Sausage
To begin, the meat must be boned, trimmed of excess fat and cut into pieces that can be easily accommodated by your meat grinder. Grind the meat according to the recipe you're using and keep it clean and cold. When the meat is ground, the spices must be added. Once the spices and whatever else the recipe calls for has been added to the meat, mix the meat mixture thoroughly. If in doubt, mix some more.
When the meat, spices and any other ingerdients are all mixed, place the meat in a refrigerator or cooler with ice and select the amount of casings to be used. When using natural casings you must rinse them well inside and out. Start by rinsing the outside of the casings in a small bowl of cold water and snipping a small piece from each end with sharp scissors. Then rinse the inside by putting the end of the casing over the nozzle in your kitchen sink and carefully work some water all the way through. After rinsing, place the casings in a small bowl of water while keeping track of the ends. Thread the entire casing onto the nozzel of your stuffer and stuff your casing as shown below. To link your sausage, use a ruler or an object (like a kitchen knife) to measure the length of your links. Carefully pinch the first sausage and rotate the sausage towards you. For the next link, pinch the sausage the correct size and rotate the sausage away from you. Link the remaining sausage in the same manner taking care to alternate the rotation of each link and tie the last link with butcher twine. Linking your sausage using this method is important to prevent the links from unraveling.
Making Fresh Sausages
