Askabutcher's "Skinless" Sausage

[BBQ Butcher]

Or "How to Make Sausage Links Without a Stuffer......"

No more excuses not to enjoy Bratwurst, Italian, Polish or Breakfast links at home because you don't have a 'sausage stuffing' attachment for your meat grinder! Also, this method is great for people that don't like 'casings' on their sausage.

Make your favorite sausage per instructions.

Now, portion out the sausage into 4 oz hunks (or what ever size you prefer).



Put the sausage on a flat surface and roll with your hands until you get the shape and length you want.



Take about a 10-12" length of food quality plastic wrap (Saran, Glad, etc). Place your link onto the plastic and roll it up, twist the ends (just like you were wrapping a piece of candy.



The links are now going to go for about a five minute swim in some rapidly boiling water. I like to do about five at a time, while they are swimming, it gives me a chance to roll and prep some more. The "swim" partially cooks the sausage and allow it to set up so that you can handle it without it falling apart.



Remove from the water, take off the plastic and now the sausage is ready for cooking on the grill or for storage in the freezer.



Remember to cook sausage to an internal temperature of at least 160° when grilling or pan frying.

[ladycook]

Thanks for this ! I don't have casings yet and I've been wanting to make Italian sausages, now I can

[martybkc]

You wrote:

Remove from the water, take off the plastic and now the sausage is ready for cooking on the grill or for storage in the freezer.

Remember to cook sausage to an internal temperature of at least 160° when grilling or pan frying.

I stumbled upon this technique myself by accident. The only diff was I wrapped them in foil after the plastic. They got put into a slow oven for about 15 min by mistake. When chilled and unwrapped, it's like you said, perfectly formed and easily handled chubs, just as good as skin on and no bite through issues. The bonus is that if the plastic is wrapped tight it actually forms up the ends so it looks like real twisted casing.

Anyway I expanded on this by laying out some plastic wrap and spreading the sausage meat on it in a sheet about 1/4 inch thick so it's somewhere around 8 x 12 inches. Edges and top are pressed thin. Then I scatter on some grated aged smoked swiss and finely chopped bacon bits, and sometimes some mushroom paste. Season with hickory salt and pepper and a little paprika if I want color inside, and on to the next step.

At the bottom I make a row of julienned cheese across the piece, and maybe some strips of roast red pepper lined up, and then start rolling upwards so the strips of cheese form the center. I stop about half an inch to an inch short of the top and edges. Then by picking up the plastic wrap I can start rolling it upwards until it forms a chub, and in cross section you see a spiral. Then I tuck the ends and mush them together, and feather the top of the sausage into the roll.

Finally I roll it back to the bottom leaving the plastic sheet flat. Then I roll it up again in the plastic and twist down the ends good and tight as in your method.

One thing I learned is that you have to use a low moisture or aged cheese or it will all just melt out and leave holes in the chub when it's cooked. Not good.

I'm trying to refine this to where it will score well in competitions. So far it scores just outside the top ten but with better cheese it might improve. I should add that we have to do the foil wrap and short grill or smoker time to set the meat because only wood fired heat sources are allowed in competition. But given my druthers I'd use your boiling method.

Last but not least, this is a good method with a bacon weave around the outside. And the same technique works well with a pork tenderloin or pork loin, butterflied and pounded out to a sheet, and processed as above. I always do the pork loin or tenderloin with a bacon weave.

Sorry I don't have pix, but next time I do these I'll be sure to take some and post.

Nice forum, thanks for hosting!

MartyB in KC

[BBQ Butcher]

As far as your cheese.......there IS a "Hi-Temp" cheese available that work great in sausages.