Sausage Making: The Definitive Guide with Recipes

For making sausage at home, this book will take you from beginner to advanced. The writing is straightforward; the illustrations are clear and helpful; and the formulas tell you what types and percentages of meat, fat, liquid and other ingredients to use in various types of sausages. Ingredients are listed by weight and percentages, so the recipes are scalable. Individual recipes are precise and easy to follow. I have been making sausages at home for 10 years, and this book remains a go-to reference. It has also been a great holiday gift to family members.

Ryan Farr, a trained chef and professional butcher, scored big with his first book 'Whole Beast Butchery'. Book number two is this very interesting introduction to sausage making. I've been making sausages for--well, thirty years. I keep buying books on this subject. This is the 'book to buy' for first-time sausage makers. Why?: this is a 'hands on book.' The first section is what is 'definitive.' In text and about the best photos ever, Mr. Farr both shows and tells wannabe sausage makers every last basic technique we need to know: trimming, cutting into pieces for grinding, fat-to-meat ratios, the importance of emulsification, spicing and mixing and...well, whatever. He goes on to inform readers about cooking techniques and he concludes with a chapter on condiments and 'bread' items to go with good sausage.I come from a time and a place where we could purchase excellent hot dogs in local supermarkets. They were so good that we could grill them and sell them as a fund-raiser for our 4-H club at our county fair! My grandfather sourced them for his 'mom and pop' restaurant. Here is a recipe for the hotdog of your dreams: snappy chew, all-beef stuffing, all natural casing. Ryan Farr doesn't stop with making the sausage: he goes on to stress the importance of proper cooking, tailored to the type of sausage you have made: poaching for delicate items like seafood sausage and boudins, grilling for 'gutsy' items and so on.The big caveat: the first section is worth the whole price of the book. Farr incudes recipes but they are 'illustrative' of different types of the sausage maker's art. Rytek Kutas, while more 'commercial' in his focus, gives more recipes for more types of ground meat stuffed in casings. Farr's book includes terrines and 'pate en croute' (seasoned ground meat in a pastry case), a subject Rytek does not address. If you want more recipes, see the Marianski brothers' books, also available on Amazon. I own them as well and rate them highly. The Marianski books are more authoritative but Farr's first chapter tells a story, with those great photos by Ed Anderson, that earlier books do not provide. Speaking of the photos, this book is the only one I own that shows longitudinal cuts down the length of a cased sausage to show you the result of the recipe. Maybe you, like my wife, don't want to see any bits of fat in the product: just process the meat through a finer disc and you will have all the flavour and none of the 'flak' from picky eaters in your family. Real sausage lovers will appreciate the photos of what a well-made sausage can be and should look like! Good sausage doesn't need to be 'ground to death'...and Farr is not the only sausage maker to suggest, through his photos or in so many words, that it shouldn't be.I am probably 'preaching to the choir' on this: if you are making sausage, you already know that you can find plenty of recipes and you can make really good sausages that will even have you giving up beef steak once in a while. A good meat meal does not need to cost top steak prices!Okay: this is not the only book a sausage lover should buy to guide themselves to sausage heaven. It is the best existing book I have purchased to introduce meat lovers to the craft.

Pretty good intro to sausage making but not really many recipes.

I love this book. Over the last few years I've smoked sausage 3 times, each time I was disappointed. After reading a lot of Marianski's Home Production of Quality Meats and Sausages, I was still disappointed. That book is a great one as well, but it's better as a reference or guide for advanced projects, whereas this one has a very detailed yet concise template about how to make sausage. After being frustrated for years, my sausage turned out great--this book wasn't some magic solution, I had been buying better equipment over time, and the little practice did help, but after having a lot of texture problems and googling how to fix them, I stumbled upon this book. The template was very easy to understand and use, even easy enough that I could synthesize the methods with those of Marianski and make some of my own decisions. Success is inspirational, and this book helped me succeed, I look forward to making a lot more sausage, including some of the beautiful recipes in this book. I think someone that wants to learn to produce smoked sausage in particular, should make cooked smoked sausage a few times with templates in this book, then get the Marianski book and learn the ins and outs of smoking, temps, and curing... and if you're really cool, building a smokehouse.

sausage making. NICE book (hardcover). Recipes are definitely over the top. Wasn't expecting to see how to debone a suckling pig, stuff, tie,etc.. A few truly exotic sausage recipes. Definitely high brow but it will take your sausage making to another level. I mean WHERE is the majority going to find a Guinea hen? If you're of the sort to "compete with the Jones'" or are of the Fraiser Crane crowd, this book is for you.I eat wild game, raccoon included, but have NO regrets getting this book.

Great book for anyone wanting to make quality sausage

Great book for starting sausage hobby or just practising best sausages

Pour débuter, c'est le livre parfait. De superbes illustrations (c'est vraiment son plus gros atout par rapport aux autres livres disponibles sur le sujet) pour bien expliquer comment faire, puis une série de recettes classées selon le type de farce. C'est vrai qu'il n'y en a pas tant, mais l'échantillon est parfait pour montrer la diversité et la complexité de saveurs qu'on peut obtenir.Les autres plus : les coupes montrant la texture interne du produit final, la couverture rigide, le "master ratio" pour laisser libre cours à notre imaginationMon seul bémol est qu'il aurait été plus pratique que la technique de cuisson finale soit mise un peu plus en évidence (ce n'est pas tout le monde qui a un fumoir ou un bbq disponible), pour faciliter le choix.

Interesting and easy to use

Definitive NO but good all the same

The only thing i love more than cooking is buying cooking gadgets and cook books...My kids bought me a sausage making attachment for my mixer last year and i'm looking forward to testing some of the recipes in this book. It's really well laid out based on the texture of the sausage your looking for and each section has formulas so you get the right mix of ingredients based on the quantity your making.