Homemade Sausage Making

Hi, Chuck.E.Wagon. I'm baaaaaack! (Quaaaack!) ...been off-planet for a bit. WooHoo! WooHoo!

Having been an ol' southern boy before I ran away to Texas, and having had one too many grit and collard green during my ill-spent youth, I've always avoided things like chitt'lin's. Is it true, then, that I should buy "chitterlings" in the grocery store to use as hog casing for sausage stuffing? [Hog middles (middle intestines called "chitterlings") are curly in appearance and cut into one-meter lengths, sold in bundles of nine or ten.]

Wow! What a concept- - grocery store items that are NOT pre-processed (unless you count the salt).

Yup, C.W.,
nuthin' like settin' 'round the ol' campfire, eatin' kimchi an' slurpin' rice noodles. Kinda takes ya back to the days of the old east/west, don't it? (How ya gonna spin this 'un in Hyde Park when it catches on, Pardner?)

These guys gotta be fermentation geniuses (genii?). I bet there's a great Polski Wyrobi recipe in there. ...looking forward to ordering a copy.

But meanwhile, I guess me an' thuh Missus gonna have to dig us a hole in the back yard and bury a pot of kimchi purty soon. A couple-a guys with pickaxes, whackin' at the limestone, oughta git fur enough down ta strike oil or water or cabbage in short order. (Dang! Where wuz it we located that sanitary drainage field, again? UhOh! )

And that`s not all, Duckster!
Consume just one jar of "that there dad-gummed" kimchee... any you`ll produce and "everyday occurrence" composed of 59% nitrogen, 21% hydrogen and 9% dioxide. Know what that is?

Hey Duck... did you know that Marilyn Monroe had six toes? Yup. It's twuu - it's twuu.

Hey Duck!
If 2 out of 5 people SUFFER from some type of dementia, does that mean you ENJOY it? I`ve just got to ask you a few questions. If a pig loses its voice, does it become disgruntled? And how come a person who plays the piano called a pianist but a person who drives a race car is not called a racist? And one last question. If people from Poland are called Poles, why aren't people from Holland called Holes?

You should really take some aspirin and try to get some rest!

Best Wishes,
Chuckwagon

...same reason why people from Charlotte are not called Charlatans, I guess. That, plus it's probably not a good idea to do so in case any of 'em have concealed handgun permits.

I once called my trumpet-playing cousin a honky. Does that count?

Duck
spelled "Dee Yuck, Duck"

P.S. Answer to above riddle: They're called Charlotteans, with an accent on the TEA part. They will host the Democratic Convention this year, at which time people will discover that it's an overwhelmingly Republican town, infested with lawyers and bankers. Should be "interesting."

Back to my question, which somehow got rearranged [deranged?] by our beloved moderator - -

Is it true, then, that I should buy "chitterlings" in the grocery store to use as hog casing for sausage stuffing? [Chuckwagon: Hog middles (middle intestines called "chitterlings") are curly in appearance and cut into one-meter lengths, sold in bundles of nine or ten.]

Thanks. Quack.

...with apologies to the ol' Chuckster/Wagoneer,

I`m a cow poke who don`t poke no cow.
To be honest, I jes` don`t know how.
But my life ain`t too flimsy
`Cause now I herd kimchi
An` make my own sausage from sow.

Best of luck on the new book, Stan & Adam. Now for a poem on Tsukemono...

...and while we're on the "chitterlings as casing" question, is it possible to use lard in place of pork trimmings, or has the rendering process led to a lower melting point for the fat?

My "local" supermarket doesn't do trimming anymore, but I can buy manteca/lard by the bucket.

Chuckwagon wrote:P.S. Did you happen to notice a goofy anatidae fly by here within the last couple of minutes. Hmmm... where's my .12 gauge?

He didn't make it this far north yet!

Jim

el Ducko wrote:...with apologies to the ol' Chuckster/Wagoneer,

I`m a cow poke who don`t poke no cow.
To be honest, I jes` don`t know how.
But my life ain`t too flimsy
`Cause now I herd kimchi
An` make my own sausage from sow.

Best of luck on the new book, Stan & Adam. Now for a poem on Tsukemono...

Hey Duck, I was c'boyin' and pokin' cow critters clear back in '52 when this photo was snapped. I am the little wrangler beneath the horses neck. My daddy has the lariat, my uncles are puting the hot iron to the hide Can you see the brand on my horse? Long story behind that one.

Best Wishes,
Chuckwagon

Chuckwagon wrote:Can you see the brand on my horse? Long story behind that one.

It's kinda hard to make out the brand from the photo, but both brand and photo look to me like two uncles flattening a calf.

I thought you were supposed to fatten calves, not flatten 'em. ...kinda like the New Belgian Brewery guys in Fort Collins do to bicycle tires, or whatever that phrase is in the Bible about the fatted calf. But I suppose it's a whole lot easier to make veal jerky when you flatten it like that.

So, what's the story behind the brand? (Inquiring minds want to know.)

el Ducko wrote:...and while we're on the "chitterlings as casing" question, is it possible to use lard in place of pork trimmings, or has the rendering process led to a lower melting point for the fat?

My "local" supermarket doesn't do trimming anymore, but I can buy manteca/lard by the bucket.

Chitterlings as casing - I wouldn't, because the chitterlings haven't been prepared the way casing is prepared. Chitterlings have a stronger smell for a reason, likely having to do with the fat and membrane that hasn't been scraped away. While you could use chitterlings as middles, I'm not sure you'd care for the result, unless you finish processing them before use.

In rendering, the melting point for lard may or may not change, depending on how it was rendered. The problem is that it is no longer contained in the structure of the fatty tissue, so it is like using pre-smeared fat smear in your sausage. Also, and again depending on the rendering method, the fat has had heat and air applied, so it will oxidize and go rancid. You could chill lard and mix it into a sausage, but I expect it would behave just like fat smear, and leave you with mealy, protein BB's, instead of sausage, once cooked.

Thanks, Tom. ...very helpful.