Making Sausage Step by Step


Getting the meat ready I'm going to start with a very basic outline of how to make your own sausage at home. The easiest meat to start with is pork shoulder (sometimes labeled as pork butt). You can purchase this at your local meat market or grocery store.
Start by removing  the bone. After the bone is removed cut the piece of meat into small cubes. The size of the cubes is going to depend on how big your grinder is. The smaller your grinder, the smaller the cubes need to be.
Once you have finished cutting the meat you are going to need to weigh it. This is an important step. You need an accurate weight so you can calculate the amount of seasonings you will need for your sausage.
Now it's time to grind the meat. You can do this with a hand grinder or an electric one. If you have a kitchen aid stand mixer you can purchase a grinder attachment for it (great for making small batches of sausage). The grinding process heats up the meat so after grinding place it in the fridge to cool it back down.

Mixing the sausage
After the meat has cooled in the fridge it's time to mix your spices into the meat. You can use a premix or a recipe, its up to you. Take your spices and mix them in a bowl before you add them to the meat. Add the mixed spices to the meat along with ice cold water, about 1/2 cup for every 10 pounds of sausage. The water makes it easier to mix, and makes it easier the stuff into the casings. With your hands mix the meat and spices together.

Stuffing your sausage
You've made it to the home stretch. It's all downhill from here. Start be attaching the stuffing tube to the head of your grinder. You will need to decide the type of casing you will be using for your sausage, natural or collagen. I use the natural casings, but it's just a matter of personal preference.
Slide the casing onto the stuffing tube. Place the meat into the hopper of your grinder. Using the pusher, start running the meat thru the tube and into the casing.

Congfatulations!! You just made your own sausage.