I use the supreme pizza (big hit getting kids into venison ), blue ribbon, hatch green Chile and the fanciest flavor is longanisa ,it is kinda like a teriyaki but with more flavor (garlic, pineapple, paprika) High temp cheese available: mozzarella, pepper Jack, cheddar and ghost

@deepwoodsbutcher we used the onion and garlic brat seasoning this past year. We added high temp cheddar cheese and cooked bacon that was crumbled. We also added cure since we cold smoked them. They are pretty good. Everyone that has had them like them.

Thanks for the suggestions!

@deepwoodsbutcher for venison blue ribbon is also the favorite in my household.

@deepwoodsbutcher I also really like the blue ribbon. It is a great base for many different brats. I add blue cheese, or wild rice, crasins, and cheddar, or just pepper jack.

I have been pleased with Blue Ribbon Brat seasoning with a meat block of 50/25/25 lean venison/pork butt/ pork fat. I would consider it a more traditional brat flavor profile.

I use the supreme pizza (big hit getting kids into venison ), blue ribbon, hatch green Chile and the fanciest flavor is longanisa ,it is kinda like a teriyaki but with more flavor (garlic, pineapple, paprika)

High temp cheese available: mozzarella, pepper Jack, cheddar and ghost

I'm looking back at your question and realizing I didn't really answer. Frankly, I don't grind twice anymore, and I don't intend to do so unless and until I do some emulsified sausage. I just use whatever plate I find appropriate. I'm just doing this as a hobby to please myself and those around me, and I found that I get very little (if any) bang for the buck out of a second grind. I would much rather grind once through my 3mm (1/8") plate than do a second grind Now, if I had infinite time, a larger grinder, and a dedicated cold room where I could keep all my processing stuff, then I might change my answer. However, I don't. I gotta tell you, I am very happy with the texture of what I'm cranking out, and I have folks slapping the table when they try it. That said, I am pretty much sold on the idea of grinding fat no larger than 4.5mm (3/16"). Fat out becomes a much bigger problem at coarser grinds. It's not that you can't manage it, but it's much more difficult. It's certainly worth the small effort to separate the large chunks of fat in pork butt, beef chuck, and chicken thighs, and then to switch plates (and knives) if you are grinding your leaner bits at coarser than 4.5mm.

@bryarrr_80 said in [Grinder Plate preferences](/post/39402): > @processhead do you normally use the same plates and grind through twice? Or do you grind once with one plate and then switch to a smaller plate and grind again a second time? For finer textured sausage I will grind once through the coarse plate once and once or twice through the fine plate. Like others have said, it all depends on the variety/style of the sausage as to how you grind course or fine.

A lot of this depends on what type of bite you prefer. I did some Italian sausage for a guy who liked a more substantial bite and had me do his next batch with a chili grind. Personally, I like the smaller grind.

@processhead do you normally use the same plates and grind through twice? Or do you grind once with one plate and then switch to a smaller plate and grind again a second time?

@bryarrr_80 Well Sausage Warrior you can't make a mistake here. The texture and looks is the way you remember it to be. That being said, i grind some sausage with 3/8" because that's how i remember the old polish and Italian sausage. Summer sausage i use 1/4".... hotdogs and bockwurst i double grind 1/8". I would think starters would be 1/4" most grinders come stock with that. Emulsified texture best with 1/8", maybe double grind if you have the patience, and a stuffer plate when you see a use for it. In summary buy what you need, not what you want. Budget wise, i could live and be happy with just the 1/4" until i wanted, and saw a need for a specialty texture. There is no wrong way.... Good sausage is the way you remember that sausage you liked was.

we use to have three plates the standard large or breaker and the small finish plate and one that was an in-between size that some people would ask for there sausage to be ground with

I think I am like a lot of others in that the majority of my grinding is done with either a 3/8 inch plate or a 1/8 inch. If you start making some less common sausage styles, you may find the recipe calls for some other size plate.

I'm afraid I have a similar answer. It depends on what I'm making. Many recipes give some guidance (some better than others) as to what grind you want. I can tell you this--you're not likely to kick yourself for having a plate you almost never use, but you will if you need a plate you don't have. That said, if you plan on getting a different size grinder fairly soon, you can be a bit more judicious.

@bryarrr_80 It depends on what I am making. Sometimes grinding it twice through the same plate will work. Some sausages have different cuts ground with different plates to give the property texture and finished product look. Breakfast you can use the same plate and grind twice. Keep the meat very cold. An important thing to have is have a cutting blade an grinder plate matched up this way they will wear together.

mrobisr said in Grinder Plate preferences:

It just depends on your preference as a lot have said. For andouille I grind once through a 10mm, for summer sausage I grind twice through 10mm, and for the genoa salami I just did I ground the pork and fat through 10mm once and the beef through a 10mm and 4.5mm.

That’s my exact combination for both mentioned (andouille and Genoa)

@fallis10 So, you are wanting a sausage seasoning to add this maple syrup too? if it is breakfast I would say [H 110-C](https://www.waltonsinc.com/h-110-c-hot-pork-sausage-seasoning) or if you are wanting a bratwurst syle I would recommend something fairly basic like the [Jerrys Brat](https://www.waltonsinc.com/jerry-s-bratwurst-seaoning) so it doesn't have a bunch of other flavors to contend with.

fallis10 So, you are wanting a sausage seasoning to add this maple syrup too? if it is breakfast I would say H 110-C or if you are wanting a bratwurst syle I would recommend something fairly basic like the Jerrys Brat so it doesn’t have a bunch of other flavors to contend with.

gerygaub The carrot fiber will help for sure and as long as you are near or above 20% fat you should be okay. The issue with that is that Ground Sirloin is sometimes 90% or more lean. You might want to try adding some Cold Phosphate for moisture retention? Maybe hold off on adding that for your first batch and just add it if it comes out dry?

The Cheeseburger Cheddarwurst comes with sure cure so it can be smoked or you can leave out the cure and make it fresh. If you add the cure and smoke it just make sure you get REALLY good protein extraction to help prevent the fat from rendering out during the smoking process. If you are not curing and smoking and are making a fresh product let it cook at lower temperatures initially on the grill or in the pan, same goal here we don’t want any fat to render out.

Your creation sounds amazing and I don’t know if you knew it or not but we have declared this the Month of Bacon at Walton’s so when you make these please post pictures of them to Meatgistics and if you want either the Meatgistics or Waltons Facebook or twitter or wherever!

WinterSausageFest
That is pretty awesome and very creative!

Did you end up putting any actual meat in it, or is it entirely a mix of fun fillers?