Friday

brats & breakfast links ~

It was another busy day at our local zoo ... meaning my house!

Slim and I spent the majority of it making up some breakfast sausage links, polish sausage and bratwursts.  I hope we're done for awhile ... as I'm getting tired of grinding, seasoning, and cleaning up this stuff, especially that heavy Hobart grinder.  At least today's project didn't involve having to fire up the smoke house.  

I had to laugh when we did the links ... good thing this order was for our daughter because we didn't have the right size casings on hand.  Her breakfast links are about the size of hot dogs ~ I'm sure they'll still get eaten.


I love Polish Sausage ... we use our own recipe and all fresh ingredients.  I wish computers had smell-a-vision because this tub of meat with the pork, mustard seeds, rosemary, thyme, savory and a few other ingredients smells awesome ... even a full fledged vegetarian would have a hard time not eating this stuff!


Get a load of these fresh bratwurst too ... mmmmmmm...........


I know I go on sometimes about making sausage, and making my own jellies and jams, and all the canning I do ~ BUT ... that's who I am ... that's what I do.  We always try to eat the freshes fruits, veggies, and meats that we can.  There are few things that we purchase that are pre-made when it comes to the groceries.

Everything that we make ~ it seems to be done in BIG batches.  I really have a hard time just cooking for two! lol   Like the jars of jam I did yesterday ... NO that's not all ours.  I make it for a couple resorts, they use it for little gifts for their customers.  I make jams and jellies all year ~ totaling around 300 jars a year.

Same thing with all the meat we process.  We make a wide variety of sausages for ourselves, family and friends ... about 2 tons worth a year.  We make pork breakfast sausage patties and links, home cured side pork or salt pork, bacon, bratwurst, venison and beef summer sausage, jerky, landjaegers, hot dogs, just to name a few of them.

I keep telling Slim ... we need to quit our day jobs and go into this full time ... not just as a hobby.  He says, nope... wood working is our hobby.  Hmmmmmmmmm.... I didn't know that.  It's been a long time since we made anything with wood.

Until next time...
So it goes in my neck of the woods.
~mel

11 comments:

  1. Mel, you guys are amazing. I have never known anyone who put-up that much stuff in a year. It is good to know that many others are enjoying your craft.

    It is truly amazing for us who 'buy' stuff already 'fixed' to see what you guys can do.

    For us it is an extra kick, to have been in the meat processing area and also seen the smoker, and the traps etc. Now In my mind I can see you guys 'At work'.

    I will shut up, we learned today of a friends passing last night. We have been friends for ever. I had 'eyes' for Martha a long time before I know Sherry. She was Sherry's best friend. This is the first comment I have been able to complete. Thanks!
    Love you guys!

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  2. If we had smell-a-vision I think I would be forced to eat supper a second time. Humm Humm

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  3. You know Mel, you and Slim could begin a mail order business online selling homemade sausage and jams and jellies. You could make these items expensive because you use such great ingregients and would be a gourmet food. I think you should persue this.

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  4. Awesome, Mel.... TRUE---you and Slim should go into this business fulltime...

    I'd love to have some of your sausage ---any of it!!!! Did you make Kielbasa? YUM...

    Have a great weekend.
    Hugs,
    Betsy

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  5. I think Moni is right ~ Slim's been wanting you to make some money on the computer and he likes watching you make the sausages (lol) so he would he happy as a pig in a mud hole.
    'love & hugs from afar'

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  6. I sure wish you were my next door neighbour!!!

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  7. Somehow my bowl of bran cerial might get kicked to the door after reading this. Thank you for not showing them cooking.
    I so envy you being able to create and preserve your own foods. Sadly, almost a lost art.

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  8. YOU too are making me hungry!! Nohting better than home made stuff! Enjoy!!

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  9. All that sounds delicious to me. Wish I was your neighbor LOL. Helen

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  10. Honest! I never liked link sausage, but looking at yours I think I would try it. I always liked sausage patties, especially with hot grits poured over them. Then a couple summers ago I found out that I do like a special "bratwurst" our son-in-law cooked along with our hot-dogs for the 4th of July. You do an AMAZING amount of work!!!

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  11. Never a dull moment at the Donner's. Glad we had a chance to talk more than a couple minutes today. Tummy is feeling a bit better, after Alka visited it. That usually does the trick for me. Maybe tomorrow if you aren't too busy, I'll make it there.
    We do need to drag Lin into a 3way B-Fest with us over our indigent ones.
    Great entry girly
    BlessOurHearts

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