Customer Reviews

Great Sausage Recipes & Meat Curing: 4th Edition

5 star:		(36)
4 star:		(5)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

This is definitely the definitive book on sausage making. The explanation of how cures work and what they are for is worth the price of the book. I haven't found this information anywhere else. Add all of the other details on every possible aspect of home or professional sausage making and the book becomes a bargain! Several hints on working with the recipes: 1) I like to increase the spices from the proportions listed. Mix and then fry a bit and adjust thhe spices until you get the taste you want. 2) You can leave out the more exotic, "professional" ingredients such as soy protein concentrate. 3) You also might want to cut the recipes down. The smallest quantity the recipes are for is 10 pounds. I usually make 5 pounds at a time. If you are just starting out in sausage-making, this should be the first book you buy. There is an accompanying video that Kutas produced that is also a tremendous help.

As a professional chef, I have taught sausage making and charcuterie to students and other professionals throughout the U.S. This is the book I use for reference. It is easy to follow and very comprehensive.

I like the fact that Rytek is a second generation cuiseur-de-chair and draws his knowledge from practical experience. The resources in his book are from his mail-order house- "The Sausage Maker" in Buffalo, N.Y which carries everything you could imagine to make any kind of sausage.

Being a meat technologist and having spent twenty years in the meat seasoning business I bought this book for curiosity and to enlarge my library of professional cookbooks. I couldn't have made a better choice. The Kutases (originally Latvian?) have a very practical approach in their book. Anyone who plans to set up a butchershop can benefit from their handy hints. On the other hand even the seasoning suggestions for a variety of sausages seem useful.

Great Sausage Recipes and Meat Curing is the most complete source of information on the preparation of smoked and cured meat and sausage making published. This book, written by a professional sausage maker, has a wealth of information for the home chef and is a valuable resource for the experienced and professional alike. Covering materials and machinery, Rytek Kutas explains the simple processes for curing meat and fish through the complex mixtures and techniques of sausage making for professional results. Over one hundred recipes, from simple breakfast sausages to exotic venison salami, are explained in detail. From 5 pounds to 50. Construction of dryers and smokers are explained as are resources for the purchase of grinders, stuffers, and equipment to open your own sausage shop. Great detail is given to the types and use of casings and chapters are devoted to safety in handling meat, proper additives, butchering, and cures, as well as the histories of these meats. Many of the "secret" recipes to popular meats are explained as are tricks of the trade only a professional sausage maker could know. A great textbook for professional and novice sausage makers alike.

This is a textbook on sausage making. It is very complete covering all aspects of the subject. It is equally helpful to a beginner or a professional.

Nevertheless I would not buy the video since the book covers the subject so well that the video does not add to the learning process. The book can be purchased without the video for much less!

If Amazon.com can't help with it the Sausage Maker in Buffalo, NY carries the book without the video!

I doubt there is any book more complete than this one.

More than a cookbook, sausage guru Rytek Kutas gives the background information important for processing and curing meats. Since meat curing is potentially a dangerous undertaking, it is important to have the facts at one's disposal. Kutas was a professional sausage maker for years and learned his lessons the hard way. The book is written simply in the authors voice--you will get to know the author and you will be educated.

Since reading this book, I have read other sausage making books that suggest salt peter (gunpowder) and citric acid are acceptable cures. Simply, they are not. Had I not read this sausage making book first, my family would probably be dead.

Mr. Kutas' style and knowledge is clearly based on his own experience, and he shares all of this freely to the reader. He explains all the steps in this process in down-to-earth language which is easily understood by novices, while experienced home sausage makers can learn new tips. He takes the fear out of trying something new. The questioning reader can relate his instructions to his reasoning as to why he takes a particular step in the process. He practices what he preaches. An added bonus is the inclusion of tons of GOOD recipes (we've tried many of them with success).

If you will go to http://www.sausagemaker.com you can buy this book 3rd edition brand new for $29.95 and the book with DVD for $39.95. I paid what everyone was asking here on Amazon as a used book, it's insane what they are asking for...over $100. I did not do enough research, save yourself some money, unless you are looking for a vintage gift, first edition, buy it from the source. This book is fantastic and the best resource for this topic. If anyone knows where you can get food grade sodium acetate though, please share your knowledge. Thanks!

I have many books on cooking and I can't believe how well this book explains a seemingly complex subject with enough clarity that you will try any recipe or preperation it may present. My succes rate has been 100%. Rytek also gives enough understanding if the theories that I have gone off the beaten path and tried some of my own ideas.

Like many others I purchased this book because in large part the reviews I saw at Amazon.com. I have ground and used a wood fired smoker for years, but had never tried sausage making. I have been a member of a historical reenacting group (SCA), and wanted a book that had authentic recipes, but as my mother is a nurse (RN) I have a firm grounding in the need for strict food safety. There are plenty of books out there that will give you some good recipes but few have anything like the detailed instructions with explanation of the reasoning and the science behind the current safety beliefs/accepted rules of food safety. Also included are instructions and color pictures for each step in sausage making, enough maintenance for all the equipment I might to use, and an explanation of what ingredients purpose is. This information is about the first third of the book.

The only qualification is that as MSG is known to cause brain cell damage, and I know someone who gets psychotic episodes when ingesting it (I am a witness) so why include it, so as to lessen the salt needed? Also I would never any potassium salt to anything as my mother is a retired nursing professor, and has heart problems (with a sensitive enough heart or meds you could have some real health incidents and not know why). I also know that I need not add soy because it's just in food to help prevent unsightly shrinkage (and increase the profits of the sausage maker) and as a filer, and If I want I have options with similar binding effects.

The rest of the book contains a few various charts (meat cuts, how much do you get for various weights of casings natural or collagen or other various helpful tidbits. Mostly its all variations of sausages (the same sausage but fresh and with nitrates are different and have different preparation methods. there is a good breadth of types of recipes and even a few (blood sausage) that are really hard to get someone willing to sell you the ingredients.

I cannot recommend this comprehensive book enough. It's not just another small thin book with some recipes and next to no explanations of why we should do things, and what ingredients/procedures are optional or absolutely must not be disregarded. This book is a thick tome of useful knowledge right up to the closing pages of the index. If you want to make sausage and need to know how to do it without risking death (from food poisoning/botulism) this is the book for you!

Ambre'