Making Link Sausage

Stuffed Sausage Casings

This is how I spent my day.
Started about 8am,

Un-supecting Turkey

Meet Casings!

Added some bacon ends and pieces,

 

 

 

 finished!

How was your day?

 

Till next time,

Bonjour

Out For A Sunday Drive, Corsicana, Texas

 

Hubby wanted to go to Gander Mountain in Corsicana to

check prices on sausage casings.

I was like, yeah, OK, sure.

 

 

The ride in was on the interstate, lots of cars going way too fast!

 

 

When we got finished at the Gander,

we headed into town proper to hit the local Walmart.

 

 

My suggestion for the ride back was to take the back roads.

Out came The Roads of Texas Atlas.

(I love that atlas).

 

These photos were taken on FM 1126, just outside of Emhouse.

A beautiful drive back home, wouldn't you agree?

 

How was your Sunday?

 

Till next time,

Bonjour

Making Homemade Sausage With Free Recipe

Meat Grinder

Well......

 

The Hubby, Nathan and I  were at Gander MTN recently looking at "stuff"

when I spotted this meat grinder.

Hubby wanted one last year and I said NO, they're too expensive!

I had been looking online and they were about $200.00.

 

I don't think so.

 

Imagine my suprise when I ran across this similar model on sale for 129.99

regular price $199.99.

It has three sizes of grinding options, and, I think,

three sizes of sausage stuffing thingies.

Still being unemployed, I had to think about it,

even on sale it was still quite a chunk of change.

But, God has been good to me thus far so I took a leap of faith

and bought it for him.

(Early and only Christmas present).

 

Tuesday we had an opportunity to test drive it, so to speak.

 

The thought was, can we make breakfast sausage, chorizo, andouille etc

cheaper than we can purchase it at the market?

 

Lets start small with breakfast sausage currently @ $3.00 pre pound.

 

We mixed rough chopped, raw chicken,  pork bacon, (ends and pieces) with onions and apples.

 



Grinding Apples And Onions



After we ground up the apples I drained/pressed them in a colander, then

 bottled, to make juice for the great- grandbaby.

I drained the onions the same way for future use in soups/stews etc.

 



Chicken, pre cut up and ground bacon, ends and pieces

While hubby was coarse grinding the pork I skinned and de-boned the chickens.

 



Adding spices and testing for flavor



Second grinding

 After we taste-tested (yummo) we ground it a second time with a smaller bit?

(Not sure what the correct terminology is for the grinding thingies).

 

Packaging

The packaging was pretty straightforward.

I anchored the plastic baggies in this coffee can

so hubby could fill said baggies without me having to hold them..

I was else wise occupied with rolling, pressing out the air,

freezer paper wrapping and labeling.
(When you're working with raw meat it has to be very cold,
and you need to work very fast).

 

Cost/Recipe?

 

2 chickens, @  .88 per # = $9.68 (about 11#)

1- 3# package bacon, ends and pieces @ $5.97
(Took out about 4 oz for beans, so lets subtract .4975).

2 medium onions, @ . 49 # =  .49
½# red apples, @  .98 per # =  .49

(put a little lemon juice on apples to prevent browning).

Sage, ¼ cup @ $1.14

Salt, 1 tbsp. Cost?

Pepper, 1 tbsp. Cost?

hot pepper flakes, 1 tbsp. Cost?

Sugar,  ¼ cup @ $1.79 for 4 # =  .0497222

 

Total

 

$17.3322222 for 8# finished product.

(Not counting the stock I got from simmering the chicken bones,

 the apple juice for baby and the onion juice for soup/stews)

Total for finished sausage product, more or less? 

$2.1652777 per #

This is not counting the price for packaging, time, electricity, water etc..

 

Would I do it again?

 

YEP....

 

The final product cooked up lean and very tasty, not too much

of any one flavor being predominent.

I do have a turkey in the freezer......
 

Give it a try.

 

Have fun and enjoy.

Till next time,

Bonjour