www.sausagemaking.org

As promised, several Frankfurter /weiner recipes over the next couple of days, here's the first
NOTE: I will be avoiding posting any with tripe, variety meats, and chicken lips etc.

1) Frankfurter ("La Saucisse de Francfort")
Difficulty MEDIUM
Classification TRADE

Ingredients for 5 kgs (11 lbs) of sausages
2.5 kg (5.5 lbs) lean pork
1 kg (2.2 lbs) pork fat back
250 g (1/2 lb) smoked jowlfat
250 ml (1 cup) lowfat milk (frozen)

Seasonings
45 g (1 1/2 oz) curing salt
*** My note : Prague powder #1, InstaCure #1 or equal
10 g (1/3 oz) ground white pepper
4 g (1/6 oz) ground nutmeg
10 g (1/3 oz ) MILD SPICE mixture (see below)
40 g (scant 1 1/2 oz) fine salt
10 g (1/3 oz) ground coriander
15 g (1/2 oz) polyphosphates


MILD SPICE BLEND
100g (3 1/2 oz) ground white pepper
50 g (1 3/4 oz) mild chili powder
50 g (1 3/4 oz) dried marjoram
50 g (1 3/4 oz) dried thyme
50 g (1 3/4 oz) ground mace
50 g (1 3/4 oz) ground nutmeg
50 g (1 3/4 oz) ground cloves
30 g ( 1 oz) ground coriander
*** My note : grind together and store in a airtight container, in a cool area out of the sunlight

Preparing the Ingredients
Seasoning the lean pork: Sort lean meat from the shoulder of pork and trim all nerves. Cut into pieces the same size so that they are seasoned evenly. Season with the curing salt (sodium nitrite and salt), and half of the pepper, nutmeg and MILD SPICE BLEND. Cover and place in the refrigerator for 12-24 hours.

Seasoning the fat: If smoked pork jowl is not available, trim a fresh jowl of blood spots and bits of gland, smoke lightly and cool.
*** My note : I would think that liquid smoke could be added to achieve the same result it you don't have a smoker. Just don't overdo it
Cut the fatback and jowl fat into even pieces and season with fine salt, and the remaining half of the pepper, nutmeg and MILD SPICE BLEND. Refrigerate for 12 hours or place in the freezer briefly to completely chill and firm up before grinding.
*** My note : you're looking at about 1 degree C (34 degrees F)

Making the mixture
Grind the seasoned lean pork through a small disk (2-3 mm, 1/8 inch), grind the fat separately using the same disk. Place the ground lean meat in the chopper with the ground coriander and polyphosphates. Turn the chopper a few turns to blend, then add chucks of frozen milk as the chopper continues to turn. The mixture should remain under 10 degrees C (50 degrees F). Add the ground fats and turn the chopper until the mixture is very smooth and homogeneous. When the operation is complete the mixture should not be above 14 degrees C (58 degrees F).
*** My note : if you don't have a bowl chopper, a household food processor will work but you need to make sure that divide the mixture into batches small enough so that the food processor will not over heat the mixture and that it can make a stable emulsion from the batter.

Filling the casings
Stuff the frankfurter mixture into sheep casings (24-26 mm , 1 inch) that have been soaked and rinsed. Fill the casings with steady pressure so that air pockets do not form inside the casing. Prick any bubbles that appear and press on the surface of the casing to expel them. Portion in individual links (the classic length is 13-15 cm (5 inches) twisting each link in the opposite direction to prevent the string of sausages from unraveling. Drain in the refrigerator overnight hanging from a bar that will go directly into the smoker. Be sure that the sausages do not touch each other.

Drying and Smoking
To dry and shrink the casings and dry the interior so that the smoke will penetrate correctly, the frankfurters are air-dried (etuver) at 40 degrees C (104 degrees F) for 1 1/2 hours. The sausage will take on some colour during this process. Smoke the frankfurters as soon as the drying process is finished. The average smoking time is 30 minutes at 50 degrees C (122 degrees F) but this will vary from region to region.

Cooking
Cooking in Coloured Water: Bring the water to 85 degrees C (185 degrees F), Cut the string of frankfurters into pairs and plunge them into the water and regulate the heat to 80 degrees C ( 175 degrees F) and cook for 8-10 minutes. When they are done, place them in a basin of cold running water. When they are completely chilled, drain them until they are dry. Store the frankfurters in the refrigerator covered with moist hand towels.
Cooking in coloured water: Bring the water to 85 degrees C ( 185 degrees F) then add authorized food colouring in the amount indicated on the label. Add a few drops of vinegar to stabilize the colour. Follow the same directions for cooking as in clear water. However, sausages that are to be cooked in coloured water must be perfectly dried and smoked otherwise the colouring penetrates into the meat mixture. This not only makes the interior of the sausage very unattractive but it is not an acceptable product under the French Charcuterie Code.
*** My notes: In warmer climates it may be required to use ice water as the plunge/arresting bath.

More to follow tomorrow

Kind Regards

Parson Snows

I think the recommended dose is 1oz for 25lb of meat - not sure what that is in grams.

Hi aris

1oz = 28.3495 Grams .: 28.3495/25 = 1.13398 Grams per pound or 5.6699 grams for 5lbs.
Using the same fomulea 11lbs = 12.47378 grams

EDIT: It's funny how the small things make the difference. For instance Parson Snows has kindley posted a few saveloy recipies in answer to a request from me. In those recipies there was no nitrites and I couldn't understand this because I remember the meat under the casing was red then under that pink.

Parson Snows wrote:Cooking in coloured water: Bring the water to 85 degrees C ( 185 degrees F) then add authorized food colouring in the amount indicated on the label. Add a few drops of vinegar to stabilize the colour. Follow the same directions for cooking as in clear water. However, sausages that are to be cooked in coloured water must be perfectly dried and smoked otherwise the colouring penetrates into the meat mixture. This not only makes the interior of the sausage very unattractive but it is not an acceptable product under the French Charcuterie Code.

And then all was perfectly clear "The little things make the difference".

I thank you for questioning the amount of nitrite in the posted Frankfurter recipe. First of all let me clarify something, I have never made the frankfurters from this book, but I have also never questioned this source for other items that I have made. The recipe comes from The Professional Charcuterie Series by Marcel Cottenceau, Jean-Francios Deport and Jean-Pierre Odeau. As you can see somewhat French in content. This book is for a charcuterie course held at a major establishment (CEPROC : Centre European de Promotion de la Charcuterie).

The ingredients were listed as 45 g (1� oz) curing salt. In France charcuterie is controlled by the French Charcuterie Code (FCC). This states (according to the excerpts printed in the above mentioned book) that the curing salt is a blend of 99.4 % salt with 0.6 % sodium nitrite with the dose in charcuterie products set at between 15 g to 20 g ( � oz to ⅔ oz ) per kilo (2.2 lbs) of meat. The amounts set forth by the French Charcuterie Code are the maximum doses. With these figures for the frankfurter recipe (excluding the fat) the amount of curing salt would be a between

5.5 5.5
X= ------------ x 15 = 37.50 g and X= ------------- x 20 = 50.00 g
2.2 2.2

The 45 g (1� oz) mentioned in the recipe is within this range.
Using the above figures this amounts to between 0.008 oz (0.225 g) and 0.0106 oz (0.300 g) of sodium nitrite. I will try and get access to a copy of the latest FCC to confirm this.

*** NOTE:- THERE LIES THE PROBLEM/DISCREPANCY ***
0.6 % SODIUM NITRITE (France) vs 6.0 % (USA, UK) SODIUM NITRITE.

I checked the calculations against the current USDA standards. Calculations follow. Maximum ingoing nitrite added to comminuted meat products is limited to 156 ppm or � oz per 100 lbs of meat block. For curing salts such as Prague powder #1, Instacure #1 and Modern Cure etc. between 5.88 % and 6.25 % � depending on the supplier � would actually be sodium nitrite.

0.25
0.00015625 = ------------- = 156 ppm
16 x 100

The meat block weighs approximately 8.2 lbs. (5.5+2.2+0.50) though only 5.5 lbs is meat therefore the maximum amount of sodium nitrite (for dry cure comminuted products only) would be

5.5
X= -------------- x 0.25 = 0.0138 oz (0.391 g)
100

Assuming this is included at a 6.00 % level then the total amount of curing salt is 0.230 oz (6.520 g). I have however, noticed that the contents of the Frankfurter recipe only seem to add up to 4 kilos and not 5 kilos as stated; it just shows that nothing should be taken for granted. Another example is Rytek Kutas� book "Great Sausage Recipes and Meat Curing". Be careful when using this book, and any information contained within. Though it is certainly a good book, there are glaring omissions and errors, or at least there where in the version that I have (1984). Hopefully it's been improved/corrected by now.

In mine (1984 version)
pg 114 has complete paragraphs of information missing
pg 172 Fresh pork sausage contains no meat.

In general where it lists 5 lb and 25 lb or 10 lb and 25 lb versions the amounts of the ingredients often disagree. Example given below.

pg 190 Swedish Potato Sausage

Ingredients for 25 lbs *** contains 22 1/2 lbs of meat***
1 medium whole fresh onion or 4 oz. of granulated onions
7 oz salt *** approx 198 g of salt ***
1 oz ground white pepper
1/2 oz allspice
1 lb non-fat dry milk
2 1/2 lbs water *** at a ratio of 5:1 why is this not 5 lbs of water ?***
7 1/2 lbs raw peeled potatoes or 2 lbs potato flour
12 1/2 lbs pork butts
5 lbs boneless beef

Ingredients for 5 lbs *** contains 2 1/2 lbs of meat ***
1 onion small size, cut up
1 tbsp salt *** approx 18 g of salt ***
1 1/2 tsp ground black pepper
1 tsp allspice
1 cup non-fat dry milk
1 cup water *** approx 1 lb in weight ***
6 potatoes, pared & cut up (6 cups)
1 1/2 lbs lean boneless beef
1 lb lean boneless pork

pg 370 the trichinae table is wrong - typos

It is still certainly a great place to start and until something better comes along it will have to do.

Sorry for any inconvenience
Kind regards

Parson Snows

Thank you for clearing that up.

That brings another question to mind. So when we weigh up our sausage or bacon mixtures we should only add enough cure for the actual meat and not fat?

Example: If I have a belly of pork of say 4 kilos 50-50% fat to meat and the cure is to be added at 40 grames per kilo would I use 80 grams 40 * 2 Or 160 grams 40 * 4?

As with many things in life there are two schools of thought. Eventually one of them backtracks, for example the great margarine push in the 60's to 70's. Only later to retract their claims. As they say "I'd rather trust a cow than a chemist".

Just think about it logically meat tends to absorb basically anything, smells, colours, spices, whilst fat does not. Therefore if you add a cure at a quantity including the fat it isn't going to be absorbed by the fat and will just sit there. Several people then argue that any binders etc. are not pure (which may be true) and the extra cure will take care of that. What you have to remember is that it's all a science. We have allegedly put a man on the moon yet all of our fluid flow and dynamics calculations are based on Crane Technical Paper # 410 (all empirical formulas from the 1930's, believe it or not). Nobody knows for sure. For example the USDA standards for pickle curing/ brining are all based on a 10 % brine injection of a brine/pickle weighing 10 lbs per gallon (US). This is hardly ever going to happen yet the standard remains in force. What will happen is that by being ultra safe nobody is going to die. This along with eating fish'n chips off of newspaper print. Did it ever kill anyone, no idea? It certainly didn't kill my grandfather.

Now that all of the UK/EC standards have just been revised I personally think that you'll see a change in the not so distant future. I personally think the biggest change to affect people is what constitutes meat?

Kind Regards

Parson Snows

For frankfurter information
Check out the following link

http://www.ingredients.de/pdf/eng/guide ... urters.pdf

hope that this is of some use to you

kind regards

Parson Snows

Parson Snows wrote:For frankfurter information
Check out the following link
http://www.ingredients.de/pdf/eng/guide ... urters.pdf
hope that this is of some use to you
kind regards
Parson Snows

I notice that the specification for the meat is "80% VL". I assume that to mean that a piece of pork, like shoulder or Boston butt, is trimmed of excess fat to become "Visual Lean", which is 80% lean and 20% fat.

You may recall that is how I prepared my sausage pork: 1.5 lb VL plus 0.5 lb back fat, yielding 40% fat for the mixture.

Franco

You wrote

do you know the ingredients or a recipe for a traditional New York dog?

One of the reasons that I asked you if you could stock these spices/cures

http://www.michlitch.com/hellerseasonings.php

BC0602C02500 *ZANZ FRK & WIEN SEAS W/O GARL 25 # CTN $78.21
GB0001B05000 FREEZE-EM PICKLE 50 # BG $19.29

was that I have a 1929 copy of �Heller�s Secrets of Meat Curing and Sausage Making� which includes numerous sausage recipes including one �Coney Island Red-Hots�. In it they are very specific about the cure. They state �In this sausage it is important that the meats be cured by the Freeze-Em-Pickle process. By other methods of curing the meat becomes �short� if not promptly used as soon as cured.�

The above seasoning is �Zanzibar Frankfurter and Weiner Seasoning without Garlic�. The company which makes/made these seasonings and cures goes back to the early 1900s, though it appears that they may have failed during the depression. It may well be that Mitchlitch Spices/The Spokane Spice Co. bought the rights to make these seasonings etc. Queries may be addressed to questions@spokanespice.com


Kind regards

Parson Snows

as mentioned before
If you try to make hotdogs at home Nathan's (probably the best hot dog in the world) specifications are

length = 6 inches
diameter = 3/4 inch
weight = 2 oz. (approx. 57 g)

Focus On: Hot Dogs

Whether you call it a frankfurter, hot dog, wiener, or bologna, it's a cooked sausage and a summertime favorite. They can be made from beef, pork, turkey, or chicken -- the label must state which. And there are Federal standards of identity for their content.

Definition
Frankfurters (a.k.a., hot dogs, wieners, or bologna) are cooked and/or smoked sausages according to the Federal standards of identity. Federal standards of identity describe the requirements for processors to follow in formulating and marketing meat, poultry, and egg products produced in the United States for sale in this country and in foreign commerce. The standard also requires that they be comminuted (reduced to minute particles), semisolid products made from one or more kinds of raw skeletal muscle from livestock (like beef or pork) and may contain poultry meat. Smoking and curing ingredients contribute to flavor, color, and preservation of the product. They are link-shaped and come in all sizes -- short, long, thin, and chubby.

The most popular of all categories, the skinless varieties, have been stripped of their casings after cooking. Water or ice, or both, may be used to facilitate chopping or mixing or to dissolve curing ingredients. The finished products may not contain more than 30 % fat or no more than 10 % water, or a combination of 40 % fat and added water. Up to 3.5 % non-meat binders and extenders (such as nonfat dry milk, cereal or dried whole milk) or 2% isolated soy protein may be used, but must be shown in the ingredients statement on the product's label by its common name.

Byproducts, Variety Meats
"Frankfurter, Hot Dog, Wiener, or Bologna With Byproducts" or "With Variety Meats" are made according to the specifications for cooked and/or smoked sausages (see above), except they consist of not less than 15 % of one or more kinds of raw skeletal muscle meat with raw meat byproducts. The byproducts (heart, kidney, or liver, for example) must be named with the derived species and be individually named in the ingredients statement.

Species
Beef Franks or Pork Franks are cooked and/or smoked sausage products made according to the specifications above, but with meat from a single species and do not include byproducts.

Turkey Franks or Chicken Franks can contain turkey or chicken and turkey or chicken skin and fat in proportion to a turkey or chicken carcass.

Ingredients Statement
All ingredients in the product must be listed in the ingredients statement in order of predominance, from highest to lowest amounts.

"Meat" Derived By Advanced Meat Bone Separation & Meat Recovery Systems
The definition of "meat" was amended in December 1994 to include any "meat" product that is produced by advanced meat/bone separation machinery. This meat is comparable in appearance, texture, and composition to meat trimmings and similar meat products derived by hand. This new machinery separates meat from bone by scraping, shaving, or pressing the meat from the bone without breaking or grinding the bone. Product produced by advanced meat recovery (AMR) machinery can be labeled using terms associated with hand-deboned product (e.g., "beef trimmings" and "ground beef").

The AMR machinery cannot grind, crush, or pulverize bones to remove edible meat issue, and bones must emerge essentially intact. The meat produced in this manner can contain no more than 150 milligrams (mg) of calcium per 100 grams product (within a tolerance of 30 mg. of calcium). Products that exceed the calcium content limit must be labeled "mechanically separated beef or pork" in the ingredients statement.

Mechanically Separated Meat (MSM)
A paste-like and batter-like meat product produced by forcing beef or pork bones, with attached edible meat, under high pressure through a sieve or similar device to separate the bone from the edible meat tissue. Mechanically separated meat has been used in certain meat and meat products since the late 1970's.

In 1982, a final rule published by FSIS on mechanically separated meat said it was safe and established a standard of identity for the food product. Some restrictions were made on how much can be used and the type of products in which it can be used. This restrictions were based on concerns for limited intake of certain components in MSM like calcium. Mechanically separated meat must be labeled as "mechanically separated beef or pork" in the ingredients statement. Hot dogs can contain no more than 20% mechanically separated beef or pork.

Mechanically Separated Poultry (MSP)
Mechanically Separated Poultry (MSP) is a paste-like and batter-like poultry product produced by forcing bones, with attached edible tissue, through a sieve or similar device under high pressure to separate bone from the edible tissue. Mechanically separated poultry has been used in poultry products since the late 1960's. In 1995, a final rule on mechanically separated poultry said it was safe and could be used without restrictions. However, it must be labeled as "mechanically separated chicken or turkey" in the product's ingredients statement. The final rule became effective November 4,1996. Hot dogs can contain any amount of mechanically separated chicken or turkey.

Food Product Dating Terms
The labeling on a package of hot dogs may contain one of several different types of dates. Product dating is voluntary and not required by Federal regulations. If a date is used, it must also state what the date means.
� "Sell-By" date tells the store how long to display the product for sale. You should buy the product before the date expires.
� "Use-By" date is the last date recommended for use of the product while at peak quality. This date has been determined by the manufacturer of the product.
� "Best if Used By (or Before)" date helps consumers by stating a precise date for best flavor or quality.
� "Expiration Date" helps stores and consumers by stating the shelf-life or the last day product should be used while it is wholesome.

Safety After Date Expires
Except for "Use-By" dates, product dates don't always refer to home storage and use after purchase. But even if the date expires during home storage, a product should be safe, wholesome, and of good quality (if handled properly and kept at 40 �F or below) for a short period of time after expiration.

Food Safety Guidelines
The same general food safety guidelines apply to hot dogs as to all perishable products -- "Keep them Hot, Keep them Cold, Keep them Clean." Although all hot dogs are fully cooked, you should reheat them and make sure they are steamy hot throughout.

Studies have shown a high level of the harmful bacteria listeria on hot dogs. Thus, for added precaution, persons at risk may choose to avoid eating hot dogs or thoroughly reheat them before eating.

When you leave the grocery store with hot dogs, head straight home and refrigerate or freeze them immediately. If there is no product date, hot dogs can be safely stored in the unopened package for 2 weeks in the refrigerator; once opened, only 1 week. For maximum quality, freeze hot dogs no longer than 1 or 2 months. And, of course, never leave hot dogs at room temperature for more than 2 hours, or in the hot summer months when the temperature goes above 90 �F, no more than 1 hour.

REFERENCE: Code of Federal Regulations, Volume
9, Section 319.180


hope that this is of some use to you

kind regards

Parson Snows

Parson Snows wrote:Rytek Kutas� book "Great Sausage Recipes and Meat Curing"... is certainly a good book, there are glaring omissions and errors: Fresh pork sausage contains no meat.

That's the vegetarian version.

So where's the rest of the recipes you promised earlier?

I just made a batch of frankfurters from a modified recipe posted on the Kenco website (same author) and it was not too bad. I smoked the link in apple at about 200F until the internal temp was 165F.

I am still having a fat problem. I mixed 1 lb. of store-bought lean ground chuck I use for ground beef jerky with 1 lb. of the pork mix I use for sausage. I added 4 T. breadcrumbs and 8 T. water. The sausage is just on the dry side, which tells me I need some more fat.

Next time I am going to use chuck that is 50% fat with my regular pork mix which is 37.5% fat (as always I am talking about visible fat, ie, white stuff). I will cut down the amount of breadcrumbs to 2T. because the sausage tasted a bit mealy.

Here's the latest recipe:

Frankfurter
1 lb. chuck
1 lb. pork
2 T. breadcrumbs
1/2 c. water
1/2 c. non-fat dry milk
2 t. curing salt
2 t. dextrose
1 t. ground mustard
1 t. paprika
1 t. garlic powder
1 t. coriander
1/2 t. mace
1/2 t. black pepper

Comments please.

Regarding Frankfurter recipes
Bob wrote

So where's the rest of the recipes you promised earlier?

I admit I owe you and everyone else an apology. This forum has taken off quicker that I thought/anticipated, and as I have a full time job, I have recently let my posts be dictacted by other peoples' questions/postings to me. I will definately try and get around to it in the near future. But in all fairness, YOU ONLY HAVE YOURSELF TO BLAME. You posted the information on jerky making and I've become interested in that myself - learning something that I don't know at the moment.

kind regards

Parson Snows

Parson Snows wrote:I will definately try and get around to it in the near future.

I will watch for it.

I want two things, if you have them:

1. A simple recipe.
2. The same taste you get at a hot dog stand.

I realize that a frankfurter is one thing, and a hot dog is another. I just used this thread to get something going. The old fashioned hot dog is what I am looking for - like Ball Park All Beef Franks.

But in all fairness, YOU ONLY HAVE YOURSELF TO BLAME. You posted the information on jerky making and I've become interested in that myself - learning something that I don't know at the moment.

You find it at the convenience stores at the point of purchase. It is very expensive - a piece 1" wide and 6" long can cost over $1. The strips I make are every bit as good if not better and they do not cost me anything like that. I can buy lean ground chuck for $1.79 - 2.29 per pound and the seasonings add another $0.10. When I am done I have about 10 feet of 1" strips 1/8" thick. That's more like $0.10 per 6" piece.

But the real reason for the popularity of jerky in Texas is hunters make it from deer meat - that and deer sausage. The extra nice pieces of deer meat are used to make jerky and the other parts go to sausage.

I am still looking for the chemical agent that makes the jerky a bit chewier and rubbery. Here's some possibilities:

monosodium glutamate
carboxymethyl cellulose
tricalcium phosphate

Any ideas what it might be?

Bob wrote

You find it at the convenience stores at the point of purchase. It is very expensive - a piece 1" wide and 6" long can cost over $1.

Not in Thailand I won't (and that goes for many other countries). That's one of the reasons that I suggested to Franco to look into it.

You wrote

I am still looking for the chemical agent that makes the jerky a bit chewier and rubbery. Here's some possibilities:

monosodium glutamate
carboxymethyl cellulose
tricalcium phosphate

Any ideas what it might be?

Where did you get these ingredients from?

For now out of the three above it would be the carboxymethyl cellulose (a common bulking agent) though I would have to know all the ingredients present to be dead sure.
monosodium glutamate (MSG) is a flavour enhancer and
tricalcium phosphate is typically an anti-caking agent, buffering agent

kind regards

Parson Snows