Homemade sausage is a delicious and economical way to use all the bits of pork meat. After butchering our pig it is time to make pork sausage. As my husband was cutting pork steaks and other cuts of pork I was putting aside the odds and ends of pork meat to use in the pork sausage. I cut these bits of pork meat and fat into about 1 inch cubes.
Next comes the fun part. I create different flavors of sausage by combining spices and herbs. I add salt to my pork sausages, but if you are on a low salt diet you can simply reduce the amount of salt you use or leave it out altogether. The best part of making my own sausage is the ability to control the ingredients that go into my sausage. Below is a basic breakfast sausage blend for 12 pounds of sausage.
Sausage Ingredients
12 pounds of combined pork meat and pork fat (I do a 75% meat and 25% fat blend. You can control your own ratio but, sausage has to be mixed with sufficient amount of fat to cook properly.)
4 tablespoons of kosher salt
6 teaspoons of dried sage
3 ½ teaspoons of freshly ground black pepper
3 ½ teaspoons of brown sugar
2 teaspoons of dried thyme
1 teaspoon of dried marjoram
¾ teaspoon of crushed red pepper
½ teaspoon of ground cloves
Sausage Seasonings
Sausage Directions
I mix the seasonings in a bowl and then I sprinkle the seasonings over the pork meat and pork fat a bit at a time and make sure to blend in well with my hands to cover all pieces of meat and fat. Next I cover the container with plastic wrapping and label.
Seasoned Pork Meat
I then place my seasoned meat into the refrigerator overnight so that the spices and herbs have time to permeate the meat. Next day, I freeze the sausage for a couple of hours before grinding the meat.
Sausage Making Workstation
I use an electric meat grinder to grind up the pork to make sausage. I fry up a small sausage patty to taste to see if I need to add any more seasonings. Once that I am content with the taste I grind up all of the sausage.
Make a Sausage Test Patty Before Grinding up the Whole Batch
I place a plastic meat bag at the end of the sausage funnel. I then feed small amounts of meat through the electric meat grinder. I pack the bag firmly. After packing each meat bag I then twist the top and tie off with meat bag tape.
Filling the Sausage Meat Bags
Securely Tie Off the Meat Bags
 I pack the sausage in one pound packages, label and date the packages, and place them in the freezer.
Sausage Ready for the Freezer
This year I made 24 pounds of breakfast sausage, 12 pounds of bratwurst, 9 pounds of southwestern sausage, and 5 ½ pounds of my secret recipe sausage. Making my own sausage is a very rewarding experience. It is both economical and delicious!
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