Okay, so this weekend I cranked up the meat machine and made 10 lbs of italian sausage and another 10 lbs of snack sticks, this time using a pepperoni recipe and hickory smoke.

The italian sausage was excellent. The wife had a bite of the test batch (always cook up some of the sausage before casing or packaging it up to make sure the seasoning is right) and said it was very tasty, and just the right amount of peppery heat. The dog added his approval of course. I stuffed it in collagen casings at 32 mm and made three pinwheels for the freezer.

The pepperoni sticks are good, but not quite what I expected. The seasonings seemed weak after the smoking/drying process. The hickory smoke flavor is strong, almost overpowering, indicating that next time I need to use one less pan I think. The texture and consistency is still spot on, so at least my technique is holding up well. We had a little more meat than the casings would hold, so I formed those into strips and ran them through the dehydrator, and the seasoning flavor weakened in those too. I suspect that the aromatics from the fennel and the garlic are volatizing off more than I planned on, and I will adjust my recipe some more.

My only concern now is that I may need to find a way to preserve them longer. As it is, 10 lbs of sausage just doesn't last that long. Perhaps I should consider giving less of it away. That would definitely make a difference. Of course my new found friends may revolt, smelling the sausage on my breath after I've eaten some in private.