Sausage Making

[coquus]

Perhaps the curing meats intro before this? I beleive it's on the right hand side if that helps, or maybe nearby a sopressata/salami recipe. Hell, I could probably find it quickly, and I'll be in town today, forget about it.

[jmolinari]

coquus, please post the name of hte book that is specific to cured meats...i have yet to find one..The only ones i have have a chapter on it at most.

jason

[coquus]

coquus, please post the name of hte book that is specific to cured meats...i have yet to find one..The only ones i have have a chapter on it at most.

jason

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Check.

[coquus]

Cooking By Hand - Paul Bertolli

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I think I found it, Ryan, you mentioned it already, here it is. I'm really interested in doing things the old fashioned way though, so I'm not sure that this is the book for me, maybe I'll just stick to the Complete books. I think the northeast U.S. has a good enough environment for this stuff.

Edited July 15, 2005 by coquus (log)

[jmolinari]

Ah yes, i have that book. It is excellent.

[WhiteTruffleGirl]

I've not read this entire thread, so I'm not sure if it has been mentioned, but an excellent book on the subject is Professional Charcuterie.

Edited July 15, 2005 by WhiteTruffleGirl (log)

[FoodMan]

finally I got to try my first homemade sausages that I made and froze a couple of weeks ago. I braised the brats in beer and onions and let them brown. Served them with chive and parsley mashed potatoes and dijon mustard. The result far exceedeed my expectations! They were awsome, with excellent flavor and texture.

Elie

[coquus]

Good job Food Man, nothing beats the ol' bangers and mash. Looks nice and tight too, cheers.

[thomasrodgers]

Good to see this thread back up and running. Brings a warm glow to my belly...

I was fairly convinced it had popped its clogs, but it seems all the enthusiastic charcutiers were only snoozing these last few months, or, even better, getting on with some serious sausage-making and curing.

It does seem a shame, though, that if we want to all meet up and chat like this we have to stick with this mangy old dog of a thread. I was thinking maybe there should be a subsection in the cooking forum for meat curing, or something like that.

Any suggestions?

Maybe if we all PM relevant organisers or hosts in a concerted pressure campaign we won't be so afraid of starting new threads that just get lost. I mean, it seems we all care enough about cured meat to keep checking this thread even after months of inactivity, so I reckon we'd definitely warrant at least a subsection or something. Fight the power!

[Chris Amirault]

You should also take a sharp, sterile needle and pop any air pockets you see. As kelautz said, you do not want any air pockets in your sausage.

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Bumping this up due to a sausage dilemma this weekend with my KA attachment. I was making sai oua, Thai sausages, and all was well until I had to stuff them. Two problems, both related to air:

(1) The mixture did not seem to feed through the sausage attachment with any consistency. Instead, I had to push it down with the wooden thingie, and when I wasn't pushing, it was just whirring away and not stuffing anything. What gives? Any tips?

(2) I didn't have air pockets; I was making meaty whoopie cushions! I really cannot figure out how so much air was being pumped into the casings, but it really was happening.

This didn't seem to happen the last time I made sausage, and I believe (1) and (2) are related. But I'm baffled. Ideas?

edited to add: I found a good source for casings that I wanted to share: Whole Foods. The butcher at one store (University Heights in Providence, in case anyone's nearby) has become very supportive of my various meat-related obsessions.

Edited October 3, 2005 by chrisamirault (log)

[garten]

Does not look like anyone has posted in this forum for a while, but I suppose this is the place to ask for help.

I am looking for a source for fresh pig's blood in the NY Tristate region so I can make boudin noir for a sausage dinner we are having . I suppose I would settle for chicken or cow's blood.. but would love to get my hands on the real swine.

Does anyone have any thoughts?

[Nomina]

For pigs blood, you might try the Chinese markets. I see it sold sometimes in blocks.

[garten]

For pigs blood, you might try the Chinese markets.  I see it sold sometimes in blocks.

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Thanks,

But I need fresh blood... that has not been coagulated... the blocks in Chinatown are cooked already...

[Ore]

If you are in the Hudson Valley area, go find a farmer ready to slaughter, and help yourself. I am sure there are plenty around. If not, isn't it hunting season??! Take a canteen out with you and chase down a hunter with a dear in his crosshair!

Good Luck - don't forget to post your results!

Ore

[jsolomon]

  Take a canteen out with you and chase down a hunter with a dear in his crosshair!

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Wouldn't that be a murderer and make you a cannibal?

I would suggest finding a hunter with a deer in his/her crosshairs or (if they are true sportsmen) open sights.

[davebr]

For pigs blood, you might try the Chinese markets.  I see it sold sometimes in blocks.

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Thanks,

But I need fresh blood... that has not been coagulated... the blocks in Chinatown are cooked already...

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I have seen it fresh in Vietnamese markets. Give it a shot.

[bobmac]

I have a number of sausage recipes that call for pork fat along with Boston butt. My butcher says the butt has enough fat by itself, and it certainly is a fatty cut. I'm tempted to leave it out (is there such a thing as healthful sausage?) but don't want to to be too dry. Any thoughts?

[Carolyn Tillie]

Add it. Remember, fat carries flavor which is why we all like sausages. Without it, you have dried pork butt.

[woodburner]

I'd agree with your butcher and I've made some good fresh sausages at home for a piker, using just pork butts with no added fat. I've read but could not substantiate with any valid source that butts contain about 20 per cent fat.

Cured sausages would be a different thing, and many types would require more fat than the butt alone.

Through the past 5 years or so I've tried differnet formulations from different butcher shops and artisian sausage makers who have offered thier own ground pork being sold by the pound, most who usually make and sell fresh sausages.

My conclusion which I can't substantiate here without the use of digital images, is that many if not all formulations purchased from sausage makers had a visual difference of having a higher fat concetration than whole butts which I have ground at home. How much, maybe 10 percent more by volume.

So I would conclude you can use whole butts only, but there is a benifit too adding maybe a bit more.

Sausage making is a big new wonderful world

woodburner

[Chris Amirault]

It also depends on how much fat is on the outside of the butt. I just made 7# of sausage this weekend, and I had a very fatty butt, so I didn't add any extra fat. Even with a fatty butt, I thought the sausages were a bit too dry, and in the next rounds I'll be adding some of the pork fat that I've ground and stored in the freezer.

It also depends on the style of sausage. What sort of sausages were you making?

[Busboy]

It all depends on your own preferences, but I don't find butts give me the richness I prefer in my sausages. I find the trend towards lower-fat sausages unfortunate. I add about one part fatback for every four parts meat.

[deltadoc]

I've been making Italian Hot Sausage for some 25 years, and 85% of the time I use a fatty pork butt, and the sausage comes out just fine. The other 15% of the time I use Pork Shoulder. Several butchers have told me that pork shoulder makes better sausage than pork butt, but I don't see a whole lot of difference.

doc

[Juanito]

No agreement, it seems. My suggestion would be to make two batches, one with added fat, and one without. Then you'll know.

FWIW, when I was making (Italian) sausage commercially, we ALWAYS added extra fat, and that was when pork was fattier than it is now, 20+ years ago. Makes for nice, juicy sausage. I would say the final ratio was 65 - 35, lean to fat. Of course, your mileage may vary, what with today's leaner pork and all.

[snowangel]

I've been making Italian Hot Sausage for some 25 years, and 85% of the time I use a fatty pork butt, and the sausage comes out just fine.  The other 15% of the time I use Pork Shoulder.  Several butchers have told me that pork shoulder makes better sausage than pork butt, but I don't see a whole lot of difference.

doc

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I always thought that a butt was just a boned shoulder. ???

[Fat Guy]

My understanding is that both are from the forequarters of the pig, thus making the term butt a bit confusing (the cuts from the hindquarters are called leg, I think), but that what is colloquially known as butt is "shoulder butt" whereas what is colloquially known as shoulder is "picnic shoulder." The shoulder butt is above the picnic shoulder, as in closer to the back. Here's a chart indicating how the National Pork Producers Council names the cuts:

http://www.porkboard.org/ProdIssues/porkcuts.pdf