sausage primer

curing botulism

Botulism, created by the Clostridium Botulinum bacteria, is the most deadly form of food poisoning known to man. When a person is poisoned with botulism, his vision becomes blurred in less than a day. He begins to have trouble holding up his head as his neck muscles stop working. After a short time, he becomes unable to speak. He gets double vision. Then, his chest and diaphragm muscles fail, as does his heart. He dies within 3 days. Botulism has up to a 70% fatality rate.

Food infected with botulism poisoning may show no sign of contamination.

The spores that produce botulism poisoning are present in many foods. The spores themselves are harmless to adults; the digestive tract creates nitrites, which keep the spores from producing poison. Children under 1 year of age do not have the proper amount of nitrites in their digestive tracts, and can die when botulism spores produce their poison in the digestive system. It is believed that many SIDS deaths can be attributed to botulism. Children under 1 year of age should never be given honey. (Honey contains an abundance of botulism spores.)

Botulism produces its poison when three conditions are met:

· temperature in the “danger zone” (from 40 – 140 degrees Fahrenheit),

· lack of oxygen (in ovens and smokers, the heat and/or smoke create a lack of oxygen), and

· the presence of moisture (most foods contain moisture).

Smoked foods, including smoke cooked and cold-smoked sausages, are held in the danger zone with little or no oxygen and plenty of moisture when they are smoked. Because nitrites prevent botulism spores from producing their deadly toxin, all foods smoked in the danger zone must be cured with sodium nitrite. Some people claim that ascorbic acid can be used to cure meat, but ascorbic acid has never been shown to cure meat. Potassium nitrate (saltpeter) used to be used to cure meat, but it itself is a deadly poison and should never be used for curing cooked meats. (It is still allowed for creating uncooked, dry-cured sausages such as hard salami, but “cure #2,” a mixture of sodium nitrate and sodium nitrite on a salt carrier, is more commonly used these days.)

Sodium nitrite should be used in the proper proportions. Too little, and it does not cure botulism. Too much, and it chemically burns the meat, as well as leaving residual nitrites in the food in an amount that is unhealthy for consumption.

Sodium nitrite cure (“cure #1”), which is sodium nitrite on a salt carrier, is sold commercially under the brand names Prague Powder #1, Modern Cure, and InstaCure #1. It is made with 1 ounce of sodium nitrite to 1 pound of salt. 4 ounces of this cure will cure 100 lbs. of meat. 2 ounces will cure 50 lbs., and 1 ounce will cure 25 lbs. 6 level teaspoons is about 1 ounce. 2 level teaspoons will cure 10 lbs. of meat. 5 level teaspoons will cure 25 lbs (even though it is just under 1 ounce).

Cure sticks to utensils and equipment, and must be washed off thoroughly. An accidentally cured fresh sausage (such as raw breakfast sausage) will look like raw meat even after it is cooked. (Cured meat turns reddish when cooked.)

trichinae (trichinosis)

Pork and bear meat contain trichinae, which cause trichinosis. Trichinosis can be destroyed several ways:

· cooking – trichinae are destroyed at 138 degrees Fahrenheit. Most smoked sausage recipes call for internal temperatures to reach 152 degrees Fahrenheit internally before they leave the smokehouse.

· freezing – in accordance with the chart below. This cannot be done in a home freezer. Pork frozen in this way is commercially available. It is called “certified pork,” and it is hard to find.

Temperature	up to 6” thick	6” > 27”
5 deg. F	20 days	30 days
-10 deg. F	10 days	20 days
-20 deg. F	6 days	12 days

· dry-curing – this takes a long time, and we won’t do it.

grinding

· The grinder plate goes against the flat side of the cutting knife.

· Meat should always be between 32 and 35 deg. F for grinding.

· When electrifying a hand grinder, make sure that it has a long neck. Short-necked #22 and #32 hand grinders make dangerous electric grinders because they eat fingers. It is best to replace the plastic bushings with brass bushings if you electrify a hand grinder.

· It is best to avoid using grinders as stuffers.

mixing

· Cure should be dissolved in water so that it can be evenly distributed into the ground meat. We can use a blender and mix the cure and all the spices together with water at once.

· Meat should be mixed cold. The spices and cure must be mixed in thoroughly, but quickly. Mixing heats the meat. If the fat overheats, it will melt, at best hurting the appearance of the sausage (because there won’t be the nice speckles of fat in it) and at worst smearing the sausage, leaving it dry and crumbly. It should take between 1 and 2 minutes to mix 10 lbs. of meat.

· Curing action stops at 34 deg. F. and below. Once the cure is added, try to keep the meat above 34 deg. F so that it will begin to cure. Also try to keep the meat below 40 deg. F so that botulism will not begin to develop before the cure has a chance to work. (Above 40 deg. F, meat can begin to spoil, even if no botulism is present.) Once the sausage is stuffed, it’ll be about room temperature. That’s ok. It should be allowed to begin drying at room temperature before going into the smokehouse.

· It is best to begin stuffing the meat immediately after mixing. Some people believe that the meat should be allowed to sit so that the spices can be absorbed by the meat, but the salt, soy protein concentrate, and other ingredients will make the meat set like cement, which will make stuffing much more difficult.

stuffing

· Natural casings should be flushed through with water. They should then be rinsed. It is important to remove the air and water from the inside of the casing, or it will float while it is stored in water. Casings should be kept in water in a covered container in a refrigerator for several hours or overnight. The water should be changed at least once. Before stuffing, the casings should be flushed again and placed into fresh lukewarm water.

· Meat should be packed tightly to avoid air pockets in the stuffed sausage. Air pockets will fill with melted fat in the smoker.

· Put water on the stuffing horn before applying the casing.

· It is best hold the bulk of the casing at the front of the stuffing tube while stuffing. Holding the bulk of the casing against the back of the stuffing tube (next to the stuffer) makes the casing stretch out as it is stuffed, and makes the casing more likely to break.

· When linking sausage, do not overfill the casings. A loosely stuffed casing leaves room for the twists.

· Prick holes in the stuffed sausages prior to smoking. This will reduce the chance of air pockets forming in the smoker.

smoking

· Never put sausage into a hot smokehouse. The heat shock will toughen the casings.

· Sausage must be dried before it is smoked. Smoke acids will not coat wet sausage. Drying should be done slowly. Using high heat to dry sausage will cause the sausage to perspire and remain wet. If the fat melts, it will make the sausage greasy on the outside and dry and crumbly on the inside. Excessive heat also toughens casings. Cracking open the smokehouse door during the drying phase will allow moisture to escape more quickly, speeding the drying process.

· Acid from smoke coats the meat, giving it a brown color.

· Cure and paprika both add to smoky coloring.

· Fish and poultry can be smoked at 200 deg. F or higher. Smoking at these higher temperatures eliminates the need for cure.

sausage smoking procedure

· Preheat smoker to 125 deg. F. When sausage is placed into smokehouse, about 25 deg. F. will be lost.

· Place the room temperature sausage into the 125 deg. F smokehouse with the dampers wide open. Adjust thermostat to 100 deg. F.

· After 1 hour, close the dampers to ½ open and set the smoker to 130 deg. F. Check sausage every hour. If sausage is between 95 – 99 deg. F., adjust smokehouse to 140 deg. F. If sausage is 100 deg. F. or above, adjust smokehouse to 150 deg. F.

· Hold at 150 deg. F. until sausage begins to brown on top and bottom. (About 107 deg. F. for summer sausage.)

· When the sausage has begun to brown, close dampers to ¼ open and add the sawdust pan.

· Smoke the sausage to taste, typically 4 hours. Begin boiling water towards the end of the smoke.

· After smoking, remove sawdust pan. If sausage is not at least 125 deg. F. internally (135 for summer sausage), adjust smokehouse to 160 deg. F. until it is.

· When sausage is at least 125 deg. F. internally (135 for summer sausage), crank up smokehouse heat and add boiling water. Option 1: Steam until internal temperature of sausage is 152 deg. F. (Typically, this takes 10 – 15 minutes for sausage in hog casings, and 30 – 40 minutes for salami/summer sausage that was at 135 deg. F. internally before the steam was added.) Option 2: Remove sausage from smokehouse and place in a vat of 170 deg. F. water and hold until the sausage reaches 152 deg. F. internally.

showering

After smoking, shower the sausage with cold water until the internal temperature drops to 110 – 120 deg. F. This prevents the sausage from shriveling. Showering (or immersion in cold water, with more cold water running into the container) must occur quickly after the sausage leaves the smokehouse. If too much time passes, the sausage shrivels. If this happens, the sausage can be made plump again by cooking in hot water. After the hot water cooking, the sausage should immediately be showered with cold water.

blooming

After showering, the sausage should remain at room temperature until it blooms to a desirable dark color. This typically takes 3 hours.

holding

After blooming, the sausage should be held in a cooler or refrigerator at least overnight , and preferably 24 hours, before it is used.

ingredients

· cayenne pepper – for mild hot, use 1 TBSP. for 10 lbs. of meat. For hot, use 2 TBSP. for 10 lbs. of meat.

· corn syrup solids – helps fermentation (see fermento, below), and work as a binding agent. Helps sausage maintain its color under fluorescent lights.

· dextrose – helps fresh sausage brown when cooked. Dextrose is 70 – 80% as sweet as regular sugar, depending on who you ask. Because it is less sweet, you use more, helping the sweetness to be evenly distributed throughout the meat. Dextrose helps lactic acid organisms ferment sausages that are meant to be tangy (such as sausage sticks).

· encapsulated citric acid – citric acid encapsulated in an oil blend (looks like a powder) that can be used as a flavoring to give a tangy flavor to sausages. Used as a way to fake the flavor of fermentation without using lactic acid starter culture. Encapsulated citric acid is mixed gently into the meat after the spices have already been mixed in, as a way to protect the encapsulation. At 130 deg. F., the encapsulating oils melt, allowing the acid to flavor the meat. Allowing the acid to blend with the meat at lower temperatures would make the meat mushy.

· fennel seed – the spice that makes Italian sausage Italian. Smells licorice-y.

· fermento – a tangy flavoring, described by some as a “quack product.” Meant to give sausage tang, but I have had negative experiences with it, and much prefer encapsulated citric acid. The party line: Dairy-based, controlled fermentation product in powdered form. Imparts tangy flavor to summer sausage, sausage sticks, pepperoni, etc. 3% is average amount to use. For more tang, you can go up to 6%. More than 6% will make sausage mushy. For less tang, use less than 3%.

· garlic – fresh garlic is better than granulated garlic or garlic powder. It gives off more aroma.

· lactic acid starter culture – bacteria blend used to ferment sausages to produce a tangy flavor. Some say that true fermentation using lactic acid starter culture produces subtle flavors that encapsulated citric acid does not produce.

· liquid smoke – made from the smoke generated from burning green hickory. Unwanted particles are filtered out. Can be mixed into sausage, misted into a smokehouse, or placed on a hot plate so that it will vaporize into the smokehouse. Used on the outside of a sausage, it will help guard against mold growth. (Smoking a sausage also guards against mold, to an extent.)

· monosodium glutamate (msg) – enhances the flavors that are already in foods. Some people are allergic. Use no more than a half-teaspoon per pound of meat.

· rp lean – a fat replacer developed and patented by the USDA. Made from oats.

· salt – to test your salt, dissolve 2 tablespoons in a glass of water. The clearer the water once the salt is dissolved, the better the salt. Iodized salt should never be used in sausage. Use canning salt, kosher flake salt, or purified salt. Purified salt is best. Salt helps bind the sausage, as do fat, corn syrup solids, non-fat dry milk, soy protein concentrate, and dextrose. Salt also helps the meat retain its juices. Recipes generally give salt amounts assuming granulated salt. When using kosher flaked salt, use a little more, as a tablespoon of granulated salt weighs more than a tablespoon of flaked salt.

· sage – the spice that makes breakfast sausage breakfast sausage. Sage can make sausage turn bitter if it is frozen.

· soy protein concentrate/non-fat dry milk – binding agent that helps meat retain its juices. Greatly reduces smokehouse shrink. Use no more than 3.5% (typically 2-3%) of the weight of the meat. Only used in smoked and cooked sausages. Makes fresh sausage look bland and/or greasy.

· water – using a pure water will make better sausage than using bad tap water.

recipes

· smoked venison country sausage
25 lbs. 10 lbs.
20 lbs. venison 6 lbs. venison
5 lbs. fat pork butts 4 lbs. fat pork butts
5 cups ice water 2 cups ice water
3/4 cup salt 5 Tb. salt
2.5 Tb. ground white pepper 1 Tb. ground white pepper
1.25 cup corn syrup solids ½ cup corn syrup solids
3 Tb. onion powder 4 tsp. onion powder
1 Tb. ground nutmeg 1 tsp. ground nutmeg
5 tsp. Instacure No. 1 2 tsp. Instacure No. 1
2.5 cups soy protein concentrate 1 cup soy protein concentrate

(Note: 25 lb. recipe is 20% pork and 10 lb. recipe is 40% pork. Use what you like.) Grind meat through ¼” plate. Mix all ingredients well. Stuff into 32 – 35mm hog casings and link into 6” links. Allow drying for about 1 hour in smoker at 120 deg. F. with dampers open and door cracked. Then apply heavy smoke and gradually increase smokehouse temperature to 160 deg. F. with dampers ¼ open, increasing heat 10 deg. every 30 minutes. Hold until internal temp. reaches 152 deg. F. Remove from smoker and shower with cool water until internal temp. drops to 110 deg. F. Allow to bloom, if desired. Place in cooler for 24 hours before using.

· smoked venison summer sausage
25 lbs. 10 lbs.
20 lbs. venison or lean elk 8 lbs. venison or lean elk
5 lbs. regular pork trimmings 2 lbs. regular pork trimmings
3.25 cups Fermento 1.25 cups Fermento
5 tsp. Instacure No. 1 2 tsp. Instacure No. 1
2.5 Tb. ground black pepper 1 Tb. ground black pepper
3/4 cup salt 5 Tb. salt
2/3 cup powdered dextrose 4 Tb. powdered dextrose
2.5 Tb. ground coriander 1 Tb. ground coriander
2.5 tsp. ground ginger 1 tsp. ground ginger
2.5 tsp. ground mustard 1 tsp. ground mustard
2.5 tsp. garlic powder (optional) 1 tsp. garlic powder (optional)
1 cup corn syrup solids 6 Tb. corn syrup solids

Be sure all meat is properly chilled. Grind venison or elk through a 3/16” plate. Grind pork trimmings through ¾” plate or cut into ¾” cubes. Mix all ingredients well. Hold in cooler for 2 days. Regrind meat through a 3/16” plate. Stuff tightly into 2.5” to 2.75” x 24” beef middles or 3.5” x 24” fibrous casings. Avoid air pockets. Hang on smokesticks and allow to dry for 3-4 hours at room temp. Place in smokehouse preheated to 120 – 130 deg. F. and apply heavy smoke at this temperature until desired color is obtained. Raise temperature to 165 deg. F. and cook until internal temp. reaches 145 deg. F. Shower with cold water until internal temp falls to at least 120 deg. F. Hang at room temperature for 1 – 2 hours until desired bloom is obtained. Keep out of drafts. Place in 45 deg. F. cooler for at least 24 hours before using.

· jerky (venison or beef)
3 lbs. lean beef or venison
1 tsp. salt
1 tsp. Instacure No. 1
1 tsp. onion powder
1 tsp. garlic powder
1 tsp. ground black pepper
1/4 cup soy sauce
1/3 cup Worcestershire sauce

For 9 lbs. of jerky, triple the measurements above. Remove all fat, which can go rancid during drying. Cut into ¼” to ½” thick strips (about ½” to ¾” wide). Mix ingredients and pour over meat. Mix gently to distribute sauce evenly. Marinate in refrigerator for 24 hours. Turn meat once or twice during this 24-hour period. Dry in smoker at 125 deg. F. (Note – since beef and venison do not contain trichinae, there is no need to heat jerky to 138 deg. F. Bear meat, however, does contain trichinae.) Store in glass jar with metal lid with holes punched in the top. The extra circulation will allow additional moisture to escape, helping to prevent mold.

· dried sausage sticks
25 lbs. 10 lbs.
25 lbs. beef chuck 10 lbs. beef chuck
5 tsp. Instacure No. 1 2 tsp. Instacure No. 1
3.75 cups Fermento 1.5 cups Fermento
2/3 cup paprika 4 Tb. paprika
1 cup ground mustard 1/3 cup ground mustard
2.5 tsp. ground black pepper 1 tsp. ground black pepper
2.5 tsp. ground white pepper 1 tsp. ground white pepper
2.5 tsp. ground celery 1 tsp. ground celery
2.5 Tb. mace 1 Tb. mace
1 Tb. granulated garlic 1 tsp. granulated garlic
3/4 cup salt 5 Tb. salt
3/4 cup powdered dextrose 4.5 Tb. powdered dextrose

While chuck is ideal, any meat 80% lean and 20% fat will do. Chill meat to 30 – 32 deg. F. so it will not smear when ground through a 3/16” plate. Mix ingredients well for about 2 minutes and stuff into 22 – 24mm sheep casings. Make 6” – 9” links. Place in a smokehouse at 98 – 110 deg. F, and apply cold smoke for 8 – 20 hours, depending on the level of smoke flavor you prefer. Then raise smokehouse temp. until internal temp. of sausage reaches 145 deg. F. Remove from smoker and place in a dry room at 50 –55 deg. F. For more spice, add 1 tsp. cayenne for each 10 lbs. of meat. Store in a glass or plastic jar with holes on top of cover to help prevent mold. (Sticks will mold if kept in closed plastic bags.) For drier sausages, store in paper bags in refrigerator for 1 week.

· pork breakfast sausage
25 lbs. 10 lbs.
25 lbs. boneless pork butts 10 lbs. boneless pork butts
2/3 cup of salt 4 Tb. salt
2.5 Tb. ground white pepper 1 Tb. ground white pepper
5 Tb. rubbed sage 2 Tb. rubbed sage
2.5 tsp. ginger 1 tsp. ginger
2.5 Tb. nutmeg 1 Tb. nutmeg
2.5 Tb. thyme 1 Tb. thyme
5 Tb. cayenne (optional) 2 Tb. cayenne (optional)
5 cups ice water 2 cups ice water
2.5 cups soy protein concentrate (if smoked) 1 cup soy protein concentrate (if smoked)
5 tsp. Instacure No. 1 (if smoked) 2 tsp. Instacure No. 1 (if smoked)

This recipe rocks! For a cheaper sausage, substitute pork trimmings for up to half the meat. Chill meat to 32 – 35 deg. F. Grind through ¼” or 3/16” plate. Mix ingredients. Stuff into 28-30mm hog casings, 22-24mm lamb/sheep casings (use these if smoking), a cloth bag, or a 3.5”x24” fibrous casing, or make patties. Chill and dry at 28 – 32 deg. F. For brown-and-serve sausages, which are smoked, add 1 oz. Instacure No. 1 for 25 lbs., or 2 level tsp. for 10 lbs. Also add 2 cups soy protein concentrate for each 10 lbs. of meat. Stuff into cellophane casings, smoke to 152 deg. F. internally, and remove from smoker. Shower and chill until very firm. Remove cellophane casings. For smoked breakfast sausage, use sheep casings and hang at room temperature until casings are dry. Place into 120 deg. F. smokehouse with dampers wide open/door cracked. Gradually increase temp. to 160 deg. F. and apply heavy smoke. Then reduce temp. to 150 deg. F. and maintain until sausage obtains internal temp. of 145 deg. F. Remove from smoker, shower with cold water to 110 deg. F. internal temp. Let dry and bloom at room temp. until desired color is obtained.

smoked baby back ribs (pork loin ribs)
25 lbs. back ribs
2.5 gal. cold water
1 lb. salt
1.5 cups powdered dextrose
1/2 cup Instacure No. 1

Mix ingredients with water until completely dissolved. Place ribs into brine and hold in refrigerator for 2 days. Remove from refrigerator, hang on hooks, and allow to drip dry at room temp. for about 1 hour. Place in a preheated smokehouse at 120 deg. F. with dampers opened/door cracked to allow further drying. When ribs are dry to the touch, raise smokehouse temp. to 160 deg. F. Apply heavy smoke and hold for 3-4 hours until ribs are golden brown. Remove and let cool at room temp. for 1 hour before placing into cooler overnight. (My guess is that you’d then heat/finish these on a grill, similar to what you’d do with smoked sausage. This might be a good restaurant dish, as we could hold the cured/cooked ribs in the cooler until we needed them, and then we could “cook” them quickly.)

· smoked turkey
1 turkey
5 gal. water
1.5 lbs. powdered dextrose
2 lbs. salt
1 lb. Instacure #1

Maple-flavored sugar may be substituted for dextrose. This recipe is good for all poultry. To cover-pickle, dissolve all ingredients in water chilled to 38 – 40 deg. F. Wash the cavity of the turkey very well and chill to 38 -–40 deg. F. before placing into brine. Submerge completely for at least 4 days at 38 – 40 deg. F. Go 5 days for a larger turkey. Alternatively, you can spray-pump the turkey. To do this, pump the turkey with an amount of brine equal to 10 percent of its body weight. (2 lbs. of brine for a 20 lb. turkey.) After pumping, submerge turkey in ice-cold water for at least 3 hours. Remove turkey from ice-cold water and place in brine at 38 – 40 deg. F. for 48 hours. After the turkey is cured by either method, wash it very well with cold water and place it into a smoker preheated to 130 deg. F. Smoke at this temp for at least 1 hour with dampers wide open. Close dampers to ¼ open and apply smoke for 5 hours at 130 deg. F. Raise temp. to 140 deg. F. and smoke for 4 more hours. Finally, raise temp. to 165 deg. F. and smoke turkey until an internal temp of 160 deg. F. is obtained. Use a dial meat thermometer, inserting the stem close to the ball-and-socket joint of the thigh, as this is typically the last place to become thoroughly cooked. Remove from smoker and let meat drop to 100 deg F. before placing into a cooler. Smoked turkey is very perishable and should be kept refrigerated at all times. To smoke a turkey without using cure, preheat the smoker to at least 180 deg. F. and allow the turkey to dry for at least 1 hour. Raise the smokehouse temp. to 200 deg. F. and cook until the internal temp. is at least 170 deg. F. These high temperatures will eliminate the possibility of botulism. Check temps in breast and thickest part of the leg to make sure the bird is fully cooked. Note that using the cure will make the bird taste better, will reduce shrinking, and will allow you to expose the bird to smoke for a longer period of time.

weiners (frankfurters)
25 lbs. 10 lbs.
15 lbs. lean beef (chuck) 6 lbs. lean beef (chuck)
10 lbs. lean pork trimmings or pork butts 4 lbs. lean pork trimmings or pork butts
5 cups ice water 2 cups ice water
5 tsp. Instacure No. 1 2 tsp. Instacure No. 1
2/3 cup paprika 4 Tb. paprika
1 cup ground mustard 6 Tb. ground mustard
2.5 tsp. ground black pepper 1 tsp. ground black pepper
2.5 tsp. ground white pepper 1 tsp. ground white pepper
2.5 tsp. ground celery seeds 1 tsp. ground celery seeds
2.5 Tb. mace 1 Tb. mace
2.5 tsp. garlic powder 1 tsp. garlic powder
2/3 cup salt 4 Tb. salt
5 cups non-fat dry milk or 2 cups non-fat dry milk or
soy protein concentrate soy protein concentrate
2/3 cup powdered dextrose 4 Tb. powdered dextrose

You may substitute coriander for the mace. You may also substitute lips and assholes for the meat. (Gotcha!) For a lighter color, omit the paprika. Grind meat through 3/16” grinder. Mix in spices well for 2 or 3 minutes. Emulsify in a food processor. Stuff into 24 – 26mm sheep casings. Rinse with cold water if necessary (greasy). Hang and dry at room temp. for 1 hour or until dry. (For collagen or synthetic casings, hang for 30 minutes). Place into smoker and dry 30 additional minutes. Apply heavy smoke for 90 minutes, gradually raising smokehouse temp. to 165 deg. F. Cook to internal temperature of 138 deg. F. and remove to steam cooker (if available) to continue cooking at 165 deg. F. until an internal temperature of 152 -–155 deg. F. is reached. Shower with cool water for 10 minutes or until internal temp. is 100 – 110 deg. F. Allow wieners to bloom at room temperature.

· Polish sausage (kielbasa)
25 lbs. 10 lbs.
25 lbs. boneless pork butts 10 lbs. boneless pork butts
2/3 cup of salt (3/4 cup if smoking) 4 Tb. salt (5 Tb. if smoking)
2.5 Tb. sugar 1 Tb. sugar
5 large cloves fresh garlic 2 large cloves fresh garlic
2.5 Tb. coarse black pepper 1 Tb. course black pepper
2 Tb. marjoram (2.5 Tb. if smoking) 1 heaping tsp. marjoram
5 cups ice water 2 cups ice water
5 cups soy protein concentrate or 2 cups soy protein concentrate or
non-fat dry milk (if smoking) non-fat dry milk (if smoking)
5 tsp. Instacure No. 1 (if smoking) 2 tsp. Instacure No. 1 (if smoking)

grind meat through ¼” or 3/8” plate. Mix in spices. Stuff into 35 – 38mm hog casings for fresh and 38 – 42mm hog casings for smoked.. For fresh, age overnight in refrigerator. For smoked, allow to dry at room temp. for one hour or so, then place into 130 deg. F. smoker with dampers wide open/door cracked. Dry for one more hour or until dry and beginning to turn brown. Gradually increase smokehouse temp. to 160-165 deg. F. with dampers ¼ open. Apply heavy smoke and hold until internal temp. reaches 152 deg. F. Remove from smokehouse and shower with cold water until internal temp is 110 deg. F. Bloom for 30 minutes or until desired color is attained. Hold overnight at 38-40 deg. F. To make “beer sausage,” add cayenne pepper to smoked kielbasa recipe (for more info on amounts, see “ingredients” section above). Then, steam-heat the smoked sausage with beer. (This can be done with a makeshift steamer on a stove or grill.)

· chorizo
25 lbs. 10 lbs.
25 lbs. boneless pork butts 10 lbs. boneless pork butts
10.5 Tb. salt 4 Tb. salt
2.5 cups white vinegar 1 cup white vinegar
¾ cup paprika 5 Tb. paprika
1/2 cup hot ground pepper 3 Tb. hot ground pepper
8 Tb. fresh garlic 3 Tb. fresh garlic
2.5 Tb. oregano 2.5 Tb. oregano
5 tsp. coarse black pepper 2 tsp. coarse black pepper
2.5 cups ice water 1 cup ice water

grind meat through ¼” plate. Mix in spices. Stuff into 38 - 42mm hog casings. Place on smokesticks and allow to dry in cooler overnight. Chorizo takes longer to dry than most sausages. Chorizo is not smoked.

· bratwurst (for a Texan Octoberfest)
25 lbs. 10 lbs.
12.5 lbs. fresh pork shoulders 5 lbs. fresh pork shoulders
7.5 lbs. lean pork trimmings 3 lbs. lean pork trimmings
5 lbs. boneless veal 2 lbs. lean pork trimmings
5 cups ice cold whole milk 2 cups ice cold whole milk
9 whole eggs 3 whole eggs
5 cups soy protein concentrate 2 cups soy protein concentrate
2.5 Tb. ground white pepper 1 Tb. ground white pepper
2.5 Tb. mace 1 Tb. mace
1 Tb. ginger 1 tsp. ginger
2.5 Tb. nutmeg 1 Tb. nutmeg
2/3 cup salt 4 Tb. salt
5 tsp. Instacure No. 1 (if smoking) 2 tsp. Instacure No 1 (if smoking)

Grind meat through 3/8” plate. Put meat in food processor and emulsify, adding spices/cure into food processor to mix. Stuff into 32 – 35mm hog casings. For fresh, freeze until ready to use. To use, cook at 160 deg. F. until internal temperature reaches 152 deg. F. For smoked, place into preheated smokehouse at 130 deg. F. with dampers opened/door cracked for 1 hour (or until casings are dry). Close door and close dampers to ¼ open. Gradually increase smokehouse temperature to 165 deg. F. and hold until internal temp. of sausage reaches 152 deg. F. Then, whether cooking fresh sausage or smoking cured sausage, shower under cold water until internal temperature drops to 110 deg. F.