The last week of December I posted a recipe and photos of the process I used to make homemade chicken sausages. This week I made more and wanted to update about the casings as well as how I made them this time - tweaking the recipe a bit.
I am VERY thrilled with this version - a little more fat, heavier on the spices and the addition of the bacon.
Another important item to update: The casings were still perfect to use. According to the package, you store unused casings in the bag with the addition of more salt. I did this in December, pulled them out and they were exactly the same as when I bought them. Worked great and were fresh. I used a couple more, re-added some salt to the package and back into the back of the refrigerator they went!
Homemade Chicken Sausage with Spinach and Garlic
5 lb. boneless, skinless chicken breasts - cubed
2 - 1 lb. packages fatback, cubed (I found this at Walmart - it adds the moisture you need in this recipe)
6-8 slices bacon
1 1/2 T ground coriander
2-4 t salt (start with 2 and adjust after you taste test. I like to use 3)
2 T fresh garlic, pressed, chopped or minced
3/4 c spinach (I used frozen, chopped style)
1/4 c olive oil
dash or two of lemon juice
dash of lemon pepper
Meat Grinder
Casings of your choice
Follow
the directions on your meat grinder. Grind the chicken, fatback, bacon, garlic and
spinach into a large bowl. Add the rest of your seasoning ingredients to the
ground mixture in the bowl. Mix well. Taste test by cooking a small
patty of your mixture on the stove in a bit of oil. Adjust the
flavorings to your liking and test again. When you are happy with the
cooked taste of your sausage, continue.
Attach the
stuffing tool per your grinder's instructions. Attach the casing onto
the stuffing tube per your grinder's instructions and your casing
instructions regarding whether your casings need to be rinsed first,
etc. Re-feed the chicken now ground and seasoned, into the machine and
form long tubes per your casing instructions being sure to secure the
end first so your sausage doesn't come out! Be sure not to overstuff,
you want to leave room to twist and form sausages.
Holding the rope in small sections in my hands like a tiny jump
rope, I spin the sausages a couple times away from me to twist the
ends. This forms a sausage. Now I moved my hands down a little more
and holding the first twist in my left hand, and squishing the sausage
up about an inch on the right, I placed my fingers there and I spun
another chunk of the sausage, but this time spinning towards me (the
opposite way).
Continue moving your hands down small
sections of the sausage rope, alternating spinning the 'jump rope' away
from you and towards you, which forms the twists between the sausages.
Make sure you are squishing enough room between the sausage links
(about an inch) to form the twists. Let the ropes set while you finish all the chicken mixture. You can store as is, or snip them apart with scissors. These freeze well. I seal them in food saver style packages, and place in freezer. To prepare, thaw and boil, broil or grill. I like to parboil them in 2 inches of water in a saucepan on the stove and then when I'm ready to serve, I just quickly grill or broil them to make them golden brown and crisp on the outside.
Here is a copy of the original post from December, 2015
I made this up as I went along and 'taste tested' it at 2 different points which I recommend you do too. To taste test - take some of the mixture when you think are pretty happy with it - and form a small patty. Cook it in a pan on your stove top and then taste. Do you think it needs a little more salt? Garlic? Add. Taste test again.
My Homemade Chicken Spinach and Feta Sausages
4 - 4 1/2 lb. boneless, skinless chicken breasts - cubed
1 - 1 1/2 lb. fatback, cubed (I found this at Walmart - it adds the moisture you need in this recipe)
1 T ground coriander
2-4 t salt (start with 2 and adjust after you taste test. I like to use 3)
1 T garlic, minced
3/4 c feta cheese, crumbled
3/4 c spinach (I used frozen, chopped style)
1/4 c olive oil
Optional: dash or two of a lemon, garlic mixture of your choice brand or lemon pepper)
Meat Grinder
Casings of your choice
Follow the directions on your meat grinder. Grind the chicken, fatback and spinach into a large bowl. Add the rest of your ingredients to the ground mixture in the bowl. Mix well. Taste test by cooking a small patty of your mixture on the stove in a bit of oil. Adjust the flavorings to your liking and test again. When you are happy with the cooked taste of your sausage, continue.
Attach the stuffing tool per your grinder's instructions. Attach the casing onto the stuffing tube per your grinder's instructions and your casing instructions regarding whether your casings need to be rinsed first, etc. Re-feed the chicken now ground and seasoned, into the machine and form long tubes per your casing instructions being sure to secure the end first so your sausage doesn't come out! Be sure not to overstuff, you want to leave room to twist and form sausages.
I don't have the little wires to form sausages, so I used the 'twist it' style. Holding the rope in small sections in my hands like a tiny jump rope, I spin the sausages a couple times away from me to twist the ends. This forms a sausage. Now I moved my hands down a little more and holding the first twist in my left hand, and squishing the sausage up about an inch on the right, I placed my fingers there and I spun another chunk of the sausage, but this time spinning towards me (the opposite way).
Continue moving your hands down small sections of the sausage rope, alternating spinning the 'jump rope' away from you and towards you, which forms the twists between the sausages. Make sure you are squishing enough room between the sausage links (about an inch) to form the twists.
I let the ropes set while I finished stuffing another casing. You could store them as is, but I wanted to cut mine apart and seal them in groups of 3 or 4 in individual food saver style bags in the deep freeze. I snipped them apart, and only had 2 open up on me that I had stuffed a little tight and had to redo. You could probably par-boil them at this point, let them cool complete and freeze them, or use them right away. I sealed mine, and put them in the deep freeze. When I make them, I put them in the refrigerator to thaw and then put them into 2 inches of water in a pan on the stove to pre-cook them - then finish them on the grill or under the broiler. We don't have to serve anything 'with' these as a condiment - they are so good all by themselves. We have them plain with a side dish or serve in a bun like a brat or a hotdog.
