Homemade Sausage Making

I am a hunter, and always utilize every ounce of meat from my animals.

In the past, I have made (many times) fresh, patty-style breakfast sausage, from a commercial, pre-packaged, non-curing seasoning mix.

As my skill at hunting has increased, I find myself with more meat!!

I don't want to make ALL of my wild meat into "sage-y" breakfast sausage, I also want something more savory and substantial, for the grill.

My favorite commercial sausage is a brand called Conecuh, made in south Alabama, U.S.A.

I would like to get as close as I can to the flavor of Conecuh Hickory Smoked sausage.

I know I can't clone that flavor, but want to get as close as I can.

Does anyone here have any experience with that brand? And if so, any hints on a starting point for a recipe to get in the neighborhood of that flavor, so I can adjust and experiment from there?

Hmmmmm.

A week and not a single reply.

I guess Conecuh isn't popular outside of a small geographic area outside of south Alabama.

So much for that.

I have friends( most of them female) that can eat a piece of sausage, taste a glass of whiskey or brandy and expound at length the provenance of the same. I would suggest that you invite your favorite ladies over and ply them with good food and drink and ask them for their opinions about the origins of the taste of this sausage. Good bread is essential here to cleanse the palate.

Conecuh, made in south Alabama, U.S.A.

Hey Todd,
We have several Alabama members on WD. Wesleychef (in Mobile), Kaiyara (in Troy), Smoky Butts, Checkerfred, GusRobin, Dauber, and Chrissy. Right now, we`re holding our breath and praying for the victims of those terrible tornadoes devastating your state. Wow, "that`s a rough go", pard. I hope you didn`t get blown around by those nasty things. Tell us a little more about the flavor of Conecuh sausage.

Best Wishes,
Chuckwagon

I never heard or tasted this sausage but from looking at the ingredients, they certainly don't give anything away. The thing that I did note that it is an all pork sausage and with a very high fat content. (maybe that is why it tastes so good!). So using game which is much leaner and with its own distinct flavour panel, it might be a challenge to create something similar. Is there anything that would at least disclose the "style" or provenance of the sausage that would at least help you in determining the spices used?

toddpipkin wrote:Hmmmmm. A week and not a single reply.I guess Conecuh isn't popular outside of a small geographic area outside of south Alabama.So much for that.

Sorry Todd. When I first saw the post a week ago I dogpiled the brand and found it online. As with all commercial producers of sausage, they don't divulge spice breakdowns. I'll check the Aidell's book to see what he's got in the line of Cajun sausage. RAY

My latest batch of breakfast-style patty sausage turned out EXCELLENT!! But after sharing with my parents, my children and a few friends, in one week, that 25 pounds is now down to only about 10 pounds in my freezer!

The game meat I intend to use will be mostly wild pork. Some batches will have added venison, if I get a wild pig that is fatter than average.

I have learned that Conecuh does buy their seasoning blend pre-mixed.

BUT.......

They have one vendor mix a blend with some of the ingredients.

And a second vendor mixes a separate blend with the rest of the ingredients.

So neither vendor has the full recipe or proportions.

Then a bag of each blend, with a certain amount of meat, to make a batch.

Conecuh does sell a packaged seasoning blend, labelled "for wild game", but it is NOTHING AT ALL like the seasoning of their sausage. The Conecuh brand seasoning makes the meat taste like a mouthful of garlic, with very little else evident!! YUCK!!

Todd, Click on the following link to find Stan Marianski`s "cure" page: http://www.meatsandsausages.com/sausage ... calculator
At the top of the page are several headings. Move your cursor over each one to see a drop-down menu. The fourth from the left is "Sausage Recipes". Click on it and you`ll see a page of headings. Move your cursor over their names to bring up descriptions and photos. This might help you find what you are looking for. Another option is by "country" in another heading. Have fun discovering all the recipes. There are a bunch of them by Stan.

Best Wishes,
Chuckwagon

I tried to make this suggestion when the server went down but I will offer it again. I offered a friend a piece of sausage and asked her how many flavors she could name. She succeeded in identifying six of 9. If a panel of several people were to objectively taste and try to identify the spice it would make a starting place.

AHA!!

I just hadn't yet done enough exploring of the site. That list of recipes, and getting a few friends over for a grill and tasting session, should have me well on my way. Thank you, gentlemen!

I think I had this sausage last winter in Jackson MS. If it is the same one I would say the spices lean towards the Cajun spice blends and it was heavily smoked, much more smoke than any mass produced sausage I have ever had. I used it to make a pot of jambalaya and everyone like it.