There are mini-fridge sized curing chambers for home use. You can buy cellulose aging wraps, which is what I'm using at first, and nowadays there are permeable vac bags designed for dry aging as well. Haven't heard much good about those though, very difficult to establish and maintain a proper seal. The sheet wraps came recommended. I don't know enough about ideal temperatures and humidity just yet, I'm only beginning this foray myself, but a stable environment, cool, low humidity and decent airflow makes sense to me. Humidity being the most important factor. Then, as long as you use the correct type and amount of cure salt it should be a matter of patience. Like a less than ideal environment will still work but may take a bit longer.

Fresh sausage from a supermarket meat counter (where I live) is probably fairly close to what I make. However they'll probably use some fillers and excess water to save money. The pre-cooked or frozen stuff you'd buy away from the meat counter is more likely to be loaded with additives. As for sawdust, well that's a butchery term for the emulsion of meat, fat and bone that collects in our bandsaw. It's not wood mill sawdust, we just call it that. If it's collected while still fresh there is nothing nutritionally bad about it. I use it in dog treats all the time. I WOULD NEVER FEED IT TO A HUMAN as I pride myself on producing too quality fare but it's not the end of the world some cultures add it to their sausage farce (looking at you Australia). As long as they're open and honest it's going in there, and using it safely, I see no issue. My shop generates less than one pound of it per day at peak so it's not exactly going to make us millionaires.

My only gripe with grocery store sausage is they're all the same tired and played out recipes. I pride myself on producing recipes and versions of products nobody else is making. You want a Hawaiian Pizza Sausage? You have to buy it from us. My Chipolatas recipes brings the sausage full circle back to its ancient Roman roots via the caramelized onions. I chose to do that when nobody else was. It elevates mine above the generic, corporate approved safe bet.

I have never sous vided a steak in my life. Nothing against it just not my style. I'm a cast iron pan sear guy. Love the crust texture.

As for sausages yes you can absolutely sous vide. You'll want to use cure salt as the cook will hold the meat in the danger zone for some time. Using cure salt and sodium erythorbate will give your par cooked sausages a long shelf life in the fridge. Many people hosting or catering cookouts will par cook sausages in advance like this so they can be quickly seared and served at the event. Quite popular preparation. After sous vide give them a couple minutes ice bath then rest at room temp for 30 minutes before packing and refrigerating.

The shop is St Clair West

Absolutely.

Broccoli Beef, Bulgogi, Hot Dogs, Texas Hot Links (beef and pork), Chipotle Cheddar Brisket (you could use any muscle really), Carne Asada, Savoury.

Let me know which ones interest you and I'll try to type them out in the coming days.

Most independent butcher shops will make their own sausages in house. Feel comfortable asking about ingredients and what specific cuts end up in the grind.

Poultry sausage is the leanest and lowest salt percentage. I prefer turkey over chicken but both can be great.

We get our casings from our main beef supplier. No idea where they source them. It's all pre-tubed, usually great quality.

Beef I like the boneless blade section. Poor man's ribeye, Denver steak, stir fry (poor man's flank steak right beside the Denver), plenty of stew and burger. I usually braise large chunks of stew and pull it, I make wicked "carne asada" nachos with it. My favourite cut to cook and eat is the very first chuck end ribeye, failing that a nice 1.5" striploin or a bavette if it's for lunch. Making prime rib roasts is fun. For charcuterie I'm interested in using the "baseball" muscle from the sirloin to make basturma.

Pork I use whole shoulder for sausages mostly but I'm partial to the midloin chop when it comes to eating. The t-bone pork chop. I like it 1.25" thick. Heritage breed aged for two weeks is God tier chops. I usually go for Mangalitsa breed but our farm didn't have any this time so they sent me Meishan and I'm impressed. Meishan fat is pork fat properties but closer to beef fat flavour. Wow. I have tons of pork products planned in the pipeline. Deli meats, charcuterie, smokies etc.

Lamb I only eat rib or loin chops but use everything for sausage. I LOVE processing lamb racks but unfortunately market conditions led our shop to order them pre-cleaned. Every chance I get I'll clean and french a lamb rack. It's fun.

Chicken is all about the thigh for me. Breast meat is trash these days. North America has overbred our hens to the point they're stacking breast meat TWICE as fast as ten years ago. Problem is the heart can't pump oxygenated blood to the muscle fast enough so the collagen doesn't develop and the spaghetti-sized muscle fibres split apart and look and eat like crap. Thighs are still excellent, almost impossible to overcook and full of flavour. Wings when I'm entertaining (fried in schmaltz ofc). Leg drumsticks when I'm cooking just for me or for staff meal.

Turkey. Don't get me started. It's stupid for every reason imaginable. BUT I am going to make turkey bacon at work soon for the first time and I'm optimistic. Last Thanksgiving I made a turkey breast roulade stuffed with turkey sausage. Year prior it was a spatchcocked bird brined overnight in saltwater and liquid smoke. Divine. This year my brother is cooking it but I'll provide the bird and brine it in the smoke brine again. When I eat turkey I prefer sausages. I make amazing turkey sausages (I leave the skin on when I grind). I find nearly any formulation I use for beef or pork works just as well with turkey. I make a wicked turkey pepperoni that doesn't require fermenting. Mustard powder replaces paprika and bacteria culture to retain the tangy notes.

Aside from the odd custom order that's the bread and butter of what I enjoy at work.

Everything but the crust. I don't use binders or fillers.

Ingredients are salt, pepper, tomato paste (neutralized with baking soda), dried oregano, chili flakes, ham or cooked bacon, high temp mozzarella (I make my own) and canned pineapple. There's some nuanced technique beyond that but it's literally a Hawaiian pizza on a bun.

I haven't yet, aside from sourcing my ingredients, supplies and meat I haven't begun any real charcuterie yet. The lap cheong is charcuterie adjacent but it's only semi dried and still benefits from being cooked prior to eating. Even then my batch is only about 10% into the drying process.

I'll keep that in mind though, once I have a few cures under my belt I'll be eager to try recipes uncommon to these parts.

The kid I'm training at work is Portugese and nearly 15% of our clientele are Jewish so I can't imagine it bombing.

Saving your comment.

This tray would retail for approximately $S155 here. It's specialty pork, if I used regular pork it would be closer to $S110. Not counting my labour this tray cost me less than $S40.

Note to self: get a Singapore work visa

Thanks.

I can't wait to share the lap cheong post. Expect it mid October, after our Thanksgiving. My first time making it but I'm already planning a Szechuan version for next time.

I've never made it before but from what I understand you need to use salt and cure #1 on the breast then you can stuff it in whatever casing and netting you have. Once cured you can smoke or roast or sous vide it until cooked. Ice bath, rest at room temp for 30 minutes then into the cooler overnight before slicing.

The salt will catalyse protein extraction which will make the meat bind to itself once stuffed, creating a seemingly solid sphere of turkey breast. The cure will preserve colour, give it that smooth deli meat texture and also prevent botulism while you slowly cook it through the danger zone.

That's my two cents but as I said I've never done it nor researched it properly so I could be wrong or incomplete. YT is always my go-to when I want to learn a new process.

That's a tricky question. Thousands of chorizo variants by region and style.

If you want a cured chorizo, guessing by asking about nitrate, I'd look into a curing agent called Eco Cure. I've never used it myself but I've heard good things. Avoid celery powder, it's full of nitrate.

A basic chorizo formulation would look like:

• 1.8% salt
• 0.5% black pepper
• 0.4% garlic powder
• 0.4-0.8% cayenne
• 0.4% paprika
• 0.3% dried oregano
• 0.2% cumin

You can add water at about 3.5% if desired but with a nice rich grind it isn't necessary. This is for fresh chorizo. For cured keep in mind curing agent will count towards salt content and don't add water. For smoked you'll want to add water AND binder so water can go up to 5-10% and binder ratio will vary depending on what product you use.

Purpose built machines for both tasks.

LEM has a solid reputation amongst home cooks and hobbyists but Hakka Bros/MEAT/whatever other brand the Chinese factory wholesales to are perfectly viable options too. If I had to buy my own gear for home use I'd go with Hakka/MEAT Chinese gear.

The hobbyists all agree you should "buy once, cry once" with this hobby. Get the size up from what you need now so you can scale up production in a year without buying new machines.

If you eat a lot of sausage it pays itself off quickly.

My sausage already has a local fanclub, you'll have to do a bit better than that🤣