Sausage ...

[redneck1]

I butcher my own pig every year so of course I make sausage .
I've always thought I made pretty good sausage to . up till today .

Not to far away theres a little country store for our small mennonite community .
The other day a friend stopped by and gave me a few breakfast links , and raved about them saying I just had to try them .

Being a bit snooty about my own sausage I hesitantly gave them a try this morning ...
Holy moly is it good , makes mine taste like ground up dog do and sawdust .

Looks like come next butchering I'm gonna have to go ask if they will mix up and sell me a seasoning packet .
And monday im gonna have to go buy a lb of their italian style just to see if its better then mine to .

[MaryB]

I bet they use one of the commercial seasoning mixes. I use this one https://store.butchersupply.net/ac-leggs-pork-sausage-seasoning-blend-10-p70.aspx and mix it a little bit extra seasoning to meat ratio over what it recommended https://store.butchersupply.net/ac-leggs-pork-sausage-seasoning-blend-10-p70.aspx

They have a BUNCH of other seasonings.

[Gator 45/70]

Recently tried some from Kartchners, Smoked and flavored with Steens syrup !
I recommend giving it a try.

[M-Tecs]

I've tried a bunch of commercial seasoning mixes and while some are very good they don't come close to some of the old hand me down recipes I have tried.

[redneck1]

It's possible they use a commercial mix , but they wouldn't admit if they did .

I dont think they would though , they make a lot of the soup starter mixes and hamburger helper type of stuff to . they are all based off family recipes from the community . and quite good i might add :)

I'm also pretty sure they would be happy to sell me the spice mix , albiet without giving up the recipe ;)

[M-Tecs]

Most of the large commercial mixes I have used have been ground very fine. That may or may not help flavor infusion but is does make identifying the spices almost impossible. I have never seen this with home recipes or the mixes purchased from the local butcher shops.

[Winger Ed.]

I make about 50-60 pounds a year.
I've tried several mixes, various recipes, but keep coming back to Williams' brand and add a bit of garlic to it.
Its probably available on line, but our grocery store carries it in a small paper bag that does 50 pounds.

[Markopolo]

lets see some details guys... lets see whatcha got!:bigsmyl2:

[Jeff Michel]

Legg's Old Plantation Seasonings. Watched them being used commercially for 40 years and I've found no better for my own use.

[Txcowboy52]

I’ve never made sausage, but lord knows I have ate more than my share !!

[ryan28]

I have plenty of experience eating that Mennonite sausage, and know many that make it. The recipe is so very simple you might not believe it, but here it is.
-coarse ground pork
-salt
-pepper
hot smoke for 4 hours

That's it.

[jim147]

The old diner in my small town had the best sausage. She closed down right as this whole covid thing started. It had been for sale for a while and I guess the daughters didn't want to take it over.

I heard a rumor that the sausage came from a town north of Butler but have not had a chance to prove that.

[Lloyd Smale]

I bet they use one of the commercial seasoning mixes. I use this one https://store.butchersupply.net/ac-leggs-pork-sausage-seasoning-blend-10-p70.aspx and mix it a little bit extra seasoning to meat ratio over what it recommended https://store.butchersupply.net/ac-leggs-pork-sausage-seasoning-blend-10-p70.aspx

They have a BUNCH of other seasonings.

another fan of #10. I use it mixed with ground up pork buts. I add just a bit of crushed red pepper to it and like mary i make 20lbs with the 25 lb package. GREAT sausage

[762 shooter]

Leggs #10 is my go to for breakfast sausage.
Butcher and Packer has some very tasty blends also.

762

[GhostHawk]

We used to stuff our own venison Sausage. Salt, pepper, and perhaps a small amount of either Onion or garlic or both.

Mostly it was just salt and pepper and a good smoke.

[redneck1]

One thing I can't stand in sausage is sage , so many breakfast mixes have it in them . it just ruins it for me .

[Gtrubicon]

One thing I can't stand in sausage is sage , so many breakfast mixes have it in them . it just ruins it for me .
Your the first person I’ve met that agrees with me about the sage!

[Burnt Fingers]

Your the first person I’ve met that agrees with me about the sage!

A very tiny amount is fine. But when it becomes the overwhelming flavor note....no way.

[WheelgunConvert]

I grew up eating black eyed pea sausage for breakfast every summer at my grandmothers. She was a depression era lady and was frugal with almost everything. I started making it a couple years ago when my triglycerides were running skyward. The video below is very similar to where I landed, I just use more cayenne pepper.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rEM4vXd0sW0

[Winger Ed.]

We used to stuff our own venison Sausage. Salt, pepper, and perhaps a small amount of either Onion or garlic or both.
Mostly it was just salt and pepper and a good smoke.

My Mom grew up in the Texas Hill Country on a ranch that was almost self sustaining.
My Grand Pop's old school dried German sausage was -- I forgot the exact measure of seasonings---
but it is so many pounds of salt, so many pounds of pepper, one cow, and two hogs.

They stuffed it in sheep casings, boiled it in water with salt peter in it a few minutes kill bacteria,
and dried it out with cold smoke in a rock/stone walled smokehouse.

[Iowa Fox]

I use leggs #29 that I buy at Fareway. Just got a package last week and it was $4.00 out the door. I only use 1/8 of a cup to a 25 lb batch with a little salt and pepper. The key is about 6 hours of hickory cold smoke in the smoke house. End of the smoking season here until cold weather next fall.

[GregLaROCHE]

I have plenty of experience eating that Mennonite sausage, and know many that make it. The recipe is so very simple you might not believe it, but here it is.
-coarse ground pork
-salt
-pepper
hot smoke for 4 hours

That's it.

You’re right. In my opinion the best sausage has the least ingredients and no sugar, that more and more sausage tends to have these days. Don’t skimp on the fat, because that’s where all the good flavor comes from!

[Iowa Fox]

Any of you fellows making home made Bratwurst?

[PHyrbird]

I really agree about the Mennonite seasoning. Great flavor in correct measure, plus it's Really fresh & full flavor. For some variety ask for some of their rubbed sage, add about a half teaspoon to the pound. For REALLYFINE eatin' take the pound rolls to the smoker grill with hickory or mesquite chips. Smoke for about 3-5 hrs depending on getting done in the center, then the left overs (you'll eat a couple pounds for the next meal) sliced into patties, freeze on a cookie sheet, have for breakfast right outa the M-wave!! They're already done you know. Jimmy Dean don't hold a candle :bigsmyl2:

[redneck1]

I've tried bratwurst before , But a big part of brats is getting the grind right ... Something I've not had good luck with , they just aren't the same if its not perfect

[Lloyd Smale]

Any of you fellows making home made Bratwurst?

yup i use two mixes one from "meatcutter.com and one mix of ingrediants i got out of a sausage making book. For the price (like with leggs) the pre packaged stuff is just as good and you dont have to buy 30 jars of spice to make it. Like was said by someone else fat is the real ingredient in sausage. Its why i dont use venison except in summer sausage. its way to dry. For bratts too you dont want to grind fine. Medium plate is what you want to use.

[Jeff Michel]

For the best results when grinding, use a 3/16 plate and try to get the meat temperature as close to freezing as possible, not froze but stiff, grind ONE time. Bratwurst recipes are as numerous as the stars, some good, most horrible. What a lot of people call Bratwurst are really a Bockwurst. Old world style Bratwurst is a cured and smoked product and will contain Mace as a spice, most people do not care for the flavor that it imparts and most current recipes leave it out or disguise it with the addition of vegetables or cheese e.g. Krautwurst/Cheddarwurst. A Bratwurst by legal definition cannot contain eggs, milk, or bread/cracker crumbs, though it's common to see these ingredient included in products and the producer will call them Bratwurst. The majority of the " Bratwurst" in the US is uncured and raw. This is a matter of consumers preference and expectations not based on historical accuracy. A Bockwurst on the other hand can and does contain those ingredients and as a result are generally juicer, bind better (firmer) and depending on your spice selection, a more mild sausage. It is a fresh sausage (not cured/smoked). If you want to go exploring, I would suggest that you make very small samples and cook and try them before you commit to a 25 pound batch. You can use a recipe or devise your own, I can provide you with dozens of different sausage variations for Bratwurst alone and most of them a dog wouldn't eat. If your are seeking consistent results, consider prepackaged spices from a major supplier, it's a whole lot cheaper in the long run and you can ad lib to your personal preference if you feel it's lacking something. For best results when blending, add 3% water of the total batch weight and mix until your tired and then mix it ten more minutes. It will distribute the spice more evenly and allow the product to bind (no one likes a crumbly sausage) place it overnight in your refrigerator and stuff it the next day. And, (This is important) If you are going to smoke (hot) any product and store it (Not consumed immediately) use 6.25% Sure Cure also known as Prague powder and make sure with a thermometer that it has reached a temperature that will kill the common bacteria and the Prague powder will handle the rest that are more thermoduric. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thermoduric_bacterium
Sorry for the ramble, even after after having made or watched being made millions of pounds of sausage, it's still a fascinating and tasty process. Have fun.

[MaryB]

I've tried bratwurst before , But a big part of brats is getting the grind right ... Something I've not had good luck with , they just aren't the same if its not perfect

I grew up eating all beef coarse ground brats... Leggs brat seasoning is decent, I mix it in a pound of hamburger for brat patties

[BJK]

Believe it or not the bratwurst sold at carnivals in W. Germany (back when there was a W. Germany) were pretty tasty. I can't remember what they cost, but we'd get some good mustard, the wurst and a decent roll. Wow! Were they ever good!

[GOPHER SLAYER]

While I like Jimmy Dean sausage at breakfast, I have never tried ground up dog do and sawdust so I cannot comment.

[redneck1]

I'm not a fan of the original jimmy dean , it has sage .
But the maple links are quite tasty . or they were the last time I had any .
Its been at least 10 years since I've had them

[jonp]

another fan of #10. I use it mixed with ground up pork buts. I add just a bit of crushed red pepper to it and like mary i make 20lbs with the 25 lb package. GREAT sausage

I believe that is what I got also from advice on here a few years ago when I got a grinder using Cabela's points. Pork Butts and a little fat. Sausage came out great.

[MT Gianni]

For breakfast sausage I like salt, pepper, garlic and marjoram. Simple and delicious. I try for 18-20% fat content. Grind then spice, mix well and final grind.

[Ithaca Gunner]

Sausage is something i ever really paid much attention to until recently...A friend suggested I try Apple Sausage, made by several local butchers. WOW! That stuff is like a fine gourmet meal! It contains bits of apple and brown sugar, no condiments needed or wanted with this stuff.

[T-Bird]

I agree with 762 Shooter, AC Leggs #10 is what I use.

[T-Bird]

It's made in Ala and it's we like sausage to taste!

[lksmith]

Growing up around Mennonites, I learned a few things about them:
1. They are good folks that can, will, and do work harder than anybody else
2. All married women of child bearing age are pregnant or just had one.
3. The Mennonite women are the best cooks there are

[Bmi48219]

When we were kids my paternal grandparents lived in an ancient log cabin that sat on a stone foundation with steps going into the cellar. Over the steps was a small porch. Every year grandpa’d butcher a large hog, singe & scrape it and then butcher hanging from the porch over the steps. A couple days later Dad, uncles Luigi & Bruno and grandpa spent the weekend in the cellar making Italian sausages, salamis and the like. Everything was processed in a big hand cranked grinder. I wil always remember them cranking with one hand while drinking glass after glass of homemade wine with the other, laughing and conversing in Italian. After the ground pork & spices were mixed on a big wood table grandpa would pickup a lump and taste it to check the seasoning. Then stuff into casings that were soaking in the concrete laundry tubs.
Grandpa’s wine cellar had 7-8 barrels of wine on racks along two wall and a ceiling made of hanging sausages, salamis, hams & prosciutto. Our Sunday visits always started with two of us filling 2 gallon jugs and 2 pitchers with which ever barrel he wanted, then 6 kids seated around the table, grandpa at the head seat. Fried salami on hard rolls and a full glass of wine for us while dad paced back and forth, again conversing in Italian. We were allowed to go play after we finished our wine. I was too young to notice the spices they used other than the ingredients were stored in mason jars.
What great memories! Thanks for the opportunity to reminisce.

[fatnhappy]

Believe it or not the bratwurst sold at carnivals in W. Germany (back when there was a W. Germany) were pretty tasty. I can't remember what they cost, but we'd get some good mustard, the wurst and a decent roll. Wow! Were they ever good!

I used to go to the town Marktplatz in Würzburg every day for lunch and get the Nuremberger brats on a Brötchen. Used to cost a mark 50 for 5 of those pinkie sized sausages. That was good stuff.

[Rick Hodges]

I use sage, it isn't breakfast sausage without sage! Oh, and some red pepper for a bit of heat too.

[429421Cowboy]

I didn’t have much of a choice on becoming a halfway proficient butcher, growing up in a hippy organic beef co-op grading carcasses twice a week in the cooler with my parents since I could walk, then doing 4H meats judging up to the national level meant a few days a week in one of the local shops learning all I could. I got lucky having a second adopted family of former Hutterites, similar to Mennonites, very self sufficient and great at butchering and smoking all of the traditional German foods.
So we still do quite a bit, which between most of the local shops closing up and the incredible demand jump when COVID hit has been a blessing. Locally (anywhere on our side of the Rockies) it is about an 18 month wait to get a slaughter date for beef, hogs or lambs. My wife has been on a self sufficiency kick lately with how things are going so she doesn’t mind me adding to my little butcher shop as I can. I’ve got a stuffer, the biggest grinder I could get my hands on and a Biro 33 butcher bandsaw and almost can get a hog done looking store bought besides the paper wrap.
We smoke quite a bit of salami, in various seasonings, but I have to admit the big batches are a heck of a lot easier to get done on my neighbor’s commercial smoker he got when one of the local plants shut down. 8x6x4’ can hang a heck of a lot of salami or hams and bacon! We usually use the Leggs seasonings for everything, being a lot cheaper and better quality than the stuff they sell at Scheels for making venison sausage (LEM or High Country). We prefer the breakfast blends without sage usually too.
One thing I’ve found that helps make a quality product closer to store bought for links and salami is adding commercial binder. I don’t have a preference between soy, dairy or carrot but they do aid in keeping things juicy. I haven’t played too much with the additives like citric acid but they do make it pop with a little extra you can’t quite put your finger on. It just makes it a little “better” Is the only way I can put it!

[jonp]

For breakfast sausage I like salt, pepper, garlic and marjoram. Simple and delicious. I try for 18-20% fat content. Grind then spice, mix well and final grind.

What proportion?

[Cosmic_Charlie]

Years ago I had breakfast links made with venison and pork. Best I ever had. They don't make it anymore with the customer's venison. They do make regular breakfast links. Outfit called Fraboni's up on the Iron Range.

[Sweetpea]

We do sausage every year, and always try something new.

We've been using bratwurst seasoning from LEM, and they are much better than store-bought.

Brats we make with mule deer, or elk, 50/50 with pork shoulder. Grind it all course, and set 1/3 aside. Grind the 2/3 with fine plate, then put 1/2 of that with the first third. Grind the last third finger a second time, and put all the meat together.

Add seasonings, and quality beer at 1oz per lb of meat, and stuff into natural casings.

We've been making 50lbs a year, and enjoying every bit of it.

[lksmith]

I use Atkins with a little cayenne. Works great with straight deer or wild hog. Get it at brookshires

[MT Gianni]

What proportion?

5 lbs pork butt or lean pork and 17-20% fat. 5 tsp salt, I use Johnny's but straight salt would work also. 1 1/2 tsp black pepper, 1 tsp marjoram, 1 tsp sage though it could be optional for those who don't like the flavor, 1/2 tsp lemon zest or 1 tsp lemon juice and 1 cup cold water, as cold as possible. Grind meat once, mix spices and regrind.