Step 1

Place meats on a baking sheet, cover with plastic wrap and freeze 1 1/2 hours. Should be very firm, not frozen solid. Place all meat grinder parts in freezer and refrigerate mixing bowl at least 30 min prior to using.

Step 2

Rinse casing well to remove salt and run warm water all the way through the casing. Let casing soak in warm water (90˚F water) for at least 1 hour or until soft and slick. Keep casings in water until ready to use.

Step 3

Remove 1/3 of meat from the freezer, dice into 1/4 thick pieces with a sharp knife and transfer to your chilled mixing bowl. Chop remaining meat into 2" pieces so that it can easily go through the meat grinder. Set up your meat grinder (if using KitchenAid mixer, set to speed 4 using the large holes grinding plate) and grind meat into chilled bowl then grind bacon.

Step 4

Sprinkle seasonings over meat and toss by hand 30 seconds to distribute then add 1 cup water and mix meat by hand for 1 minute (or with paddle attachment on speed 1 for 1 minute), just until a light film forms on the outside of the bowl and the mixture binds to itself and can hold a patty shape. Cover and refrigerate your sausage mixture while you clean your grinder and set up your sausage maker attachment. Seasoning Tip: To test your meat for seasoning, form a small patty and saute it on a skillet to sample.

Step 5

Lightly oil the outside of your sausage tube attachment and thread 1 sausage casing over the tube leaving a 6" tail hanging off the end. Do not tie the end - you want the initial air that comes through to escape.

Step 6

Remove ground meat from refrigerator, set mixer to speed 4 and add meat into hopper, pushing down with the plunger and adding more as you go. Use one hand to stuff the meat through and one hand to guide the filled casings. Fill firmly but do not overstuff, especially if making sausage links. Take care not to let big gaps of air into the tube. If you get air bubbles - no problem - you can poke the sausage casing with sausage pricker as you go. Let the sausage come out in one long coil until about 6" of casing remains at the end then start with the new sausage casing.***

Step 7

Pinch, twist and spin to make small sausage links or coil the sausage for the classic kielbasa look. Tie off the ends or tie with kitchen string if desired. Prick with sausage poker about every 2 inches, especially where you see air pockets, to prevent the sausage from bursting. Sausage can be baked, grilled or sautéed right away or can be refrigerated or frozen for later. Keeps well in refrigerator for 3-5 days or frozen up to 3 months.