Awww yeah! I got the KitchenAid Food Grinder Attachment for Stand Mixer with Bonus Sausage Stuffer for Christmas! And we are going to learn how to make our own sausage and smoke it of course!
The grinder comes in pieces, so here is how to assemble it.
Putting the grinder together:
I will now show you step by step how to assemble the grinder.
Start by inserting the worm into the housing.
It should fit in snuggly and it should not be sticking out.
Then place the blade on the worm.
Then the plate over the blade.
Place the cap over the place and screw it on.
The grinder came with two plates and a basic blade.
I also got the extension kit that has 6 new plates and a bigger blade.
In order to attach it to the mixer you first need to remove the extension guard.
Unscrew the nob holding the plate on and it should just fall out exposing the gear inside.
When you attach the grinder to the mixer, you should line up the divot on the grinder with the hole where the nob screws into.
You are now ready to make your own ground meat and sausage!
Sausage Mix (Part 1)
So this is the first time I am making this so we will see how it goes. We are going to try a beef / pork blend. I chose Chuck Eye which is basically Ribeye just a little further down the rib. I also used a pork roast which is pork center loin cut.
Start off by breaking the meat down into cubes.
Then put the mixer on setting 4 and run the meat through the grinder twice. You will get a nice ground meat mix like this.
Repeat the same process with the pork.
Then add your seasonings. I recommend my Meat Rub but if you don’t have that, try this mix out:
Sausage Seasoning Mix
Depending on the amount of meat, you may need to double this. Heck multiply times 10 and keep the extra around, it’s not like you aren’t going to use it…
- 1Tbl Salt
- 1Tbl Crushed Black Pepper
- 1Tbl Fennel Seed
- 1Tbl Oregano
- 1Tbl Thyme
- 1Tbl Sage
- 1Tbl Paprika
- (Optional) 1 tbsp of Cayenne Pepper for some heat.
Sausage Mix (Part 2)
Ok now take the seasoning and mix it in by hand with both the pork and beef. Also take this time to mix the two meats together as well.
Sausage Casings:
First things first. Lets clean out the grinder and remove the blade and plate. Now we can put on the sausage stuffing part of the grinder.
First put on this part, sorry I don’t know what it’s called…
Then put on the cone that the casing will go on and the meat will come out of.
I am using natural casing. They are made from pig intestine and they come packed in salt.
You want to pull one out and put it in a bowl of water that is heated to about 120 degrees.
The casing needs to sit in there for about 5 to 10 minutes. Once it’s soft, find the end and slide it onto the sausage stuffer. Run the mixer at setting 4 again and let the sausage fill the casing. This part can take a while and is a bit messy but is well worth it in the long run.
Sausage stuffing time!
Final Results
First Attempt:
Footlong “Snack”
So I added some oil to the pan and put it on medium heat.
I browned it on all sides and made sure it was properly cooked. This is how it turned out! It tasted awesome! I am going to try and smoke the next batch!