Evan D. wrote:

> So I graduated college last month and my long-suffering mother bought me a
> 600-series KitchenAid Mixer which has a 14.5 cup bowl and instead of a
> tilt-head, the bowl moves on a track to get situated.
>
> Long story short, I bought a 6.5 lb pork shoulder and took it apart tuesday
> night for grinding and my first effort in sausage making. I got the meat
> grinder attachment and the sausage stuffer for that in the gift pack.
>
> Bought a packet of bratwurst spice mix at Outdoor World and got the casings
> from a butcher (in South Florida).
>
> Process to take the meat apart, partially freeze the cut pieces and get into
> links was ~2 hours and kinda fun.
>
> Got 18 links of sausage out of that meat, three went into dinner and the
> rest split up and vacuum sealed for the freezer.
>
> I've got an idea for a future sausage which uses shoulder meat and is
> seasoned with my standard rub for pulled pork. I'd then take the fresh
> sausage and smoke it to make a bbq sausage (using the finer extrusion die).
> Also my Frankenstein Monster of a breakfast sausage made from bacon
>
> Anyone else with home sausage making experience, recipes and tips are
> greatly appreciated. Girlfriend's dad has requested kielbasa next for him to
> smoke.


Sounds great, Evan.

If you're interested in smoking your sausage, my suggestion would be
to smoke lightly and keep the temp low. 180-200 F inside the cooker.
The key is to keep the temp low enough so that fat doesn't melt and run out.
Makes for a better texture and a moister product.

If you want to try taking it to the next level, you might want to have
a go at fermented sausage products. Here's a good source of info:

http://home.pacbell.net/lpoli/

Another good book on the subject:

Cooking by Hand
by Paul Bertolli
<http://www.amazon.com/Cooking-Hand-Paul-Bertolli/dp/0609608932/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1245356645&sr=1-1>

Bertolli also has a lot of good info on dried products, which is a
whole new world in itself.