Making Lemonade [Selective Culling Project - very long term]

[U_Stormcrow]

We did make that sausage I was threatening to do - 6# of chicken, about 2# of the fatty side of a pork butt. Turned 4# into sausage will legg's "snack stick" seasoning. A bit peppery (black), some mustard notes like a good hot dog, lots of garlic. Worked really well. Used another pound (same seasoning) to make "burgers", that was dinner. Reamaining two pounds are ground and will be seasoned differently - my wife wants to try some things.

Next time, its my turn to experiment with sausage recipes. I found an andouille recipe I want to try.

 

[Fallenone05]

We did make that sausage I was threatening to do - 6# of chicken, about 2# of the fatty side of a pork butt. Turned 4# into sausage will legg's "snack stick" seasoning. A bit peppery (black), some mustard notes like a good hot dog, lots of garlic. Worked really well. Used another pound (same seasoning) to make "burgers", that was dinner. Reamaining two pounds are ground and will be seasoned differently - my wife wants to try some things.

Next time, its my turn to experiment with sausage recipes. I found an andouille recipe I want to try.

What's your general recipe for sausage? Any favorite grinder or anything?

I hatch eggs sometimes and get a lot of extra boys, but I don't have much freezer space for whole birds. Sausage sounds like a nice way to go about it.

Forgot to ask about deboning and what all of the innards, if any, you use.

 

[U_Stormcrow]

What's your general recipe for sausage? Any favorite grinder or anything?

I hatch eggs sometimes and get a lot of extra boys, but I don't have much freezer space for whole birds. Sausage sounds like a nice way to go about it.

I run it thru the grinder (Kitchen Aide, Sausage making attachment), meat of two chickens, plus 1/3 as much (meat and fat) from the fattier side of a pig ("butt", shoulder roast, whatever). Legg's Snack Stick Seasoning, 2 tsp per pound. Mix gently to combine. Remove the die, leave the cutter in place, put on the sausage nozzel, slip the casing over it, and start stuffing. Helps if everything is VERY cold.

The snack stick seasoning is relatively cheap, comes with prague powder #2 for curing/preservative, and will season 25# worth of meat. It also makes excellent seasoned patties for "chicken burgers" if you don't feel like stuffing it in a casing.

you CAN cube up all the meat, chill well, add the seasoning, then grind and stuff as a single step to save time, but because we didn't want to make 8# of "hot dogs", we did it in a different order so I could reserve some to season seperately.

I find that any recipe that works well for pork works well using chicken, while beef recipes are better if you use old duck. What you can't do is up the fat content to desired levels with poultry fat - its not hard at room temp like pork fat or beef fat, the final texture is "unappealing" - and the fat will often render out in part while smoking, so you can still end up with dry-ish sausage.

and yes, what we didn't eat as burgers tonight is in the chill chest, setting up. Ill smoke it tomorrow, then portion and repackage.

/edit and while it contains no recipes, this is a good reference (https://www.meatsandsausages.com/sausage-recipes/secrets)

 

[Solanacae]

I have never tried making chicken sausages, but have found Hank Shaw’s recipes for venison to be fantastic. I tried making sausages for the first time with some elk meat and pork fat. Definitely a learning curve! I’m excited to make more in the future.

 

[U_Stormcrow]

I have never tried making chicken sausages, but have found Hank Shaw’s recipes for venison to be fantastic. I tried making sausages for the first time with some elk meat and pork fat. Definitely a learning curve! I’m excited to make more in the future.

Yeah it is a learning curve. You know what the first thing I learned making sausage was???

Put your coffee cups down.

When I was in Chicago for work (an accident I don't intend to repeat - my layover flight was cancelled in a terrible storm) I had to find something to eat, on the company dime. Ended up at Harry's Italian. Walked in, sports stuff everywhere - the front was a sports bar. Harry Carey! DUUH.... anyhow, the back of the place was a nice Italian restaurant, if a bit noisy from front of house. I ordered the Linguica. A somehow sweet but definitely (black) peppery sausage that came to the boot by way of Spain or Portugal, i think. It paired excellenty with a simply alfredo.

So when I got home, I just HAD to try it.

Found a well regarded recipe on line, followed it exactly. Good pork, coarse grind, lots of garlic, fresh paprika (by the handfulls - it looks too much), parsley, oregano, marjoram, fresh cracked black pepper. Got it all stuffed, chilled to set, smoked, then heated the first sausage for service.
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Spoiler

Like eating a pepper shaker, only more pungent.

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Could't taste the garlic or anything else - even the marjoram undertone was completely buried. Apparently, all these recipes assume people will use the pre-ground "stuff" instead of fresh cracked peppercorns. I use nothing but fresh cracked.

So now, where I see black pepper called for, I use between 1/3 and 1/4th the amount in the recipe. Live and learn.


Much later, I learned that chicken fat didn't work as a binder.

 

[U_Stormcrow]

Oh, the other question, missed it on first read. A deboning knife (I prefer a stiffer straighter blade deboning knife, others like a more curved and flexible) from Victorinox, their "Fibrox" line. Less attractive, much easier to clean, same actual blade, cheaper. I have both their main boning knifes, use the curved, more flexible one for fish. And I can debone my birds with a chef's knife, often do - its good for scraping the meat down the leg and thigh bones, a boning knife isn't really intended to be used in that way. Your technique with a chef's knife has to change around the oyster and the wishbone - its not well suited to those areas.

Don't try a santuko. I have one, I've done it, the lack of a pronounced point and wide tip are handicaps.

We've used both heart and gizzard in sausage, when we have an excess. Liver has such a distinct flavor, its best left out of most recipes. Keep your wings and neck for stock making - not worth the effort to harvest the small amount of meat on those.

I would add the liver if I was making a "grain sausage" - something with a bunch of oats or the like adding bulk, such as goetta or scrapple. I've not kept the blood of the chicken, though I suppose if I were ever bulk processing a handful of birds, it would be worth a try. Once.

Hope that helps!

 

[JacinLarkwell]

I keep bringing up the sausage idea with our males that are over the recommended 4 month mark, but for whatever reason , my mother is willing to die on that hill and say absolutely not.

 

[U_Stormcrow]

I keep bringing up the sausage idea with our males that are over the recommended 4 month mark, but for whatever reason , my mother is willing to die on that hill and say absolutely not.

She has no idea what she's missing. Granted, its a lot of work, only worthwhile if you are doing pounds of meat at once (the stuffing is the time consuming part - if you are just making breakfast sausage, it goes much faster) and most sausages need one day to several (plus possible smoking) before service, so its a make ahead sort of thing - but you would never know you used "old" chicken (actually, I think the flavor is better), and your seasoning can take it in dozens of different directions. What did we decide the chickens were from this batch? 26 weeks and 30? 34? I've done it with birds over a year, and been quite pleased.

 

[JacinLarkwell]

She has no idea what she's missing. Granted, its a lot of work, only worthwhile if you are doing pounds of meat at once (the stuffing is the time consuming part - if you are just making breakfast sausage, it goes much faster) and most sausages need one day to several (plus possible smoking) before service, so its a make ahead sort of thing - but you would never know you used "old" chicken (actually, I think the flavor is better), and your seasoning can take it in dozens of different directions. What did we decide the chickens were from this batch? 26 weeks and 30? 34? I've done it with birds over a year, and been quite pleased.

I feel like someone tricked or lied to her in the past and shes just not willing to move past ior r honestly. Maybe I'll try it once i have my own set up up and going

 

[U_Stormcrow]

I feel like someone tricked or lied to her in the past and shes just not willing to move past ior r honestly. Maybe I'll try it once i have my own set up up and going

That's love. Make some for yourself, make sure its good, then bring her some.

I'm doing the same for the neighbors - told them I'd give them some "if its any good".