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!