Making Damon's Famous Smoked Sausage: The Complete Video
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- Опубліковано 23 бер 2023
- There are no secrets at Damon's! In this video, Brandon walks us through grinding, stuffing, and smoking sausage. If you like what you see, come on down and enjoy some sausage at the restaurant. Be sure to tell Brandon you've seen this video.
I have been a butcher for 36 yrs and I recently retired from HEB. I help a friend who has a processing center and we do it all. Exotics, bison, wild hogs, longhorns and of course beef, lamb, domestic hogs, elk and deer. We processed over 800 deer last yr. We make our bacon, smoke hams, make custom jerky and 8 different kinds of smoked sausage, oh yeah, a lot of summer sausage. Butchers who can do hanging carcass and everything that goes with it are dying breed. I'm always happy to have guys come in to learn, aren't afraid of very hard work and can retain what we show.
That is awesome!!! Where are you located? I would love to come do a run with y'all one day if I can get away. You are definitely right that butchers are becoming a dying breed and what scares me is that one day soon, we might all need those skills. The purpose of these videos is to help those who lack the skills but possess the desire to learn how to improve their cooking skills. Thank you for watching and thank you for passing down the tradition of smoking meats.
I Love HEB. I am drooling at the list of meats you mentioned. Enjoy retirement. Butcher's in Generql are a dying breed. 😮
Oh my, I’m in love. 😜
I love the HEB jalapeño bacon and sausage. The best around
"I'm always happy to have guys come in to learn, aren't afraid of very hard work and can retain what we show." Damn that leaves me out. I am not afraid of hard work just too old for it. And I have CRS syndrome.
I apprenticed under an old school butcher many years ago. He specialized in sausage and had his own recipes, and even wrote a book. I ran a game cutting business out of our home when we lived in Montana. Each season we'd turn out about 500 - 700 lbs of sausage. Even after all that experience, I learned some new tips in this video. What inspired me years ago to learn sausage making was after getting a deer back from a processor and the sausage tasted horrible. It was frustrating to take such good care of the animal I harvested only to have it mixed in with meat from other hunters. In my business I kept all animals separate when processing. Takes more time that way, but customers come back. You're top notch Sir - great video. Fall is coming - sausage season is soon. Take care.
I really appreciate that. I have always felt that in bbq, you are always learning. I learned a lot by talking and watching an old Pitmaster who has forgotten more about bbq than I'll ever know. He built most of my bbq pits that I own to this day. I've worked for myself for years, so while he was building my pits, I would sit with him every day and talk bbq. He made bbqing look easy. He would tell me that a true Pitmaster never stops learning. I think that applies to sausage making, too. Every sausage maker has their own technique, and we can all learn from each other. I'm in a Facebook group for sausage making, and we used to invite each other to come watch when we made sausage. We wouldn't help make sausage. We would just watch. We learned a lot from each other by just watching.
Most excellent. Hope to visit your place one day. Thanks again for the great video!@@damonsrealtexasbbq
Would you mind sharing with me where I can get those recipes or recipe book, even it means buying that book
I'm blown away Brandon, not only for your expertise, but for you generosity of spirit in sharing it with us. I'm going to make a batch starting tomorrrow! But most importantly, I'm gonna have to make a pilgrimage to Wharton to snorkel through your entire menu. Mil gracias amigo!
Thank you so much and I hope to see you soon.
Thank you so much and I hope to see you soon.
Brandon, just finished watching all of your videos. Thank you for taking the time to share them. You have an exceptional way of explaining your processes that makes me really understand what you are doing. You have great camera presence and a very calming voice that makes me feel you are speaking directly to me. I look forward to more of your content. I’m in Michigan but I wish I lived closer to your restaurant so I could try those delicious sausages.
Thank you very much Jim. I really appreciate it. I'm kinda new to this UA-cam thing, but I've had a lot of fun making these videos. We are kicking around ideas for new videos so expect to see some new content soon. Thank you again and if you are ever near Wharton, TX please stop by the restaurant. I'd love to visit with you and talk bbq.
Thank you for the tip to mix seasonings before grinding. It's way easier, I really appreciate it.
Someone used the word "generosity". That's the perfect word. And I came here to say this. I have no intention to mass produce sausage, but Brandon's transparent generosity had me staying to watch the entire video. Much respect Brandon. You are a good human. Generous, respecting those who taught you, and passing on the knowledge. I'm all the way over in Hawaii, but I wish I could stop by and try the food you make.
Thank you so much. I really appreciate it. By the way, the state of Hawaii and all of its residents have been in my prayers. May God Bless Each and Everyone of y'all and give y'all the strength you need at this time.
@@damonsrealtexasbbq thank you brother! We need those prayers.
Excellent demonstration! Well done!. Wow, I love it. It was a great presentation. Thank you.
Woww ive been watching a lot of videos on how to make sausage, but you just taught me so many things with just this one video. Thank you so much!! 🙏🏾
One of the best detailed sausage videos I’ve seen. And I’ve seen a lot. Well done and looks fabulous.
Excellent video on how to make sausage. Will definitely try this recipe out. Thanks for all your suggestions.
Fantastic video. Obviously very knowledgeable, experienced and generous for sharing all of your methods. You are also intelligent and well-spoken. Nicely done!😊
Thats got to be the best video I have seen on the subject. Well done
Thoroughly entertaining and informative video.
Brilliant stuff.
Thanks so much
Really enjoyed this video. I've been making sausage for about five years now. What I learned about muxing seasoning to meat is like you I mix before grinding. The best thing that I learned is to add water to the seasoning making a slurry or gravy. Being wet the seasoning coats the meat better and is much easier to mix cutting your mixing time in half or more.
I couldn't keep my eyes off of your bread warmer, lol. I got my hands on an older all metal model a few years ago and converted it into a smoker by just adding wood chips to the water pan. I usually heat and dehydrate sausage for two hours without any wood then add wood to smoke and finish cooking the sausage. A double handful size of coals in the water pan will keep the temp 175 to 200. I cook mine to 160 to 165 and can cook off a 30lb batch in 3 hours. Anyway I really enjoyed the vid and am now subscribed.
Wow, I love it. It was a great presentation. Thank you
Dude God bless you I've watched two of your videos and I will watch them all
Thanks for sharing this how to. I followed your directions on mixing which made the process so much easier. I even ordered from REO. We just processed our first deer last week. Making regular sausage, Sausage Burger, and Smoked sausage. I can't believe my wife is very happy with the results, She's not a big fan of deer (till now). I broke it all down money wise. At the grocery store it cost $6.99 for 1lb of smoke sausage, for us processing it our self $1.88lb. And we're able to provide for family also. Again Many Thanks For This Video.
That's awesome!!! I love hearing how much you were able to save. That's what processing is all about. I'm glad your wife enjoyed it too...Happy wife, happy life. God bless and enjoy.
Excellent demonstration! Well done!
Thank you for sharing this video it has been very helpful understanding the method of making sausage as a way to utilize all of the meat trimmings.
Really great video. Very educational. Definitely worth watching. Thank you
Best video I’ve ever seen ! Outstanding !
My wife and I live in Richmond. We shall be taking a road trip to your restaurant soon, weather permitting. Nice weather is on the way, so we will see you soon. Thanks for the video and I can't wait to have some cheese sausage!
Thank you for the master class! Ive never made sausage and Im ready to try your recipe
Great advice on sausage making. A little to much talking, but still one of the best advice I have seen on UA-cam.
Thanks for walking us through the ins and outs of sausage making - really appreciate the sharing of your knowledge!.
Best I've ever watch,thank you.
I have watched a lot of sausage making videos and I like yours the best, I like the way you explain your process, the next time I go to Port Aransas we are going to have to take a detour and check out your place. looking forward to more videos.
Thank you. I really appreciate that and I hope to see you soon.
Thanks for sharing. I used to live in TX and now make sausage in Germany.
really loved your vlogs full of lessons. thanks for all generosity sharing god bless
Nice to see Different techniques. We in Namibia make Boere Worse which is a tradiational sausage. But we do the water and spice mix and add it to the meat before Grinding.
Im from south Louisiana and Personally I don't like all the water because it changes the texture But with that said you should get a paddle mixer for doing sausage makes things alot easier. You can even use it to mix your seasoning into the chunks before grinding
What a great video lots of information I am new to sausage making and appreciate all the tips I am going to give it a try.
Excellent! Thank you very much for taking the time to teach us how you make this gorgeous sausage! New sub...
Thank you for subscribing to our channel. I hope to get some new videos out soon.
@@damonsrealtexasbbq My pleasure!
Thanks so much for all of this information. Very helpfull.
Great presentation
All the best from the land down under
We do love a good sausage at the BBQ so smoked sausage sounds great.
Cheers.
Wow Australia!!! I have a few friends that live there and keep telling me I need to come visit. It is on my bucket list. Thank you and God bless!!!
Excellent tutorial on sausage making, I've been making small batches and learned some new stuff. Now i'll have to come to Wharton and try your bbq!
Yes sir. We look forward to seeing you if you are ever in the area.
Is the seasoning salty I want something not so salty
Great information!
Excellent video! As others have said, you have a real talent for explaining things. You're a born teacher.
Thank you sir. I appreciate that.
Man thanks so much! Really enjoyed the video. Good bless!
Nice video. That seasoning sounds good, I'll be looking at that website. One note, near the end you mentioned frying up a taste sample before stuffing. That's a great idea, however this needs to be done BEFORE adding any CURE. Cure needs to time work before it is safe to cook and eat the product. This is why meat with cure is held overnight before cooking or a cure accelerator must be added if smoking the same day.
The biggest reason you'll want to let your sausages rest overnight is so that the sodium nitrite has the time to convert and cure the sausage. Another thing is you don't want to take a sample the patty as you mentioned and cook it to check the seasonings. Cooking a patty with sodium nitrite before it has had the chance to convert to nitric oxide is dangerous.
Great info, thanks!
Outstanding video! You got a new fan and sub here! Can't wait to watch the rest of your video's.
Thank you. I really appreciate it. We should be releasing a new video very soon.
Enjoyed watching your video on sausage making your very informative on this thanks.
That was awesome! Keep it up!!
Awesome video. Thank you so much!
Good video, real information and tips.
Yeah I totally agree. You need dedicated machines for grinding, mixing, and stuffing.
Executive training video quality. Clear, concise and tasty!
I agree, add your spices to unground meat, it gets more distributed in the meat this way
Looks great! Now I’m hungry!!
Awesome information, thanks so much
So nice of you to share how it's done. Really enjoyed your video. Do you have a video on making tortillas?
Great video sir! Thanks!
Awsome video, Thanks for Sharing
this is a very good video you have explained this very well. i have a couple of suggestions. first when filling the sausage stuffer, the first hand full of meat make sure you press it down into the bottom of the stuffer. this gets all the air out. Second when stuffing try not to fill the casing to full. this will help with the twisting and you will have less or hopefully no breakage at all. also the wetter the horn is the easier it is to fill the sausage. when it is dry it sticks and breaks. i really enjoyed your video. don 45 years a butcher.
Thanks for showing
Major thumbs up.
I have been making a stuffing sausages for over 35 years. One thing run warm water inside the casing. Washing them outside does nothing. Doing this you will remove all crap from inside. Twisting sausage use both hands. We don't do that at my place all is automatic. Blinkers doing all the job but 35 years ago we still use our hand on some sausages.
Awesome video...gona make sum as soon as it starts to get cooler
Great video! do you by chance have the measurements of the seasoning you use for a 5 pound batch of sausage?
Awesome video I learned soooo much
Awesome video..thanks!
I love your video,,absolutely loved amazing and awesome 👌 ❤🎉😊
Thanks - lots of good info ! 😊
I really like your video thanks,
Thank you Sir, God bless you too.
Very informative thank you.
Really enjoyed your teaching video and just subscribed. Hoping for more videos. 👍😇
Thank you so much. We will be doing some more videos real soon.
I from south east Texas and like the way you mix the seasons into the meat , but I was taught at a young age of 8 that you always smoke your sausage for at least to weeks to make sure they have a really great smoke flavor and that the meat is cured. Growing up in south east Texas we would leave our meats in the smoke house for several months at a time rather sausage or bacon. But people now days aren't taught the old ways of curing and making smoke meats rather it be bacon, ham, or sausage.
Fantastic
Great job and info! Well done and thanks! Putting an order in with reo. Gonna try moose and pork.
Let me know how that comes out. It sounds amazing.
Mixing cold sausage by hand , the cold freeze feeling, that's not nice for employees to freeze hands and fingers,,your food looks amazing. Beautiful ❤
Thank you so much for this interesting video; I'm enjoyed watching it from Guatemala in Central America. How long do this sausage last after they're done? Thanks again.
Great Video and presentation brother! Question for you, How much ice water do you add to the grounded meat for the 100lbs or 50lbs of sausage?
Brandon thank you for the time and effort you took to try and educate us all. Can you tell the plate hole size you used to grind with? Was it 1/4" ?
Thank you sir. The Grinder plate is a 7mm.
Awesome video!!
Loved the video, I started making some sausage 2 years ago. Ive made about 100 lbs and much of what you did I have never seen! I love it. Already ordered the seasonings and cant wait to try it. How much water can I add to 50 lbs of sausage? BYTW..hello from South Carolina. If you ever get down this way holler. We are near Myrtle Beach
I learned a lot. Thanks. These skills will help when making deer sausage.
When I make deer sausage, I use 60% Pork and 40% venison. It makes for a juicy sausage. When I've made 50/50 pork and venison sausage, it has come out too dry. Just a little tip.
@@damonsrealtexasbbq Thanks, I appreciate that. I have been doing patty deer sausage and have shied away from links due to I felt it would be too hard but I am going to give it a shot. Thanks again.
great video..one of the best online..there is a question here I would like your comment on...I followed your recipe to the "T" got the seasoning from your boys and the casings...problem is the casings had more chew than I like...took em right off the smoker at 160 and dropped them in my big yeti full of ice water..they stayed there for hours till I vacuum packed....so tasty but too much chew...what can I do about this..? the casings were washed over night with multiple water changes, tepid water..can you help me out?
I thought this was probably the best video I’ve watched on making sausage, especially if you’re making a larger amount. Thanks for sharing your knowledge (I’m still learning)! 👍👍
and..
I noticed you didn’t prick your sausage after. No need too?
I never have done that. I know some people that do, but I know more that don't. If I see an air bubble then I will poke it, but if it all looks tight I just leave it alone.
Thank you for sharing. Excellent vid. Loved everyone participating. Do you sell online?
Thanks for sharing your knowledge. Making sausage can be difficult. You explained very well. I do have a question. Where do you buy your pepper jack cheese? I buy mine from a place in Houston and it didn't have much flavor.
Great question. I get them from two different places. I usually order from Webstaurantstore.com because they are cheaper than most places i have found, but I also order from Waltons.com because they have a huge variety of cheeses. Waltons sells anything and everything related to sausage making. That's where I bought my Weston grinder.
I have been making sausage for years and still learn things from others. I make small batches 10-15 lbs. I have found LEM to be reliable products.
Does the seasoning pack have any kind of a binder like soy or milk powder? Sausage looks really good. Also interesting most other videos ive see say they want it sticky when stuffing, your way seems better to me.
No binder or powdered milk. I never even knew about those things until a couple years after I started making sausage. I know several people that use a binder, but I have never had the need. Give it a shot this way and see what you think. If you think it needs it, you can always add it before running it through the casings.
Getting ready to make elk sausage,from Raymond,was.thumbs up.
OH.YEAH thank you for sharing . As I am a beginner 👌👍🇺🇸
Really enjoyed the video, thanks for the very detailed information. What size plate did you double grind that with? Looks like possibly a 6mm or so? That seemed like way more water than I have been using (per pound) but I do sometimes find that I have a hard time getting the meat through the stuffer. I didn't know if too much water was a bad thing, so I always assumed less was better than more. Maybe I should start adding more.
That is a great question that I should have addressed in the video. Thank you for asking what size plate I use. I use the 7mm plate, which is the large hole plate. I use that same plate for both grinds.
As far as water goes, I wish I could tell you to add a certain amount of water, but it really depends on how much much the meat soaks up. You just want it to not be super sticky. Where you know it will push through the stuffer with ease. All your seasoning is in there, and it's not going to dissolve because you are using cold water. All that water is going to evaporate during the smoking process, leaving behind your seasoning and all that flavor.
Thank you,
Brandon Cruz
@@damonsrealtexasbbq Sounds good, thanks for the reply. My MEAT grinder came with a 4.5mm and a 10mm plate. I recently bought a 6mm because often times I thought it was either too fine or too coarse, depending on what I was making. I will try adding more water I think. Normally when I add mine to the stuffer it is still very sticky. It normally works fine, but if more water doesn't hurt, it should make it easier to process for sure.
Love to see more sausage videos if you make other types. I've been trying to master boudin lately but haven't gotten that dialed in yet.
Loving watching your channel.. when you put in jalapeno peppers to your sausage are they whole when going in the grinder or sliced. Thanks
Actually, I use dehydrated jalapeños. I used to use fresh jalapeños, but dehydrated is so much easier. When using dehydrated jalapeños, you put 3 oz of them in a small pot of water. Bring it to a boil, and then cut the heat and let them soak for about 15 minutes. I then pour ice on them to cool them down before adding it to 50 lbs of meat. I grind it with the water and all. You won't have to add as much water later on. I hope that helps.
Damn that looks good. Anything extra you just throw in the disco and make tripas
Question: Do you change the plate for the second grind to a smaller plate or use the same plate?
Great video. One question though. Is it advisable to taste the sausage before allowing the cure to do its job? I know we would only be tasting a smidgen but would it be safe to do so?
Not a problem at all. I usually make a test patty as soon as I get done grinding just to make sure my flavors are correct.
Great video. Subscribed
Awesome video! How do you pack and store?
I just came across your channel and I'm immediately hooked... What do you think about automatic commercial smokers like Southern Pride?
You can use collagen casings very conveniently
Great video..... I have made summer sausage, brats, hot links, etc. for years, but can you tell me a good place to purchase the high temp cheese? Thanks for the tip on the REO products, I will give them a try.
I use two websites for high temp cheese. webstaurantstore.com is the cheaper of the two, but waltons.com has a larger variety of cheese. In fact, Walton's has everything you need to make sausage except the meat.
Do you reheat your sausage that doesn't get sold from the day before and if so what's the process for it?
While hand mixing, turn the tub end to end every minute. 32;20? , I add 1/2 the water into the spice mix before adding to the pre grind. Make felt pen marks on the table so the links are the same size.. What will a link that size sell for?- thanks.
Great video! I'd love to see one for the tortillas you mentioned, made with beef tallow. Are you doing both corn and flour or just corn tortillas? Thanks for making these videos!
That's a really good idea. In fact, my wife and I were talking about that the other night. I think we will make a video of that entire process, from making the tallow all the way to a hot tortilla. We only make homemade flour tortillas. Our corn tortillas are store bought. We tried making homemade corn tortillas, but considering how cheap corn tortillas are and the fact that we love the flavor of the ones we use, we decided to buy our corn tortillas. Look for a video covering flour tortillas very soon.
@@damonsrealtexasbbq awesome can't wait!
Brandon....just found this video. I'm fixing to make my first batch of sausage and really enjoyed this video. You said you get your seasoning from Reo Spice but where do you get your High Temp Cheese
There are several places to get it online. waltons.com has a large variety of hi temp cheese, and webstaurantstore.com has some as well. I sometimes buy cheese online, or I also use a local butcher shop that is in my area. If you find it any cheaper online than the two websites I mentioned, please let me know.