# Help! What to do with homemade sausage now?



## rootsong (Jun 22, 2008)

I just finished up my 1st batch of sausage. I stuffed my various raw meats & seasonings into hog casings. They're all piled on a plate, looking pretty. 

What the heck do I do now?? 

I thought a quick Google search would tell me but alas! I'm a recovering long time vegetarian, I've never cooked any kind of sausage before. I don't have a clue how to cook them. Boil? Fry? How do I know when they're cooked all the way through?

Can I freeze the raw sausages? And how should I thaw them when I'm ready to eat them?

Any help is very much appreciated! And the sooner the better!


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## rwur961615 (May 24, 2008)

What kind of sausage? Beef,pork,venison. What spices or type did you make can answer better with more info. 
Rick.


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## rootsong (Jun 22, 2008)

Let's see, I stuck about 1lb beef, 1lb fatty pork, & 2lbs of various organ meats from chickens & a goat in there. Plus salt, marjoram, rosemary & thyme. I used a variation on a recipe from Carla Emery's Encyclopedia of Country Living.

It's all stuffed in hog casing. 

I wonder, do I boil it? Just stick it in a skillet & fry it? Bake it? And can I stick it in the freezer raw or should I cook it 1st?

Thanks!


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## gone-a-milkin (Mar 4, 2007)

Yes, you can put them into the freezer raw. Either in a freezer bag, or wrapped in butcher paper and labeled.

I think you had better put 1 of them straight into a frying pan and cook it up to see how good it is. Just put a tiny bit of oil in the pan and keep rolling the sausage every couple of minutes. Tube shaped foods cook through pretty quickly.How do you know it is done? It will plump up just a little and the juices will run out clear when you poke it. If it is freshmade and not frozen you will have it cooked in just a few minutes, 10 max.

Do NOT boil them. (shudder) 

Let us know how they taste.


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## hillbillly (Jun 28, 2009)

safest frozen if you're unsure


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## tinknal (May 21, 2004)

I cook them in beer. Fresh or frozen doesn't matter. I'm talking brats here but any fresh sausage would work. I put sausage and a can of beer in a skillet. Cook on high until the beer boils away, then turn stove to low and brown on both sides. Be VERY watchful when the beer boils low The difference between done and burnt is about a minute.


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## rootsong (Jun 22, 2008)

Thanks so much for the advice everyone! I did just stick some in my skillet & fry them- *YUM*. And the rest went straight into the freezer in plastic bags. I am planning to cook them them in beer next time, tinkal! 

It all turned out great. It was the 1st time I'd used my new Northern Tool brand meat grinder/sausage stuffer, that I'd purchased on Black Friday after reading folks' reviews on meat grinders here. Wow the sausage turned out delicious! I'm so happy with them. :rock: HERE they are coming off the stuffer, and HERE they are in my skillet.  (and here's my blog post about them, though they're at the very very bottom after a zillion other pictures).

Thanks again!


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## gone-a-milkin (Mar 4, 2007)

Beautiful pics. Nice blog too!


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## rickpaul (Jan 10, 2013)

Homemade sausage makes a really delicious gravy to, I make it an use it on cooked rice, really delicious.......


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## Ziptie (May 16, 2013)

rootsong said:


> I just finished up my 1st batch of sausage. I stuffed my various raw meats & seasonings into hog casings. They're all piled on a plate, looking pretty.
> 
> What the heck do I do now??
> 
> ...


You invite my family over and well take care of all of it for you.:happy:


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## MO_cows (Aug 14, 2010)

They look great. I bet smoking them would really be good too.

My favorite way to prepare raw sausage in casings, such as brats, is to put a pan on the grill with a little oil and toss in bell pepper, onion, garlic. Sweat those down a little and pour in a beer. Then grill the sausages just until they brown, plop them in the beer pan and let simmer for awhile. "Pigs in a hot tub" They get done all they way thru without getting burnt on the outside and you get some nice smoky flavor. (They won't taste like beer, it turns into a nice broth. I despise beer as a beverage, but I love this recipe.)


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## jwal10 (Jun 5, 2010)

Put in the oven at 350 for 20-25 minutes, they will smoke themselves. A while in a smoker, first, makes them even better. Or just grilled over a wood fire, simple and good....James


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## michael ark (Dec 11, 2013)

I vote for the smoker.:happy:


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