Loving my new Christmas present!!

[LilyD]

Concerning making hot dogs, I was reading on another forum site, this one about making sausage, that you can do them this way:
Make the hot dog "sausage" by running it through the grinder at least twice. You can use them just like that but if you really want the texture of store hot dogs you can put the mix in a food processor and process till it's a smooth paste, then put into the casings.
As for the casings, I dont' have a stuffer and probably wont' get one. My goal is to save money, and if I buy the attachment and the casings, I won't be saving much if any at all. I look for pork roasts and shoulder and such on sale as well as beef. If I can get either more cheaply then ground beef then I snap up a few and grind my own, usually turning it into sausage but I do save out some plain ground beef for recipes.
I just have bulk sausage and if I really want a link sausage look (like when I make them into corn dogs lol - only they're sausage dogs) I roll the meat into sausage shapes then bake it at around 375 for 20-30 minutes in my convection oven. Ends up with a dry outside sort of like a sausage casing but more tender.
Oh and I found using something like Tender Quick makes it taste a lot like 'real' sausage instead of a ground meat/seasoning thing. I never have used the mixes. Again, because I'm saving money and I already have all the spices except I did spring about $4 for enough Tender Quick to last me a long time. And I don't have to smoke it unless I want to. Given that I hate firing up the smoker, I doubt I ever will.
ETA: I did make chicken sausage once, a sort of breakfast sausage, using one of my birds and boy was that good!

About the hot dogs:

I read the same thing. They said either grind the meat three or more times using the smallest finest grinder plate or use your food processor to emulsify it. I was worried about the cost too but looking at the cost of store hot dogs that are all beef in natural casings I would pay about 10$ for 3 pounds. My son and husband love hot dogs and bug me to buy them but I really don't want to buy meat from the stores just because of the risk of food poisoning.

The casings I bought come by the case that is enough to do 100 pounds of hot dogs for around 30 dollars once you figure in shipping. That would be around 330 dollars if I bought the same amount of hot dogs. so I end up saving in the long run.

I have never heard of Tender Quick but I will have to search it online. I have a chicken pulled out to make into sausage this week that is resting in the fridge I will let you know how it goes. They suggest doing light and dark meat and adding some of the skin as well to it rather than fat. Can't wait to try it.

 

[galanie]

Yep, I put the skin in my chicken sausage even though it sounded like it wouldn't be very good, but it was good. You couldn't tell it had skin in it lol.

 

[Smiles-N-Sunshine]

Oh, good! I'm so glad I found this thread, as I'm looking to buy a KitchenAid mixer w/attachments and make sausages, too. I think you do save money in the long run, if you look at the cost of "boutique" sausages, not the industrially-produced ones with sodium nitrite and other crap in them.

Hey Lily and other KitchenAid owners, what models are you using and how old are they? I ask because there are a LOT of choices on ebay right now. I'm very pleased with the reconditioned KitchenAid food processer I bought off ebay a few years back, and will probably do likewise again. From the KitchenAid website, it looks like the attachments fit several models, so it's just a matter of getting the right size, color, and capacity.

Thanks!

Bryan

 

[LilyD]

Hey Lily and other KitchenAid owners, what models are you using and how old are they? I ask because there are a LOT of choices on ebay right now. I'm very pleased with the reconditioned KitchenAid food processer I bought off ebay a few years back, and will probably do likewise again. From the KitchenAid website, it looks like the attachments fit several models, so it's just a matter of getting the right size, color, and capacity.

Thanks!

Bryan

The one that I got was the Kitchen-Aid Professional with the 6 Quart bowl. I was totally not expecting it but my husband has been watching me try to use equipment not made to do the heavy use that I was using it for and he decided I needed one and surprised me with it for Christmas. I was told that right before Christmas the 5 quart ones went on sale for 176$. The two attachments I just bought I found new but at a decent price direct through the Kitchen-aid store. I figure if I can use it every day for a year then it will have paid for itself already not to mention the money I am saving by putting up my own veggies, meat and fruits. Definitely worth it.

 

[Smiles-N-Sunshine]

Right, I tend to buy things either disposable or built to last. I don't have a problem plunking down some cash for something that is truly better. But GETTING said cash can be a problem

 

[wyoDreamer]

I have the 7 quart model and it is 4 years old. I use it all the time. I had the smaller one, and my DH upgraded me when we moved and I gave it to my sister.
Last summer we bought a grain mill and I now mill the wheat and make bread. Alot. The stand mixer does a great job of kneading the dough for me. I also love it for pizza dough - 8 minutes and perfectly kneaded pizza dough.

I have the attachments for slicing, shredding and grinding.
I love homemade potato chips with the thin slicer - but it makes a mess of the potato so there is waste.
I use the shredder attachment for cheese all the time - saves so much time for shredding and you don't get that powdery addative that you get with shredded cheese from the store. IMHO, store bought shreddded cheese just doesn't melt right because of the anti-clumping stuff they put in it.

The grinder came with two plates and two different size sausage stuffers. I have not used the sausage stuffers yet, but I grind meat all the time. The plate with the bigger holes makes great chili and meatloaf. I also use that one when I make bulk italian sausage for pizza, we like the bigger chunks of meat on pizza for some reason. Whenever we butcher our venison, I leave the burger meat in chunks, vacumm seal it in 1 pound packages and freeze. When I want to use it, I let it defrost until I can break the chunks apart but it still has ice crystals in it, and then grind it. It tastes fresher to me that way.

Honestly, I tried the pasta extruder once and gave up in frustration. In order for it to work, you need to have the pasta dough pretty loose, and then it doesn't stick together enough to form good long pasta strands. My dough was too firm and the kitchen-aid couldn't force it through the extruder - and what did make it through was sorta precooked because it got too hot trying to squeeze the pasta go through the hole. I thought I was going to burn up the mixer! I would like to get the pasta roller attachment though and try that one out.

If you find a good chicken sausage recipe post it for the rest of us to try. I will have to try grinding the chicken for chicken tacos - I pet that would be good. I buy a chicken taco seasoning mix from my favorite spice store, but I never thought to grind it, I have been slicing it thin like a fajita.

 

[LilyD]

The grinder came with two plates and two different size sausage stuffers. I have not used the sausage stuffers yet, but I grind meat all the time. The plate with the bigger holes makes great chili and meatloaf. I also use that one when I make bulk italian sausage for pizza, we like the bigger chunks of meat on pizza for some reason. Whenever we butcher our venison, I leave the burger meat in chunks, vacumm seal it in 1 pound packages and freeze. When I want to use it, I let it defrost until I can break the chunks apart but it still has ice crystals in it, and then grind it. It tastes fresher to me that way.

Honestly, I tried the pasta extruder once and gave up in frustration. In order for it to work, you need to have the pasta dough pretty loose, and then it doesn't stick together enough to form good long pasta strands. My dough was too firm and the kitchen-aid couldn't force it through the extruder - and what did make it through was sorta precooked because it got too hot trying to squeeze the pasta go through the hole. I thought I was going to burn up the mixer! I would like to get the pasta roller attachment though and try that one out.

If you find a good chicken sausage recipe post it for the rest of us to try. I will have to try grinding the chicken for chicken tacos - I pet that would be good. I buy a chicken taco seasoning mix from my favorite spice store, but I never thought to grind it, I have been slicing it thin like a fajita.

I tried my pasta shooter last night but didn't get the dough quite right. From reading more once I flopped lol it says that you have to really play with the dough to make sure it's stiff enough and leathery enough but not so dry it won't stay together. Mine was too sticky so I will need to work on it a bit.

I have used my meat grinder but just got my sausage stuffer today going to try chicken sausage first but trying to decide if I should cook the chicken first or put it uncooked in the casings.

These are the recipes that I have found and like so far. I am going to try the country style chicken sausage first I think.
http://www.lets-make-sausage.com/chicken-sausage-recipes.html

This is another website that I found but I haven't really had a chance to take a look at the recipes yet.

http://thespicysausage.com/sausagemakingrecipes.htm

I will take pictures after I make my sausage and let you know how it turns out. Can't wait for my next day off hehe.

 

[wyoDreamer]

You know, a kitchen-aid mixer is one of those gifts that when given to the wife, actually is a gift to himself because he knows he will get lots of yummy stuff out of it.

 

[Smiles-N-Sunshine]

Yes! It's an investment, not an expense!

 

[beaglady]

We make a lot of sausage out of turkey thighs, and usually just start with recipes that call for pork. When we try a new recipe, we start by cooking a tiny bit of the mix to check for seasonings, then add more of something or other to spice it up to our tastes.

We usually freeze it as loose sausage, since we have had bad luck with hog casings being rubbery.

Diane W