I also made a batch of 25# of beef sticks. I smoked them to an internal temp of 140F and held for 30 minutes. then cooled. They vacuum packed very well. I have now sealed all the Italian sausages after freezing and that did work well. Thank you all for the tips and advice. I think next time I will try to wrap some in some thin plastic bags and then in the lined butcher paper and see how they hold up in the freezer. The rest I will freeze and vacuum seal again. I would give the butcher paper ones away or eat first since they may not hold up as well, but their presentation should be better. Piercing the package prior to thawing is a good idea, thanks for the tip.

The trays I used at 1-1/4" deep and the casings were 32mm…so close to the same height and that does help.

Thank you again! Ii should be good until my next endeavor.

Thank you for the advice Joe. Am I correct in thinking butcher paper is not a good solution for something to be stored for a month or so?

I am new to the forum and also new to sausage making and am looking for some advice. I processes about 20# of Italian sausage this past weekend and am trying to figure our how to package it. I have a chamber vacuum sealer and tried a few sausages in it…and the vacuum squished them almost flat. I turned down the vacuum pump time and never got anything I am happy with. There was air left in the pouches when the sausages were not severely distorted.

I bought some foam meat trays, and they helped, but the sausages were still squished when there was a good vacuum seal. I tried freezing a few sausages, and then sealed them in the tray and this worked the best, but even then when thawed in the package, they flatten out a bit. I could cut the bag open before the sausage thaws and this would work I think but was hoping to give some friends and family some beautifully presented homemade sausage.

I am thinking butcher paper wrapping is not suitable for freezing sausages, and would expect freezer burn. I would appreciate any suggestions anyone can offer. I definitely have more sausage than I will use while fresh and need to figure out how to package it.

Thank you in advance.