Justin's fresh made sausage

I debated on trying to write about making sausages but I just do not have the same passion as my husband. For two reasons 1) I do not like the way raw meat feels 2) I am not a huge friend of meat. It may help if I explained I was a strict vegetarian for over 6 years. Please enjoy his work....


I started making sausage a few months ago as something to try.  I figured as a man in my 30's I should have some kind of skill and at this point I only had talking.  Also I figured I have a beard, long hair and tattoos sausage making seems like something I should know.  My wife had recently purchased a KitchenAid KSM150PSER Artisan Series 5-Quart Mixer, Empire Red, along with the attachments for sausage making ( KitchenAid KN12AP Stand-Mixer Attachment Pack with Food Grinder, Sausage Stuffer, and Citrus Juicer )  After that I watched a 5 minute youtube video on how to do and then bought 2 books.  ( The Complete Idiot's Guide to Sausage Making ; Home Sausage Making: How-To Techniques for Making and Enjoying 100 Sausages at Home )                                                                   

I started by buying a 9.5 lbs pork shoulder and cut it up into 2 inch pieces, turns out you should have a sharp knife for that.  From there I seasoned it, keeping it simple and with a theme.  I started by doing a sweet Italian.  It is your typical salt, pepper, garlic, basil, oregano, thyme, rosemary, and some applewood smoked salt.  I may have thrown some other stuff in there, but lingering brain injuries from a car accident prevent that.  The biggest thing I have learned is do not be afraid to season, 9 lbs of pork is a lot of meat.

From there I get to my favorite part, that is grinding the meat.  It is pretty easy and really no need to go into too much detail.  Put meat in the hole and watch ground meat come out of the spout.  Once it is ground I take a small amount and cook it to test the seasoning.  The first time I did a second grind, but to be honest I am lazy, so I stopped doing that.  I have no idea of it really makes a difference.  One thing to look out for is the grinder getting clogged with collective tissue.  Sounds yummy, just stop and clear it out.

This is hardest, but not cheesy sitcom hard.  You know where the guy tries and just makes a mess.  I use natural pork casing, that I buy from my local deli, best place in town to get subs, meat, and casing.  The stuff is gross and like holding a glob of snot.  You will need to rinse it out and to get the salt off of it.  Work the casing onto the stuffer, leaving a little at the end,  DO NOT TIE IT OFF, trust me.

From here put the ground meat into the chute and into the casing.  It will take a little bit to get it to come out at a comfortable speed.  Make sure to fill the casing so you do not leave any air pockets, and just keep going until all of your meat is stuffed.

I few notes to help with the process.  Keep the pork cold between steps, I put in in the fridge for at least 30 minutes between steps.  Also the longer the meat is in the casing the more the flavor will become pronounced.  The most important thing to remember is I am just some random guy on the internet that could have no idea of what I am talking about.