Optional Equipment for Home Made Sausage
To turn out the best home made sausage, There is some sausage making equipment that you'll probably want, but is best described as "optional".
These things certainly aren't "necessary" in your sausage kitchen, but they do give you the ability to make a larger variety of products and to do a better (and easier) job of packing and preserving your sausage.
Optional Equipment Consideration #1
- The first piece of "optional" equipment that I recommend you consider is a meat smoker (sausage smoker).
Why should you consider a meat smoker at all? Well... ...Many, many of the best home made sausage recipes call for smoking your sausage after it has been stuffed. You can use liquid smoke, and it does work well, but the taste of a traditionally smoked sausage is unmistakably great.
Meat smokers come in all shapes and sizes. They can be purchased or home built, expensive or budget friendly. They can be powered by electricity, gas, or charcoal. It really doesn't matter. What does matter is that the smoker you choose allows you to control temperature and smoke with a fair amount of precision. All good sausage smokers (bought or built) will have these things in common: A chamber to contain the heat and smoke. A heat source that can be regulated between 100 and 250 degrees. A rack (or rods) to hold your meat or sausage. A pan to hold wood chips or sawdust. A way to accurately monitor the temperatures of the smoke chamber and the sausage.
Click here for info on MANUFACTURED SMOKERS
Click here for info on BUILDING A SMOKER
Optional Equipment Consideration #2
- Once your sausage is made, you will need to decide how you want to save or "put it by" for future eating. In these modern times, the best way to preserve your bounty is by freezing. There are many ways to prepare your sausage for freezer storage. Wrapping in waxed butcher paper, encasing in aluminum foil, and stuffing into plastic zip-lock bags are just a few that are commonly used. In my opinion though, the best way to get your sausage ready for freezing is to use one of the new consumer grade food vacuum sealers. Yes, this is certainly a specialty piece of equipment, but if you have one, you will find you use it for many other food (and non-food) storage chores.
The more I get into making my own sausage at home, the more kinds of sausage making equipment I discover. Some of this stuff is essential for making great sausage, some makes things more convenient or easier, and some is just fun. As I discover more, I will add them here.
