Looking for recommendations

[Outdoors Junkie]

My two sons and I are ready to jump in and try our hands at making brats, summer sausage, sticks, etc. We have been butchering our own deer for 12+ years. We mainly keep some roasts, steaks and grind up the rest into burger. We've experimented with making ground breakfast sausage and that works well in my wife's egg bake. My wife also cuts up some of the steaks and makes pretty good jerky.

We want to do more! I've been watching videos and doing other research.

We are going to need to purchase a sausage stuffer and a smoker. What size sausage stuffer works best? Should I get an electric or propane smoker? Do you have favorite brands or models? There are lots more questions, but let's start here.

From your experience, what would you recommend and why?

[LPS]

I bought a LEM stuffer when L&M Fleet has their annual sale.  It has steel gears.  Lot of great videos on Youtube about stuffing sausage.  Curley's has some great stuff with good instructions.  You can mix their stuff in steel equipment.  That matters greatly.  Steel leaves a bad taste when using some brands of mixes. 

[Jerkbiat]

A good size for a stuffer is the 11#. That is what I have. I believe the brand is a Sportsman Stuffer. I bought it many years ago off of Amazon. Been working good. Many times if I am not putting cheese in the sausage I will do the second grind and stuff right into the casings or bags. Saves a step in my mind. I built my own smoker and fire it with a turkey burner. I kinds followed a plan the a feller had put on HSO about 10-12 years ago. It is made out of plywood and I can put a whole 25# batch of sausage in and smoke it all at once with room to spare. I did build a smoke generator for it that I run off of an air compressor. That pumps out more smoke for longer and I don't have to open the smoker to add wood. Don't lose any heat that way. Alot of making your own is also learning trial by error. Can't remember the name of the sausage making book that I have. Maybe Boar can pipe in since I think he has the same one. It is a very good book to get and read. Lots of knowledge and lots of recipes. The Sheboygen Summer sausage is one of my favorites. Will be smoking a batch of that this weekend.

[snow1]

To bad rienhard no longer visits this site,he is the german guru of sauage.pretty sure he still has his own cooking website running if ya can find it.

[Jerkbiat]

This here is the book I was talking about
https://www.sausagemaker.com/Great-Sausage-Recipes-and-Meat-Curing-p/26-1010.htm?gclid=EAIaIQobChMI-JqM-LKv7QIVdx-tBh0lxw2pEAQYASABEgIrvfD_BwE

[Gunner55]

 

To bad rienhard no longer visits this site,he is the german guru of sauage.pretty sure he still has his own cooking website running if ya can find it.

& this looks to be RH: https://sausageheavenoutdoors.com/

[Jerkbiat]

That it is Gunner. 

[LPS]

He has some great recipes.  Lots of pics too so you get hungry whilst reading on his site.  I took some ground beef and pork out of the freezer yesterday so we can make ring bologna this weekend.     My stuffer is a 5 lber and I have to fill it more often. Like JB said a bigger one would be much easier when doing a lot of pounds of sausage.

[Boar]

reiny has a site call sausage heavon outdoors. lots of good tips. ifollow alot of his stuff. i get alotbof kits thru curleys and owens bbq out northdakota. 1 tip. dont not mix in anything bit a plastic tub. my best sausage comes from mixing then feezing the mix. why? as spices and sugars thaw. they break down and meld intobthe meat better!. in the words of Sesae
 Reiny, Good luck!

[Boar]

oh yull wan a large up right cabinat smoker for rings and sticks. ive 1 for sale at a reasobable price . just got comebget it

[Steve-o]

Yep, there are (were) some giants on this site that really know what they are doing when it comes to making sausage.  Someday I hope to get serious about making some myself, but for now, too many other irons in the fire.

Our Sausage Kings may scoff at this recommendation, but it is quick and easy without investing in any equipment except a grinder.  It ain't the real McCoy, but it will get your feet wet and you'll be eating sausage tonight.  You can snack on this while you're surfing YouTube for more sophisticated techniques and recipes.

Good luck.

startribune.com:  How to make venison sausage the easy way

[LPS]

I've had that kind of summer sausage and it is as good as it gets from what I remember.  I may even do a batch of that.  Thanks for the recipe.

[Outdoors Junkie]

Thanks for all the tips and advice everyone! I really appreciate it.

Jerkbiat, I'll search online for the 11# sportsman stuffer. Thanks for the tip for the Great sausage recipes book. I plan to order a copy. Gunner, thanks for the link to Rienhard's website. I've taken a quick glance and it has tons of great info. His Venison Jalapeno Bacon Summer Sausage sounds delicious! Boar, if I lived closer, I'd be real interested in your smoker. Steve-o, I think I will try to make a batch of the easy way venison sausage. LPS, I appreciate the advice.

Feel free to keep sharing more! I'll try to share some updates on how our sausage making journey goes.

[LPS]

That easy summer sausage prints out in 1 nice page.  I have it.  Gonna make a batch of that this weekend when we make our other stuff.  I like those mustard seeds in it too!

[Boar]

yubwillnwanna check out curlies kits and owens bbq amazing flavors reiny usedbthem too!!

[Outdoors Junkie]

yubwillnwanna check out curlies kits and owens bbq amazing flavors reiny usedbthem too!!

Boar, are these the correct websites?
Curleys- https://www.curleyssausagekitchen.com/
Owens BBQ- https://www.owensbbq.com/index.html

[mike89]

Oj, those look right, curlies I have used, the other I have not but had never seen it before...  looks good too and that book you will enjoy!!! 

[LPS]

Both good people.

[Boar]

yup thise the ones!

[Cooperman]

OJ, don’t forget about the brand of sausage casings, very important, and can make the process much more enjoyable.
Stay away from the casings you see in the local stores and order them online. I order mine from “The Sausage Makers” www.sausagemaker.com. Good luck!

[mike89]

that is a good site too Cooperman!!

[snow1]

Neighbor does a great job making brats,all kinds of different flavors,even uses gummy bears,I like his  jalapeno,chili chedder cheese the best,he uses a stand up pit boss smoker to hang his meat to smoke(high mountain seasoning) works great for jerky as well.

To lazy to make my own,so I graze in his yard,I use my electric bradly smoker with racks if I take his raw brats works just as good as hangin in mpo.

[Outdoors Junkie]

OJ, don’t forget about the brand of sausage casings, very important, and can make the process much more enjoyable.
Stay away from the casings you see in the local stores and order them online. I order mine from “The Sausage Makers” www.sausagemaker.com. Good luck!

What type of casing do you recommend? I'm guessing there are different recommendation depending on if you are stuffing brats, summer sausage, sticks, or bologna.

[Boar]

my favorite are crap incant remeber what tje called

[Cooperman]

Typically larger sausages like summer sausage, you would use mahogany or clear fibrous casings. For brats, polish you would use natural hog casings. For smaller sausages like breakfast links you can use natural sheep or collagen casings. Beef/venison snack stick use small collagen. Most websites will have a good description of what the casings are used for, and the expected diameter of the sausage.

[glenn57]

Typically larger sausages like summer sausage, you would use mahogany or clear fibrous casings. For brats, polish you would use natural hog casings. For smaller sausages like breakfast links you can use natural sheep or collagen casings. Beef/venison snack stick use small collagen. Most websites will have a good description of what the casings are used for, and the expected diameter of the sausage.

dang coopy.......you got your own butcher shop!!!!!!

[Steve-o]

All this talk about sausage... Who can't forget this classic Swift Premium Brown-n-Serve commercial from 1978?

[mike89]

I liked the Hormel little sizzlers better, but they stopped making it...  dang it.... 

[Cooperman]

No, no butcher shop here. I’m far from an expert. Just enjoy making sausage no matter what I have, beef, venison, pork. I’ve got a couple smokers, and all the equipment, so why not, it’s fun.

[Steve-o]

Yeah, but when it comes to breakfast links, instead of a grocery store, nothing beats a real butcher shop that adds the right amount of liver sausage and sage.