How to make sausage

Smoked paprika, from Spain, comes in three varieties: sweet, bittersweet and hot. We use the sweet (dulce) variety.

Mix all the ingredients together and refrigerate for 24 hours. Stuff into medium hog casings.

• Ground pork: 1 lb. • Coarse salt: 1/2 tablespoon • Garlic, crushed or finely chopped: 1.5 cloves • Ground nutmeg: 0.4 teaspoon • Brown sugar: 0.8 tablespoon • Smoked paprika : 0.8 tablespoon • Aleppo pepper: 0.8 tablespoon

PICKLED PSEUDO RED KRAUT

This mighty fine alternative to standard kraut resulted from not having enough red cabbage to make pickled red cabbage. It is sort of a combination of sauer kraut and pickled beets that looks like it was made with red cabbage and goes like this.......

Simmer 1/4 lb fresh beets till soft enough to slip off the skins. Save the juice for later and cut, dice or leave whole as preferred.

Shred 2 lbs cabbage and add 4 tsp salt. Add the beets and let sit overnight to start fermentation and wilt.

Make a brine of:

1 cup vinegar
1 cup sugar
1/2 cup beet juice
Your choice of other spices... cloves, pickling etc.

Stir cabbage and beets and ladle into jars with perforated ladle, leaving most of the brine behind. Top off jars with the sweet brine, screw on lids and process at 10 lb for 10 min.

Great change from kraut and goes well with the same meats.

Sweet Italian Sausage Recipe

This recipe does not require you to stuff the meat into sausage casings. You can do so if you wish, but with so many recipes calling for loose Italian sausage, it's often not worth the effort.

2lb ground pork

1Tbls salt

1 Tbls ground fennel seed. Start with whole fennel seeds, and use your spice grinder attachment on your blender to grind them up, or do it manually in a mortar and pestle.

11/2 Tbls sweet paprika

1Tbls finely minced fresh garlic

1Tbls sugar

1tsp black pepper

3 Tbls red wine vinegar

Mix all the ingredients together...and you have Italian sausage! You can use this mix right away, but it will get better after about 12 hours in the fridge.

Use this Italian sausage in your favorite spaghetti sauce, or instead of ground beef in lasagna. I eat it all the time simply sautéed up with some sweet red peppers, onion and fresh tomatoes...with a good crusty loaf I'm truly in heaven.

Multiply the recipe as needed, and if you make more than you need, it will freeze very well.

This can be stuffed inside sausage casings and grilled as well. Sausage casings can be found at most Italian grocery stores. Get a little funnel and shove the meat into the tubes; but don't push too hard, as it can be frustrating to rupture the casings as you get close to a finished sausage. When your sausage is the length that you want, twist off the ends and tie them in knots.

Breakfast Sausage - Makes 5 lbs.

5 lbs. ground pork
2 tbsp. table salt
1 1/2 tbsp. sage
1 1/2 tsp. thyme
1/2 tsp. ginger
3/4 tsp. nutmeg
1/2 tsp. white pepper
1/4 tsp. cayenne pepper
1/2 cup water

1.	Combine the ground meat with all ingredients, mix/knead well. Taste test by cooking a small thin patty. Taste test by frying a small thin patty. Add more spices if needed at this time and remix. Taste test again if you feel it's necessary.
2.	For bulk sausage simply form sausage patties or stuff into poly meat bags. Refrigerate fresh sausage up to a week or freeze until needed.
3.	For breakfast sausage links load the freshly mixed meat into your Dakotah Sausage Stuffer and attach the 3/8" sausage tube or attach the new jerky adaptor headcover with the snack stick insert in place.
4.	If you are using casings slide a 22-24MM strand of sheep casing or a 22-26 MM collagen sausage casing onto the sausage tube.
5.	Do not refrigerate the breakfast sausage mixture before you stuff it into the sausage casing as the meat will "set up" and put undo stress on your sausage stuffer. Stuff the seasoned meat into the sausage casing. The casing should be full but not full enough to burst when you begin to form links. The more you operate the sausage stuffer the easier it becomes to determine the proper fullness. With practice you will be stuffing sausage casings like a pro. The rule of thumb "practice makes perfect" applies here.
6.	To form breakfast sausage links press your forefinger and thumb together to make a slight indent in the casing about every six inches. Twist 3 or 4 turns, repeat the process for the next link, only twist 3 or 4 turns in the opposite direction. Refrigerate the breakfast sausage links up to a week or freeze up to 6 months.
7.	Do not refrigerate the Italian sausage mixture before it goes through the extruding process. If you are using the jerky maker adaptor with the skinless sausage insert simply extrude the breakfast sausage links according to the Dakotah instructions.
8.	Bake, fry, grill or broil the breakfast sausage links in usual manner until they are fully cooked.

Italian Sausage - Makes 5 lbs.

5 lbs. ground meat pork (80% lean to 20% fat)
2 tbsp. table salt
1 tbsp. fennel seed, cracked
1/2 tbsp. coriander
1 1/2 tbsp. paprika
3/4 tsp. red chili pepper, flakes
1/2 cup sugar
1/2 cup water

1.	Combine the ground meat with all ingredients, mix/knead well. Taste test by cooking a small thin patty. Taste test by frying a small thin patty. Add more spices if needed at this time and remix. Taste test again if you feel it's necessary.
2.	For bulk sausage simply form sausage patties or stuff into poly meat bags. Refrigerate up to a week or freeze until needed.
3.	For Italian sausage links load the freshly mixed meat into your Dakotah Sausage Stuffer and attach the 3/4" sausage tube or attach the new Jerky Adaptor headcover with the skinless sausage sausage insert in place.
4.	If you are using casings slide a 33MM to 36MM hog casing or a 32MM collagen sausage casing onto the sausage tube.
5.	Do not refrigerate the Italian sausage mixture before you stuff it into the sausage casing as the meat will "set up" and put undo stress on your sausage stuffer. Stuff the seasoned meat into the sausage casing. The casing should be full but not full enough to burst when you begin to form links. The more you operate the sausage stuffer the easier it becomes to determine the proper fullness. With practice you will be stuffing sausage casings like a pro. The rule of thumb "practice makes perfect" applies here.
6.	To form Italian sausage links press your forefinger and thumb together to make a slight indent in the casing about every six inches. Twist 3 or 4 turns, repeat the process for the next link, only twist 3 or 4 turns in the opposite direction. Refrigerate the Italian sausage links up to a week or freeze up to 6 months.
7.	Do not refrigerate the Italian sausage mixture before it goes through the extruding process. If you are using the jerky maker adaptor with the skinless sausage insert simply extrude the Italian sausage links according to the Dakotah instructions.
8.	Bake, fry, grill or broil the Italian sausage links in usual manner until they are fully cooked.

Bratwurst - Makes 5 lbs.

5 lbs. ground meat (80% lean to 20% fat)
2 tbsp. table salt
1 tsp. mace
1/2 tsp. nutmeg
1/2 tsp. white pepper
1 tsp. allspice
1 cup non-fat-dry milk
1/2 cup water

1.	Combine the ground meat with all ingredients, mix/knead well. Taste test by cooking a small thin patty. Taste test by frying a small thin patty. Add more spices if needed at this time and remix. Taste test again if you feel it's necessary.
2.	For bulk sausage simply form patties or stuff into poly meat bags. Refrigerate up to a week or freeze until needed.
3.	For bratwurst links load the freshly mixed meat into your Dakotah Sausage Stuffer and attach the 3/4" sausage tube or attach the new Jerky Adaptor headcover with the skinless sausage sausage insert in place.
4.	If you are using casings slide a 33MM to 36MM hog casing or a 32MM collagen sausage casing onto the sausage tube.
5.	Do not refrigerate the bratwurst mixture before you stuff it into the sausage casing as the meat will "set up" and put undo stress on your sausage stuffer. Stuff the seasoned ground meat into the sausage casing. The casing should be full but not full enough to burst when you begin to form links. The more you operate the sausage stuffer the easier it becomes to determine the proper fullness. With practice you will be stuffing sausage casings like a pro. The rule of thumb "practice makes perfect" applies here.
6.	To form bratwurst links press your forefinger and thumb together to make a slight indent in the casing about every six inches. Twist 3 or 4 turns, repeat the process for the next link, only twist 3 or 4 turns in the opposite direction. Refrigerate the bratwurst links up to a week or freeze up to 6 months.
7.	Do not refrigerate the bratwurst mixture before it goes through the extruding process. If you are using the jerky maker adaptor with the skinless sausage insert simply extrude the bratwurst links according to the Dakotah instructions.
8.	Bake, fry, grill or broil the bratwurst links in usual manner until they are they are fully cooked.

Polish Sausage (Fresh) - Makes 5 lbs.

5 lbs. ground meat (80% lean to 20% fat)
2 tbsp. table salt
1 tablespoon sugar
3/4 tablespoon coarse ground black pepper
3/4 tablespoon garlic powder
1/2 tablespoon onion powder
1 tablespoon ground mustard
3/4 teaspoon marjoram
1/2 cup non-fat-dry milk
2 cups cold water, more if needed to make the mixture pliable

1.	Combine the ground meat with all ingredients, mix/knead well. Taste test by cooking a small thin patty. Taste test by frying a small thin patty. Add more spices if needed at this time and remix. Taste test again if you feel it's necessary.
2.	For bulk sausage simply form patties or stuff into poly meat bags. Refrigerate up to a week or freeze until needed.
3.	For Polish sausage links load the freshly mixed meat into your Dakotah Sausage Stuffer and attach the 3/4" sausage tube or attach the new Jerky Adaptor headcover with the skinless sausage sausage insert in place.
4.	If you are using casings slide a 33MM to 36MM hog casing or a 32MM collagen sausage casing onto the sausage tube.
5.	Do not refrigerate the Polish sausage mixture before you stuff it into the casing as the meat will "set up" and put stress on your sausage stuffer. Stuff the seasoned meat into the casing. The casing should be full but not full enough to burst when you begin to form links. The more you operate the sausage the easier it becomes to determine the proper fullness. With practice you will be stuffing sausage casings like a pro. The rule of thumb "practice makes perfect" applies here.
6.	To form Polish sausage links press your forefinger and thumb together to make a slight indent in the casing about every eight inches. Twist 3 or 4 turns, repeat the process for the next link, only twist 3 or 4 turns in the opposite direction. Refrigerate the Polish sausage links up to a week or freeze up to 6 months.
7.	Do not refrigerate the Polish sausage mixture before it goes through the extruding process. If you are using the jerky maker adaptor with the skinless sausage insert simply extrude the Polish sausage links according to the Dakotah instructions.
8.	Bake, fry, grill or broil the Polish sausage links in usual manner until they are fully cooked.

Sausage Making Pictorial

1. Remove the natural hog casing or sheep casing from the package and rinse two or three times in luke warm water to remove salt.
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2. Slide the casing onto the sausage tube. Dab a bit of vegetable shortening on the end of the tube as you slide on the casing.

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3. Hold the sausage casing firmly onto the sausage tube and begin filling it with the ground sausage meat.

To help prevent air bubbles in your sausage links keep the sausage tube buried into the meat as you fill the casing.

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4. Continue to fill the casing until there's about an inch or so of the sausage casing remaining on the end of the sausage tube.
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The sausage casing should be full but not stretched to the point that it will burst open when you begin to form sausage links.

The sausage linking process will improve as you become more comfortable using the Dakotah Sausage Stuffer.

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5. To begin forming the casing into sausage links gently squeeze the filled casing together with your forefinger and thumb.
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6. Cradle the filled hog casing with your other hand, twisting gently to form your first fresh sausage links.

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7. Repeat the above sausage linking process with the rest of the sausage casing only twist the next sausage links in the opposite direction and so on and so forth.

In a short time you will be making old-fashioned franks, Italian sausage, bratwurst, pepperoni, chorizo, breakfast sausage, brown and serve, cheese dogs and other sausage links with ease using Dakotah Sausage Stuffer.
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8. There is nothing better than homemade sausage. You control the entire sausage making process including the quality of the beef or venison and the freshness of the beef fat or pork fat that is mixed with the quality meat.

You get to choose the beef sausage recipe or your family venison sausage recipe when you make sausage at home.
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Or use your favorite sausage seasoning. And you get to taste test the sausage before you stuff it into the sausage casing. You can make the sausage links any size you choose. So if you want the best make homemade sausage. You and your family can have a great time making sausage.

Note: You can also make bulk sausage which is nothing more than fresh sausage without a casing.

A tip from a customer: It is easier to slide the sausage casing onto the sausage tube (some people refer to the sausage tube as the sausage spout) if there is a bit of the sausage meat mixture sticking out of the end of the sausage tube.