So my GF's dad wants to make a beef sausage to mimic Blacks sausage. After a failed attempt where he went against my advice of just start with the basics of salt, black pepper, crushed red pepper garlic and tweak it from there (he did that plus paprika and added vinegar, all you could taste was vinegar) he wants to listen to me. I'm happy to tweak from that simple base and go from there, he's an eccentric architect that wants it right the first time. Does anyone have a solid beef sausage recipe that I can go to him with to reduce the time tweaking and increase the time and volume we would make?

I think you nailed it already. You could probably even go salt, black pepper, and garlic + Pink salt/InstaCure. I'd guess the fat ratio is 70/30 or less. The big question is does he have the equipment/know how for cool smoking? If not, the fat is going to melt out of the emulsion and you'll end up with dry, crumbly, nasty sausage like Smitty's.

Making good sausage is more about technique than recipes.

Stupid phone

[This message has been edited by Gruene town FIDO (edited 7/29/2013 6:34p).]

The mixes we've looked at were 80/20 to 85/15 beef/pork and he's stuck on that ratio for whatever reason. I told him that the venison sausage we make is 60/40 and he thinks thats too high. He's willing to put quality meat into it. He also has a computerized smoker like you would find in restaurants. The smoker is gtg, just need the right mix.

Get lean beef, and go about 60/40, very fatty pork/beef. Pork shoulder isn't fatty enough, so you may want to go 60/35/5, pork/beef/pork fat. Keep everything ice cold. In fact, some ice crystals in the meat is fine. Your salt needs to be about 1/60, salt/meat mix. Be sure to cook a small piece and taste it before you stuff it.

[This message has been edited by HTownAg98 (edited 7/29/2013 7:12p).]

We're adding ice and keeping everything in the freezer between grinds. First grind with a 10mm plate and then rerunning through the same plate because his thunderbird grinder doesn't have a pass through plate for the stuffer attachment. He has talked about printing a pass through on his 3D printer but I'm not sure if it'll be too coarse without the second grind.

Since when did architects get it right the first time?

We used top sirloin butt for our beef and he used fat back for the pork. I think the fat back was a miss in our first attempt as well. I was leaning towards using the pork carnitas they sell at HEB, I'm pretty sure those are the fatty cuts (jowl maybe?)they trim off pork butts. And then just adding bacon end cuts to juice up the fat if needed. Good idea or stupid shortcut?

Oopa, I just re-read my post and when I said 70/30 or less I didn't mean less fat. I ment less beef. You can specify guanciale at the butcher if you want to try pork jowl. Uncured pork belly might be worth a try, buy, bacon is going to change the flavor. I think the HEB is just boston butt run through a cuber to meet consumer demand. Not enough fat to be the jowl.

I stopped reading at vingagar.

I nearly walked out of the kitchen when he poured that ish over the first grind.

What was he thinking with the vinegar? Also, are you sure it's a 10mm that you're running the meat through? That seems pretty coarse. You may want to get a plate with a 3/16" die for the second grind. It will greatly improve the texture.

It's a 10mm plate, he went to BBQ school in Kansas City (That's another story) and was told to keep the grind coarse. I told him we run our second grind through a 3/16 plate and he was afraid that would be too fine.

And no clue where he got the vinegar recipe other than he's just been googling the eff out of random sausage recipes.

I am totally doing something like this soon. I bought the wife a kitchenaid and the first thing that came to mind was my own sausage.

and cookies.

You're going to put your sausage in her new kitchenaide?!?

We do a hot link with brisket/venison/bacon ends.
Use salt pepper garlic cayenne pepper. There might be something else but I cannot remember off the top of my head. We do not have a written recipe. But it is always good and always hot coming off the pit. It is not smoked until it is put on the BBQ pit.

They way to keep sausage from drying out during smoking is to add soy protein or food grade powdered milk when mixing the sausage. These two items act as a binding agent for the fat, keeping it from dripping out of the links during smoking. You will lose a little moisture, but nothing like you would not using it.

Every recipe you could ever want for sausage...... All in easily printable PDF form.

http://lpoli.50webs.com/Sausage%20recipes.htm

I agree with doc. Our normal sized links in casings don't get any powdered milk but our snack sticks which don't go in casings do.

Salt, black pepper, red pepper flakes, cayenne, garlic powder, onion powder, and crushed garlic. Along with 60-40 lean deer to pork trimmings.

quote:

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Since when did architects get it right the first time?

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Get this man a drink,

[This message has been edited by big ben (edited 7/29/2013 11:05p).]

keep your meat more coarse than fine , blacks sausage and kolaches from west w fine ground sausage take away from it all. Run it thru the grinder twice but always the coarse cutter so all is good an I have made lots of sausage an have many good complements.

The best book I've found for all types of sausage recipes and meat curing is

"Great Sausage Recipes and Meat Curing" by Rytek Kutas.

EagleFord I think you are on the right track when you are focusing on the fat supply. The percentage of beef to pork does not mean anything if the amount of fat is not defined.

You are thinking of using a fatter beef cut and leaner pork cut. That's what I would do. I know people who make their deer sausage with fairly lean pork and get beef fat from the butcher to make the mix the right amount. At least that type of fat is a little healthier than pork fat.

It's the other way around. Pork fat is much healthier than beef fat. Pork fat has less saturated fat in it. Pork fat tastes better anyways.

I agree, pork fat has a better taste in sausage than beef fat.