Old School Sausage: No Equipment Needed!

A lot of folks read my sausage making course and follow up with questions about what equipment to purchase.  The quick answer is that I am not aware of a “perfect” all in one sausage machine.  Personally I use the meat grinder attachment on my Kitchen Aid mixer and a 3 pound stuffing horn.

The better answer is to not let the lack of equipment stop you from making sausage!!!

Grinders and stuffers are “nice to have” items that make the process easier but are not essential.  Sausages were being made long before grinders and stuffers were invented.

To illustrate I made a small batch of sausage using a sharp knife and a funnel.  Total active time was 30 minutes; half was spent chopping and the other half was stuffing.

I started with a couple “country style ribs” which were actually slices of pork butt.

I cubed the meat into approximately 1 inch sections.  This was fast (3 minutes).I then came back and sliced the cubes into quarters. This was tedious (12 minutes).  The minced meat was seasoned with salt, pepper, garlic, Tenderquick and red wine.

I was just throwing stuff together 🙂

I grabbed a plastic funnel with a wide opening and slipped a on a casing.

Then it was simply a matter of putting the seasoned minced meat into the funnel and pressing it through with my thumb.  This took about 15 minutes and was pretty fun.

I tied off the casing and let the sausage rest in the refrigerator for a day so the cure would have time to work.

I baked the spiral in a 300F oven for 45 minutes until an internal temperature of 170F was reached. 

I let the sausage cool for easier slicing then cut the bad boy up.  I really love the texture you get when you use this technique.  Here are a few close ups. 

The end result is a delicious sausage that looks pretty impressive.  It has a little more “chew” than what you might be used to simply because the meat is minced instead of ground.

I wouldn’t want to use this technique for a ten pound batch of sausage but it is the perfect way to introduce yourself to the hobby on a small scale with no extra investment.