How to Make Homemade Sausage (VIDEO Recipe)
User Reviews
5
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Prep Time
3 hrs
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Total Time
3 hrs
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Servings
4 lbs of sausage links
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Course
Main Course
How to Make Homemade Sausage (VIDEO Recipe)
Description
Making sausage at home involves selecting meats with a good fat content, combining pork and beef, and optionally incorporating bacon if the meat is too lean. The meats are partially frozen to allow for easier grinding and assembled with spices and whole mustard seeds for texture and flavor. The mixture is ground finely using a meat grinder with a sausage attachment, ensuring even distribution of spices.
The addition of ice-cold water helps bind the meat mixture and keeps it moist as it is hand-mixed or mixed with a paddle attachment. After thorough mixing, the seasoned meat is stuffed into well-prepared natural hog casings, which are soaked and rinsed beforehand to remove salt and achieve pliability. The recipe advises using equipment chilled to promote food safety and proper consistency.
Finished sausages can be cooked by various methods, depending on further instructions or preferences. This recipe stresses the importance of fat content and equipment cleanliness to avoid clogging during stuffing and to maintain sausage texture. It is ideal for those seeking control over sausage ingredients and flavor at home.
Ingredients
Ingredients for Homemade Sausage (Kielbasa)
- 2 lbs pork 1/4 diced, 3/4 ground, with fat
- 2 lbs beef 1/4 diced, 3/4 ground, well marbled
- 6-12 oz Bacon optional - use if meats are leaner (can be frozen)
- 3 tsp salt sea salt
- 1 Tbsp yellow mustard seed whole
- 1 tsp black pepper
- 1/2 tsp herb seasoning Mrs. Dash or favorite salt free seasoning
- 1 cup water ice cold
- 2 Hog casings about 10-12 feet total, natural
What You Will Need:
- Sausage poker optional but nice
- Meat grinder with sausage attachment
Instructions
- Place meats on a baking sheet, cover with plastic wrap and freeze 1 1/2 hours. Should be very firm, not frozen solid. Place all meat grinder parts in freezer and refrigerate mixing bowl at least 30 min prior to using.
- Rinse casing well to remove salt and run warm water all the way through the casing. Let casing soak in warm water (90˚F water) for at least 1 hour or until soft and slick. Keep casings in water until ready to use.
- Remove 1/3 of meat from the freezer, dice into 1/4 thick pieces with a sharp knife and transfer to your chilled mixing bowl. Chop remaining meat into 2" pieces so that it can easily go through the meat grinder. Set up your meat grinder (if using KitchenAid mixer, set to speed 4 using the large holes grinding plate) and grind meat into chilled bowl then grind bacon.
- Sprinkle seasonings over meat and toss by hand 30 seconds to distribute then add 1 cup water and mix meat by hand for 1 minute (or with paddle attachment on speed 1 for 1 minute), just until a light film forms on the outside of the bowl and the mixture binds to itself and can hold a patty shape. Cover and refrigerate your sausage mixture while you clean your grinder and set up your sausage maker attachment. Seasoning Tip: To test your meat for seasoning, form a small patty and saute it on a skillet to sample.
- Lightly oil the outside of your sausage tube attachment and thread 1 sausage casing over the tube leaving a 6" tail hanging off the end. Do not tie the end - you want the initial air that comes through to escape.
- Remove ground meat from refrigerator, set mixer to speed 4 and add meat into hopper, pushing down with the plunger and adding more as you go. Use one hand to stuff the meat through and one hand to guide the filled casings. Fill firmly but do not overstuff, especially if making sausage links. Take care not to let big gaps of air into the tube. If you get air bubbles - no problem - you can poke the sausage casing with sausage pricker as you go. Let the sausage come out in one long coil until about 6" of casing remains at the end then start with the new sausage casing.***
- Pinch, twist and spin to make small sausage links or coil the sausage for the classic kielbasa look. Tie off the ends or tie with kitchen string if desired. Prick with sausage poker about every 2 inches, especially where you see air pockets, to prevent the sausage from bursting. Sausage can be baked, grilled or sautéed right away or can be refrigerated or frozen for later. Keeps well in refrigerator for 3-5 days or frozen up to 3 months.
Notes
- Use meat with high fat content for juicy sausages; add bacon if your meat is leaner.
- Partially freezing the meat and chilling grinder parts prevents clogging and ensures proper grinding.
- Clean the meat grinder promptly if the mixture starts to look pink or pasty to avoid clogging.
- Soak natural hog casings in warm water for at least an hour before stuffing to make them soft and easy to work with.
User Reviews
Overall Rating
5
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