Smoked sausage grind size?

[armyguy]

Hey guys! I made a 25lb batch of sausage yesterday. I wanted to try something a little different. Usually I grind through the 10mm plate, then through the 4.5mm plate. This time I just went through the 10mm plate one time. I wanted to see a little more definition in the sausage vs it looking like a hotdog.

When it was in the mixer, I noticed there were some larger pieces. I stuffed them and let them sit overnight and smoking today in just a bit. Will that cause any issues with how I ground it?

[Craig Rice]

some people like the coarse grind but they run it twice threw the large plate

[Jonathon]

armyguy Yeah, so the only big issue that this would cause would be that the larger fat particles on the outside of the sausage are going to melt and run no matter how good your protein extraction was. It isn’t the biggest deal but could be annoying to clean your smoker (if you hung them) or to have some fat trapped between the casing and the sausage (if you laid them on racks). Actually from your title I assumed it was a cured product, is that correct? Either way, the above and the fact that the meat wont have as much broken up surface area to come into contact with the seasoning as you mix it are the only two “issues” I can think of.

[armyguy]

Jonathon

Yes it was definitely cured. I guess I should’ve ran it through twice. I just would like more particle definition in my smoked sausages. Here’s a picture of the mix. I got really good extraction with the mixer. Finally got around to using the Talsa F14 and holy c**p, it was the easiest stuffing session I’ve ever had. It filled the casings quicker than I could put the on the horn.

[Jonathon]

armyguy First, just looking at it I can tell it has good protein extraction so well done. Second, didn’t realize you had a Talsa hydraulic! Nice score, should be your stuffing machine for a looooong time. Then hopefully your kids and their kids! Yeah, those things can get going too fast for me to keep up with. Dylan is a pro, can handle it at top speed, but for me, that pressure knob gets turned down a bit!

[bocephus]

armyguy Envious of that stuffer, I usually grind through a 10mm plate and then second grind through 7mm plate.