Many animals have come and gone on this farm, but none leave behind their abundance quite like the pig.

Hands down, pigs give us more diversity than any other animal. Sure, some of it takes work on our part. The belly, for example, needs some help to become bacon. But that is precisely the beauty of it: we can pick and choose how to handle the various parts to suit our own needs and tastes. I can take 100 pounds of ground pork, which we typically select from the shoulder because our amazing Heavenly Father created this portion of the animal with the perfect meat-to-fat ratio for all of our sausage-making pleasure, and turn it into breakfast sausage, andouille, chorizo, breakfast links, cacciatorini, brats, or whatever my little heart desires.

But unfortunately, we live in a time when basic skills- such as sausage making- have become lost on us. When people once came together as a village to slaughter a pig and see the harvest through from start to finish- using salt and the weather to create and preserve hams, bacon, and all strains of salami- we now observe the neatly packaged cuts of meat on a shelf and have no idea how it got there.

And yet, we are fortunate to also live in a time where people have found this desire to turn back the clock and return to a way of life that was enjoyed for thousands of years before we got too smart- and too much stuff- for our own good. But the beauty of it is we have technology and equipment at our disposal, two things our ancestors did not have. And while these things can be a detriment to us, they can also be of great benefit by way of both speeding up and simplifying the process.

So let’s dive right in. If sausage making has been on your to-do list but you’ve been feeling a little bit unsure or unqualified, then you are in the right place. Just four years ago, I tried my hand at this for the first time. And let me tell you, I cried some ugly tears in the name of sheep casings. I’m here to save you from that with 10 sausage making tips that will get you off on the right foot, sans the drama.

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1. The Meat Should Be Well Chilled.

With sausage making, heat is your enemy. Cold meat is instrumental in making sure that your sausages end up juicy, not dry. So prior to grinding, make sure your meat has had some time in the refrigerator (or partially flash freeze it); 40 degrees F is ideal meat temperature to be working with.

2. Mix by hand, not machine.

To maintain its cool temperature, mix up your meat by hand. This is also why I would recommend working in smaller batches (no more than 12 pounds at a time). Using a machine creates too much heat, while your hands provide the perfect amount. I like to use gloves, especially when dealing with spicy mixes.

3. Invest in quality equipment.

I’m not one to tell anybody to go and spend a bunch of money. But I will absolutely recommend that if you are going to spend money, do so wisely. If you plan to be harvesting a good deal of your own meat, get yourself a quality grinder. Yes, you can go cheap and get an electric grinder for $100. I’ve used one of those. But it will take you twenty times longer to accomplish what a bigger grinder can. We invested in this one from Cabela’s and it was well worth the money (it also comes with all of the sausage stuffing necessities). If you’ve ever used a cheap grinder and then used a good one, you will truly understand what a world of difference there is. I’m talking HOURS. My time is valuable. So is maintaining my patience.

If you don’t plan on grinding a large quantity of meat in your future, but you do plan to make a good deal of sausage, then invest in a stuffer.

4. Soak your casings for 2 hours.

When you purchase either sheep or hog casings, the directions will suggest you soak your casings for 15 minutes. Don’t listen to them. I had SO many casings tear and explode, especially the smaller sheep casings. By switching to soaking for 2 hours, I have had zero breakage since. Trust me, save yourself the casing blowout blues and do an extended soak.

(I’ve tried different brands of casings, these are my favorites for hog casings and sheep casings. They come packaged in salt, open up the package and rinse well under cold water. They will have an odor to them- don’t worry about that, it’s totally normal and does not affect the taste of your sausages. After rinsing, soak in a bowl of lukewarm water for 2 hours.)

5. Run water through the casings before use.

This is just as important as soaking. Open up the end of the casing under running water (it can sometimes be difficult to find the end with the smaller casings, and in that case just find what you think to be the end and put it under the water- the water will often find it/open it up for you) and run water through the entire length of the casing. This is not only good for opening the casing for stuffing, but also will let you know if the casing has any punctures or kinks in it. Out of our last batch of sausage, I had just one lamb casing that had a hole- it’s great to know this before you start stuffing. Just cut that casing at the point of the hole or tear; this will mean 2 shorter casings, but still totally usable.

The casings will come on a plastic ring and they will often be a tangled mess. Just deal with it. Grab one and ease it out of the tangle. If it breaks, no big deal. Most often you can wiggle the casing out of the mass without a problem.

6. Slide the casing onto the end of your stuffer attachment.

When I first started making sausages, I had the habit of pushing the casing all the way to the base of the stuffer attachment. But this means more pulling and tugging on the casing while it fills, so I switched to keeping the bulk of the casing on the end of the attachment.

7. Let the air pass through first, then tie.

When you are starting a brand new batch of sausage, ie. there’s currently no meat yet moving through the funnel, there will be a bunch of air that needs to pass through. Typically, when you put a new casing on the tube, you would tie the end and then start stuffing. But if you do that before the air has been pushed through the empty funnel, that air will go right into your casing. Sure, you could prick the casing with a toothpick (which I’ve resorted to when I’ve forgotten this step), but when dealing with sausage blends that have more liquid in them, you will lose some of that liquid through the hole.

So keep the end of your casing open, turn on the machine and allow the funnel to fill with meat (thus pushing the air out of the funnel) before tying off your casing.

8. Tightly fill your casings, but not to the point of bursting.

This is something that you really just have to get a feel for. I used to err on the side of understuffed because I was so afraid to break the casing. But since doing the longer soak with my casings, I’ve been able to get so much more elasticity out of them and now confidently tightly fill my casings- but not to the point of bursting. If you are going to be twisting your sausages into links, they cannot be overfilled (see next tip).

9. When twisting your links, alternate.

To twist your filled casings into links, choose your desired length of each link and separate them by gently pinching the sausage between your thumb and forefinger and twist (I typically twist 3 or 4 times). Move on to the next link, but this time twist it in the opposite direction as the one before (ex./twist away from yourself, twist toward yourself, twist away from yourself, and so on) until you’ve reached the end of the length of sausage. If you’ve overstuffed, you will have breakage. There needs to be the slightest bit of room so that you can pinch the links without breaking them. Again, this is something you will get a feel for.

Alternatively, you can separate your links by tying them with butcher’s twine.

10. Air dry before separating the links.

Allow your sausage links to air dry in the refrigerator for 24 hours before separating, flipping them over after 12 hours to make sure that both sides can dry out a bit. This will make it so that when you separate the links, they will stay closed at the point of where you twisted them.

And there you have it! My top ten tips for successful sausage making at home. I hope you feel confident in your sausage making endeavors. For further guidance, take a look at my Instagram Highlights (the little circles above the main feed) labeled “Sausage Making”. There you will see some of these tips in action for my visual learners.

Until next time, happy sausage making to you.