Sausage is ground meat, fat, salt and seasoning, kept cold and stuffed into casings. Mississippi State University Extension's home guide is a good place to start.
Meat and fat
Use fresh, boneless trimmings kept at 40°F or below. Aim for about two parts lean to one part fat; for 16 pounds, that's about 10.7 lb lean and 5.3 lb fat. Weigh everything.
Steps
- Chill meat and fat to about 32°F, and chill the grinder.
- Grind through a ½- to ¾-inch plate.
- Mix in salt and seasoning (and cure, if the recipe calls for it) until the mixture gets slightly tacky.
- Regrind through a 3/16-inch plate.
- Fry a small patty to taste, and adjust seasoning.
- Stuff into casings. See how to stuff sausage.
A starting seasoning
Mississippi State's basic recipe for 16 pounds of meat uses 10 tablespoons salt, 10 tablespoons black pepper, 2 tablespoons red pepper, 4 tablespoons sage and 4 tablespoons sugar. Weighing seasonings makes batches repeatable; see the best scales for sausage making.
Storage
Fresh sausage keeps no more than three days in the fridge, or two to four months frozen at 0°F, per Mississippi State. Cook all sausage to 160°F.
Smoked sausage needs cure
Sausage smoked at low temperatures needs curing salt. See how to use curing salt.
