My real life 'Pioneer' style day!!! Plus fresh SAUSAGE recipes

I have always thought I was born in the wrong century. Thank God he gave me a sister and husband that feel the same way.... we can be 'pioneers' together. So, how did I spend my weekend?? Saturday was spent in a modern way.... going to yard sales... hundreds of them around town. Saturday was our local town festival and half of the town had a yard sale! FUN time scoring deals! My sister, Melissa, and her two kids spent the night Saturday and my sister and I got things organized for our big PIONEER day Sunday.

Pioneer day: BUTCHERING 2 pigs!! We started first thing in the morning and processed 2 pigs and had everything packaged and cleaned up by 2pm... not bad! We had an extra set of hands this go round and it made a huge difference. I had a GREAT time yesterday with my husband, sister, brother in law and his friend butchering these pigs. We chat, we laugh, we have a good time.... makes me think this must have been what it was like in the old days when neighbors helped each other. Many hands does make light work!

We made 60 pounds of sausage! We first grind the meat, then add the seasonings (in batches of 10 pounds of meat) and finish it with a second grinding. We package some as patties and the rest in 2 pound packages. No sausage I have ever had from the store tastes as good as home made and we do not add anything artificial or any nitrates. Making sausage is something you can do even if you don't do the 'pioneer' thing like us.... :) just have your local grocery meat department grind up a sale pork roast to get fresh ground pork... mix in the seasonings (recipe below) and enjoy!! It does taste best after it has had time to season... it will taste better after it has been in the freezer for at least a week. Warning... the 'spicy' sausage gets spicier with time!

Indiana Farm Sausage (Spicy)
Ingredients:
10 lbs lean fresh ground pork (or turkey)
1 TBL onion powder
1 TBL salt
3 TBL dried sage
2 tsp dried marjoram
1 TBL red pepper (could use less to reduce spice)
1 TBL black pepper

Directions:
In a small bowl combine all the seasonings. (we mix up batches of seasonings ahead of time to make the process faster on butchering days)

Mix the seasonings in with the meat (I just use my gloved hands to mix and mix)
We then grind the meat a second time (but you can skip this step if you are using store ground meat). We make some into patties and freeze the rest in packages.

Breakfast Sausage (mild)
Ingredients:
10 pounds fresh ground lean pork (or turkey)
3 1/2 TBL dried sage
1 TBL salt
1 TBL ground black pepper
1 1/2 tsp dried marjoram
1/4 cup brown sugar
1/2 tsp crushed red pepper flakes
5 pinches ground cloves

Directions:
In a small bowl combine all the seasonings. (we mix up batches of seasonings ahead of time to make the process faster on butchering days)

Mix the seasonings in with the meat (I just use my gloved hands to mix and mix)
We then grind the meat a second time (but you can skip this step if you are using store ground meat). We make some into patties and freeze the rest in packages.


Well, I need to get off this computer... more 'poineer' life is calling... grape jam and tomatoes need to be processed! I do love my MODERN dishwasher and washing machine... both of which need unloaded! Oh, and I am very thankful for our electric meat grinder... that would have been a lot of hand cranking!!

Have a BLESSED day, BE a BLESSING!
Heather