before I know if it's edible.

Used my new #12 LEM Big Bite. Nice machine.

762

[Boaz]

I believe in the health benefits of sausage!
Wayne

I agree Wayne !! The world would be a better place if everyone ate more sausage .

[Lloyd Smale]

heres a secret recipe that the Italians around here would probably shoot me for giving out. Its called cudighi Its a different kind of Italian sausage that's very popular up here. Its good on a sub type sandwich with moz. cheese and pizza sause, onions, mushrooms peppers to taste. Its also real good on pizza. Id make a small batch first because its one of those things that either you will love or not like. Ive spent 10 years trying to get it right like the cudighi I had when I was younger. Finally my younger sister got the original recipe from the son of the old Italian that was known for it around here. this is a recipe for 10lbs of it. If you like it a bit hotter add a tablespoon of crushed red pepper to it.

10lbs pork but (I like it a medium grind)
1 tablespoons black pepper
1 tablespoon nutmeg
3 tablespoons salt (I like sea salt)
1/2 teaspoon ground cloves
1 teaspoon mace
1/2 teaspoon oregano
1 teaspoon paprika
1/2 teaspoon ginger
2 cloves garlic (crushed) I actually use 3
1/2 teaspoon allspice
1/4 teaspoon cinnamon
1/2 cup Pisano wine (don't substitute this is one of the main ingredients that makes it the real thing)
crushed pepper is optional. Around here they sell it mild medium and hot depending on quanity and taste.

[Boaz]

Thank you Lloyd .

[MaryB]

Is that mild paprika or hot?

[Lloyd Smale]

just plane paprika. the heat is controlled by the red peppers added but I'm sure you could use hot paprika if you wanted to warm it up like that.
Is that mild paprika or hot?

[Iowa Fox]

Lloyd, Where can a guy find Pisano wine?

[Lloyd Smale]

I have to go to a local liquor/wine shop. You might have to get them to order you a bottle. carlo rossi makes it.

[Geezer in NH]

Wally world carries it. It is a good table wine IMHO