Let's talk meat grinders and sausage making

[Jerry-B-WI]

I just started trying my hand at making venison summer sausage. First batch turned out pretty tasty. The only problem I had was getting the pork fat mixed into the venison. The grinder I have was a foolish purchase at Harbor Freight years ago when CWD was first found in Wisconsin. The thing is a POS joke. I'd like to get a better grinder that has metal gears but I don't want or need a $500 grinder.

I'm considering the Weston #12 model 33-1301-W. Anyone have or use one? Another candidate would be the Mossy Oak model made by Weston model 33-2001-GK. I'm making small batches of five pounds right now and really don't see anything larger than ten pounds.

So my process is using venison that's already ground and bagged then I grind the pork and mix it in by hand. If I had a better grinder I would coarse grind the pork and then grind the venison and pork together for the fine grind . Does that make any sense?

 

[PatinPA]

I bought a Kitchener, heavy duty kitchen grinder. It works pretty well for what it is. The trick too is to have the meat/fat somewhat frozen. That helps a lot.

 

[Wild Thing]

Agree with @PatinPA that your meat will grind much better if partially frozen.

Yes - Running a coarse grind on the pork first and then grinding together with the venison is recommended.

I have a Cabelas Carnivore 3/4 HP grinder with foot pedal switch and could not be happier.

Chunk up the port butt and put it in the freezer for a while (or visa versa)




I put the entire grinder head, cutters, etc in the freezer for a couple hours prior to grinding








The Cabela's sausage stuffer ($99) works better than the stuffer on the grinder for either snack sticks, brats or summer sausage.


I add the seasonings and cure and put meat in fridge for a few days when making summer sausage - mixing daily...

 

[SwampCat]

Buy pork hamburger and a meat mixer. Meat mixer much better at mixing the spices in. Are you using the grinder to stuff the casings?

 

[gwm]

We have LEM products, including the #12 meat grinder, mixer and 5 lb stuffer. The stuffer is too small for our use and will get a larger one next year. I've had them for a while now and recommend to anyone looking. I've heard good things about others but no first hand experience with them.

 

[Jerry-B-WI]

Well I got an email from Weston CS today and they told me that neither of the grinders I'm considering have metal gears even though it's stated on the website that they do.

I would love to have my mix look like what's coming out of Wild Things grinder.

I'm not using the grinder to stuff the casings. Believe it or not I'm using my jerky gun. I'm using the 1 1/2" casings and they hold about a pound of meat. Like I said I'm just starting to get my feet wet with making sausage and wanted to try it as cheaply as possible.

When I made the firsts batch I let it cure in a bowl in the fridge for a couple days then put in the casings and smoked it. this time I put it in the casings to cure for two days and then I'll smoke it. It goes in the smoker tomorrow morning.

Thanks for the information so far.

 

[b116757]

Sausage is fun to make weigh your meat and convert to KG then all your spices are done in Grams so your recipes are simple percentages. 2.2lbs per kilo.
No rediculous cups tablespoon BS to try and figure out.
Get a decent grinder, separate stuffer and digital scale that does grams.

Mix the meat and spices is a large bowl I use a table bus tub myself by hand, don’t be afraid to add 5%-10% water by weight to aid in hand mixing. I have or had a mixer and gave it away easier to hand mix and clean a bowl or tub than a mixer and this was with a three bay commercial sink. Pressure washer maybe wouldn’t be as bad to clean a mixer but I do this in the kitchen not the shop.

If you want a tang to your summer sausage there are bacteria available to add to the meat to produce that tang of high quality sausage but only use bottled or distilled water if you go that route. They also make citric acid capsules that work very well for the tang without the worry that your bacteria are dead for whatever reason. I’ve used both a good bit I would recommend the encapsulated citric acid much less headache for small batches.

Take it easy on adding spices a simple salt, pepper, garlic spice mix makes a very good summer sausage. For breakfast sausage salt, pepper, and sage. Remember with sausage less is more or KISS (keep it simple stupid)

 

[b116757]

Example recipe this one had I not added nutmeg and thyme I would have had a better sausage. The batch was actually 7272g or 7.262kg or 16lbs take lbs converted to kg then do simple math to figure the spice amount because it’s a % of meat weight.

 

[b116757]

Agree with @PatinPA that your meat will grind much better if partially frozen.

Yes - Running a coarse grind on the pork first and then grinding together with the venison is recommended.

I have a Cabelas Carnivore 3/4 HP grinder with foot pedal switch and could not be happier.

Chunk up the port butt and put it in the freezer for a while (or visa versa)
View attachment 52087

View attachment 52089

I put the entire grinder head, cutters, etc in the freezer for a couple hours prior to grinding
View attachment 52088

View attachment 52086

View attachment 52090

View attachment 52091

The Cabela's sausage stuffer ($99) works better than the stuffer on the grinder for either snack sticks, brats or summer sausage.
View attachment 52092

I add the seasonings and cure and put meat in fridge for a few days when making summer sausage - mixing daily...
View attachment 52093

View attachment 52094

View attachment 52095

Very nearly my exact setup.

 

[b116757]

I order from here

Encapsulated Citric Acid (1 lb) [1-1062] - $11.82 : Butcher & Packer, Sausage Making and Meat Processing Supplies

The main ingredient used when a person wants a fermented sausage flavor. When used correctly, it is almost impossible to tell if the sausage was manufactured by fermentation or by the use of this product. There is no need to worry about processing under special conditions just add to meat

www.butcher-packer.com

 

[Wild Thing]

Some great tips b116757. I have to agree with you on cleaning up the mixer. It is a large piece of equipment and does take some effort to clean up. If I am making a 25# batch I will probably use the mixer which attaches to my grinder....



It does do a nice job of mixing in the spices...




My meat processing is done in the Man Cave in my pole barn so I will often start the cleanup process by hosing everything down in the driveway before washing everything in the kitchen...


For smaller batches, the tubs work out great... I do have a digital scales but more often than not, I find myself using my mothers' old kitchen scales - creatures of habit I guess.


For a small batch of jerky I may even just use a plastic kitchen bowl. I agree with you on adding water when mixing in the spices...


For the most part, I am still using the commercial seasonings from LEM or Cabelas...

but I have started just buying some of the cures and seasoning direct from PS Seasonings as well.


It sounds like you have your seasonings down to a science. Good job! I am still using Tablespoons and Teaspoons for measurements but I can usually get it pretty close.

Making your own sausage, jerky, bacon, brats, etc, from your own wild game just adds another dimension to why we hunt and do the things we do to create better habitat, enjoy the outdoors, etc. It can become addicting though. Sharing the bounty with family and friends who really appreciate it makes it all worth while.

 

[Jerry-B-WI]

Sausage is fun to make weigh your meat and convert to KG then all your spices are done in Grams so your recipes are simple percentages. 2.2lbs per kilo.
No rediculous cups tablespoon BS to try and figure out.
Get a decent grinder, separate stuffer and digital scale that does grams.

Mix the meat and spices is a large bowl I use a table bus tub myself by hand, don’t be afraid to add 5%-10% water by weight to aid in hand mixing. I have or had a mixer and gave it away easier to hand mix and clean a bowl or tub than a mixer and this was with a three bay commercial sink. Pressure washer maybe wouldn’t be as bad to clean a mixer but I do this in the kitchen not the shop.

If you want a tang to your summer sausage there are bacteria available to add to the meat to produce that tang of high quality sausage but only use bottled or distilled water if you go that route. They also make citric acid capsules that work very well for the tang without the worry that your bacteria are dead for whatever reason. I’ve used both a good bit I would recommend the encapsulated citric acid much less headache for small batches.

Take it easy on adding spices a simple salt, pepper, garlic spice mix makes a very good summer sausage. For breakfast sausage salt, pepper, and sage. Remember with sausage less is more or KISS (keep it simple stupid)

I found a website twoguysandacooler.com that has an online calculator/converter for lb/oz to kg/grams. You type in how much sausage you wan to make and it tells you how much of everything to use.

For the tang I used Fermento from thesausagemaker.com It's a powdered buttermilk culture that you mix with water then add to the mix. Here's the seasoning mix I used.
Kosher salt
Dextrose
Pink salt #1
Whole mustard seeds
Dry ground mustard
Garlic powder
Black pepper
Ground ginger
Coriander
Fermento

 

[Jerry-B-WI]

Some great tips b116757. I have to agree with you on cleaning up the mixer. It is a large piece of equipment and does take some effort to clean up. If I am making a 25# batch I will probably use the mixer which attaches to my grinder....

View attachment 52112

It does do a nice job of mixing in the spices...
View attachment 52113

View attachment 52114

My meat processing is done in the Man Cave in my pole barn so I will often start the cleanup process by hosing everything down in the driveway before washing everything in the kitchen...
View attachment 52115

For smaller batches, the tubs work out great... I do have a digital scales but more often than not, I find myself using my mothers' old kitchen scales - creatures of habit I guess.
View attachment 52117

For a small batch of jerky I may even just use a plastic kitchen bowl. I agree with you on adding water when mixing in the spices...
View attachment 52116

For the most part, I am still using the commercial seasonings from LEM or Cabelas...
View attachment 52119
but I have started just buying some of the cures and seasoning direct from PS Seasonings as well.
View attachment 52118

It sounds like you have your seasonings down to a science. Good job! I am still using Tablespoons and Teaspoons for measurements but I can usually get it pretty close.

Making your own sausage, jerky, bacon, brats, etc, from your own wild game just adds another dimension to why we hunt and do the things we do to create better habitat, enjoy the outdoors, etc. It can become addicting though. Sharing the bounty with family and friends who really appreciate it makes it all worth while.

Here's my recipe for jerky(ground meat type) that I've used for years. I like this one because you can tweak any ingredient to your liking.

 

[PatinPA]

Well I got an email from Weston CS today and they told me that neither of the grinders I'm considering have metal gears even though it's stated on the website that they do.

I would love to have my mix look like what's coming out of Wild Things grinder.

I'm not using the grinder to stuff the casings. Believe it or not I'm using my jerky gun. I'm using the 1 1/2" casings and they hold about a pound of meat. Like I said I'm just starting to get my feet wet with making sausage and wanted to try it as cheaply as possible.

When I made the firsts batch I let it cure in a bowl in the fridge for a couple days then put in the casings and smoked it. this time I put it in the casings to cure for two days and then I'll smoke it. It goes in the smoker tomorrow morning.

Thanks for the information so far.

Before I got a stuffer I used my jerky gun too. Works pretty well. Just leave the end open and slide the casing over it.

 

[b116757]

I have a 15lb I think LEM stuffer and cracked the plastic stuffer tubes from use/abuse but I managed to find SS replacement tubes for mine that are the bomb diggity. Just something to keep in mind when shopping for a stuffer. The cheap hand push style stuffers at least in my experience are not very good. The crank handle ones as Wild Thing has posted a photo of are nice to use.

 

[chucker66]

Get a sausage stuffer right away. Stuffing with any grinder really sucks.