Making Sausage with our Spice Packs

Food safety:

Botulism is the most deadly form of food poisoning. It can occur in food products before the first foul odor or other form of food spoilage occurs. It is a food poisoning caused by the bacterium Clostridium Botulinum. These bacteria are easily destroyed by boiling, but their toxin producing spores are not so easily destroyed by boiling. They thrive in a low acid, moist environment that is lacking of oxygen. When cooking sausage between the temperatures of 40 to 140 degrees, we have that problem. Our spice mixtures for the cooked type sausage comes with a cure pack containing 6.25% Sodium Nitrite in a salt base. This pack also contains a red food coloring that may vary some in color. This cure will not only make your sausage safer, it will improve the color and increase the shelf life of your hard earned sausage. We recommend this be used, however the choice is yours. To reduce the risk of bacteria contamination and food borne illness, make sure your equipment and work area is clean. Sanitize surfaces with a solution of 1 tablespoon chlorine bleach per 1 gallon of water. Wash your hands for at least 20 seconds with soap and water before beginning work and again after completing any tasks that could contaminate your hands. Keep meat as cold as possible (40 °F or lower) during processing.

Selecting Ingredients:

Your sausage can only be as good as the ingredients it contains. Meat should be fresh, high quality, have the proper lean-to-fat ratio. The meat should be clean and not contaminated with bacteria or other microorganisms. In other words, meat used in sausage production should be as safe as any meat you would prepare in your kitchen. Sausage is defined by the spices used with ground meat. Our spice and seasoning mixtures are combined in proper amounts to complement each other and create a satisfying product. We offer 6 different mixes for fresh sausage and 8 different mixes for cooked sausage.

Grinding and Mixing:

For safety, as mentioned before, keep the temperature of the meat as cold as possible during the grinding and mixing process. If you prefer, buy ground meat, add the spice mixture and mix thoroughly by hand. If you have your own grinder, the usual procedure is to grind the various meats coarsely and then add the rest of the ingredients, mix thoroughly and grind again to the desired consistency. To better facilitate mixing, combine spices and curing ingredients (if used) with water before adding.

Stuffing:

Stuffing is not necessary to for fresh sausage meat. It can be left in bulk form or made into patties. Most sausage, however, is made by placing the ground ingredients in some type of forming device to give them shape and hold them together for thermal processing. The casing materials may be natural or manufactured. Natural casings are the gastrointestinal tracts of cattle, sheep and hogs. Generally, hog casings are the most suitable for home use and work quite well for Polish and breakfast-type sausages. They are digestible and are very permeable to moisture and smoke. Casings preserved in salt must be soaked in lukewarm water for at least 30 minutes before use.

Fresh Sausage:

Making sausage using our custom spice mixtures:
Combine spice mixture with 10 lbs ground pork.
Add one cup water, mix thoroughly.
Stuff into casings and link by twisting between fingers and thumbs.
Cook by parboiling, frying or grilling.
Fresh sausage is perishable and has a shelf life of only 4 to 5 days at refrigerator temperature. If sausage is to be kept longer than 4 to 5 days, keep frozen until ready for use.

Cooked Sausage:

Making sausage using our custom spice mixtures:
Combine spice mixture and curing compound (sodium Nitrite) with 6 lbs ground venison or beef and 6 lbs ground pork, add 2 cups water MIX THOROUGHLY. Stuff into casings, chill overnight.
Hang from oven rack placed on top shelf. Place tray on bottom shelf of oven to catch drippings. Cook at 200 degrees for 30 minutes. Raise oven temperature to 250 degrees and cook until internal temperature is 155 degrees. Be sure and take temperature from exact center of sausages. Dip into clean cold water until internal temperature is 100 degrees. Chill and keep refrigerated until use.

Some basics to remember:


1. Use fresh as possible meats.
2. Sausage needs fat for juiciness and flavor.
    (USDA recommends 40% for Pork sausage.)
3. Use Fresh spice mixtures.
4. Sanitary conditions for meat, work area and equipment.
5. Keep meat as cool as possible during the process.
6. Store finished sausage properly.