Will do, Cliff.
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I make sausage about once or twice a year. Mine is all put into casings and smoked. Lots of good tips here so far. The only thing I can add is; I played with lots of seasonings but never found anything better than Legg's brand seasonings. Their "Hot" is my go to for smoked sausage, but the others are very good as well.
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So I have a rookie question.

The pork shoulder (picnic) has a layer of skin along one side. Can I use that in my sausage? Or should it be removed?
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I made sausage for about 20 years, Peter. There's really nothing to it, you already have the basics.
Preference is in the texture and taste. You might find you really like one seasoning blend with a courser grind, but not so much with a very fine grind. I always achieved a fine grind by running the meat through the grinder until I was happy with it.
Before you stuff the casings, try a number of seasoning preparations on/in little patties. I always found that simpler was better.
When the blend of seasonings was simple and we smoked with apple, the sausage took on an amazing flavor. (That was half venison/half pork sausage.)
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Thanks, Scott.
Any feedback on my previous question?
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Personal preference. It's fine to grind it.
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Ditto. It also adds to the "fattyness" imho.
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I have the same book, love it.

When stuffing, a couple more hands than your own will make the process MUCH faster. Don't overstuff. That's all I have.
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That is the same one I made for the first time. Flavor explosion happiness for me. I used a little more garlic, but I am a hound for it.
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+1 for this book I have done bacon and cured a whole ham in brine from the recipes from this book and it has been great. The bacon is the best I have every had even the wife agreed about the bacon.
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I make my own. Bratwurst, brekfast sausage, jerky sticks........

What kind of press or shooter you using and are you using a vacuum packer?

What kind sausage are you making exactly?

EDIT: Remember that you have to twist them too so if it seems like there isnt enough in the casing don't worry. When you twist them it will make them fill out. If you have to much in them and then you twist your gonna blow the wall out of the casing and your gonna be pissed off.
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I'm using a Waring meat grinder.
Image

I'm not sure what you mean by a vacuum packer. I have a Food Saver that I use for packaging foods for the freezer if that is what you mean.

I'm making traditional pork sausage for my first attempt. Start simple.
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What a pain in the ass! I sure hope it is because I am new at this.

The grinding and seasoning went fine. Trying to stuff the casing without air pockets is impossible or just takes practice. Don't know if I am doing something wrong or it's just inexperience. Portions look great but then there are major air pockets. :-)
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I also have that one, great grinder. Stuffing can be a challenge though sometimes. As someone else mentioned, it is helpfull to have an extra set or two of hands during stuffing.


Practice, practice practice :-)

and remember, each time you try it, not only will it get easier and better, you have awesome food to eat along the way! That's how we learned BBQ'n. LOTs of practice!
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Thanks for the encouragement, Steve. I think you are right about the extra pair of hands when stuffing.

I did the coarse grind followed by the medium grind with the stuffer into the casing. Should I have removed the blade and die when using the stuffer?
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Good luck with that. I made up a batch of deer/pork butt that turned out pretty good.
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I do. I have heard other people using the fine plate and the blade when stuffing, but I have found it works better for me to do my grinding and then stuff it all at once. Usually, I either feed the meat into the grinder and Holly helps guide the casing or vice versa. I'm not coordinated enough to do it all myself. If I did it more than a couple of times a year, maybe.
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Next time I will remove the blade/die when stuffing. Also, I will get a second pair of hands.
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oooh. Creepy.
Cloned, surgical attachment, or some kind of really groovy Superhero method involving radiation, an orangutan bite, or a outer space ray of some nefarious nature?
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You can sometimes get rid of the air bubbles when you twist the links. They make a tool you can use to prick the casing to let the bubbles out, but a pin will work just as well.

That's one of the drawbacks to using the grinder to also stuff. You can't keep enough meat being forced into the casings to not get air in there. Maybe the second set of hands will work better. If you get serious about it, look at getting a good stuffer. I have two, the 5lb horn type which sucks, and a 20lb vertical type from Cabelas. It's a bit overkill for a 5lb batch, but makes it easy to use by myself.
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