Homemade Chorizo Sausage

This Christmas I received the grinder attachment for my KitchenAid mixer. This has opened up a world of possibilities for me and my smoker when paired with Charcuterie: The Craft of Salting, Smoking, and Curing. I'm going to have a lot of fun and good eats.

I made my first batch of sausage to try it and made a chorizo using a recipe from Charcuterie. It turned out pretty good.

I followed the recipe and learned a few things on the way.

Grinding the meat.

When they say "chill the meat" it means get it to just about freezing. This helps to keep the grind working properly and not get gummed up like in the photo above.

Stuffing the sausage.

It is also a good idea to chill the grinder (freeze) as it will help keep the meat cool and the grind working correctly too. 

Ready to cook or smoke. 

The sausage stuffer works ok on the KitchenAid but a dedicated stuffer would be a big improvement and extra hands always help.

As a first try goes I think this was successful. There are a myriad of sausages I want to make but the top three right now are:

1. Keilbasa
2. Andouille
3. Boudin 

As I make them I'll share them online and some of the lessons I learn. If I change the recipes up I'll share my alterations too, but for now back to the grind.