Sausage any one?

[Eric F]

ok not exactly hunting worthy, but I have atempted to make sausage several times what am I doing wrong?

I mix spices and ground meat per recepie then pack in natural cases. refrigerate then drop in frying pan and the darn things all split wide open before done cooking so I punch holes in them and the same thing but faster, what am I doing wrong?, and the color is wrong compaired to store bought natural case sausages????

 

[Floppy_D]

Pack 'em thinner, has been my solution. Use your free hand to work a little space in there, and it allows the innards a little room to expand. Prior to that, I didn't have anything not split.

 

[highorder]

You said ground meat, but I didn't hear any mention of fat. Could you tell us more about your method, and hardware?

 

[Eric F]

You said ground meat, but I didn't hear any mention of fat. Could you tell us more about your method, and hardware?

For the most part i use 75% pork and 25% veal.(5-7 pounds total) spices and such some bread crumbs(a cup or so) and a little water. The fat, I go to the grocery store and buy a 1 pound package of pork fat, I think it is seasoned but do not remember. I trim the meat of conective tissue and run through my hand crank grinder, medium grind. mix everything together refrigerate over night manualy mix again to loosen everything up and load the press, I place in prepared cases and twist them at 6 inch intervals. I try to fill to capacity with out being too tight. Thats about it.

 

[Liberty1776]

gotta agree with Floppy D... they're too full. I just made a few dozen caribou brats last weekend, and towards the end when I was getting tired and just trying to hurry it up, I was packing them too full and they were splitting as I was making them. To cook, first I simmer in water til done and then brown in the pan. That seems to let them firm up without expanding so much.

 

[RX-178]

I just tend to put the casings right to the grinder, and grind the meat directly out into the casings. Seems to help make sure there isn't too much stuff inside.

 

[qwert65]

+1 one on being too full when I took meat science we had to pack it tight(no air spaces) but loose enough where you're not forcing it in there

 

[MCgunner]

I smoke mine on the grill. Never tried pan frying it. If I do that, I just make it up sans casing, breakfast sausage patties, aka Jimmy Dean's.