Brining Pork Shoulder For Sausage

Tips and tecniques on dryng drying, curing etc.

Brining Pork Shoulder For Sausage

Postby vanessap » Wed Sep 23, 2015 12:16 am

Hi Everyone,

I wondered what your thoughts are on potentially using the equilibrium brining technique for say 24 hours before grinding the pork for sausage making with sea salt?

I think it might make the meat allot more moist and keep a lower temperature while preparing but I'm worried that the weight will push the recipe off - unless I go with the starting weight. I was also wondering what your thoughts are on brining with cure 1 and eliminating cure 1 in the mix. I would like to smoke the sausage at a low temperature after they are prepared.

I wondered what your experiences might be and if you could impart some wisdom on this one and I feel that I'm going around in circles at this point. Any cure 1 measurement advice would be greatly appreciated.

Thank you,
Vanessa
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Re: Brining Pork Shoulder For Sausage

Postby NCPaul » Wed Sep 23, 2015 1:32 pm

Welcome to the forum. :D When making sausage from shoulder meat, it is not unusual to cube the meat, then mix it with salt and/or cure #1, then hold it overnight in the fridge before grinding the next day. In theory, this will help to extract myocin and this will improve the bind and moisture holding capacity of the sausage. In a sense, this is a dry brine; a wet brine is not necessary though some recipes call for a small amount of water or stock or alcohol to be added for flavor.

For measurement of cure #1 it will be necessary to find a scale to weigh small amounts; many use postage scales for this and for the spices. Ideally, you will want to be able to weigh down to a hundredth of a gram.
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Re: Brining Pork Shoulder For Sausage

Postby vanessap » Wed Sep 23, 2015 2:51 pm

Hi NCPaul,

Thank you for the warm welcome :) I really appreciate your thoughts! I'm quite new to Charcuterie though I am a chef so I feel comfortable with following the recipes accurately. I have read almost eight books on this topic and felt that I gained more from a five minute conversation with Catherine from sausage making from any of them, so I'm here hoping that you guys will share your expertise.

May I ask what you think of this scale:
http://www.amazon.co.uk/Smart-Weigh-Dig ... tage+scale

Te dry cure makes more sense as a wet cure might disturb the liquid quantity and make it hard to emulsify. May I ask if you might be able to point in a direction of recipes with quantities please?

Thank you,
Vanessa
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Re: Brining Pork Shoulder For Sausage

Postby NCPaul » Wed Sep 23, 2015 5:38 pm

That would be a nice scale to use for weighing meat and rusk. For the spices and cure I would suggest using something more like this:

http://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B00E ... 3538314031

Here is where you would find recipes that have been used on the forum:

viewtopic.php?f=15&t=9131

It is in the FAQ section. Here is a simple recipe that shows the benefit of salt on the sausage meat:

http://slice.seriouseats.com/archives/2 ... salty.html

Emulsified sausages are a distinct class, are those the type you are interested in? What equipment do you have to work with?
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Re: Brining Pork Shoulder For Sausage

Postby vanessap » Wed Sep 23, 2015 6:25 pm

Hi NCPaul,

Thank you so much!!! I shall order you scales tonight :) wow, amazing resource of recipes.

Yes, I would like to make a sausage that looks much like a weiner or the mortadella consistency. When you say equipment do you mean grinder, mixer, fridge for hanging?

I have a Kenwood grinder but I was thinking of using the magimix for the meat and I have arranged a hanging /brining area in the fridge if necessary.

I was recommended that I get one of these:
http://www.amazon.co.uk/1/dp/B00BJ47AI6 ... ge+stuffer

or

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Sanven-COMMERCI ... ge+stuffer

I shall order the cure 1, 2 and casing from the sausage making company - is this what you meant?

Thanks,
Vanessa
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Re: Brining Pork Shoulder For Sausage

Postby NCPaul » Wed Sep 23, 2015 7:18 pm

Here is a hot dog tutorial written by one of our moderators:

http://www.localfoodheroes.co.uk/?e=648

Keeping everything cold and working quickly is of prime importance. I don't believe you will be happy with the first stuffer for long.
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Re: Brining Pork Shoulder For Sausage

Postby vagreys » Thu Sep 24, 2015 6:50 am

Hi Vanessa,

If you are working with fresh kill meat, then you probably don't need to add any extra liquid, unless the particular style calls for it. I do add a little liquid for store-bought meat, but only about 1 oz. per pound, and find that makes for a very moist sausage. I think an overnight soak in brine would be overkill, myself.

For weighing meat and rusk, I use a My Weigh KD8000 kitchen scale, which has done very well for me. 17 lb capacity with 1g resolution. Nice large stainless steel plate capable of supporting a standard sized mixing bowl just fine.

For spices and additives, I use an American Weigh LB-500 portable bowl scale -- 500g capacity with 0.01g resolution. Unfortunately, it isn't made anymore, but its larger cousin, the LB-1000 has 1000g capacity with 0.1g resolution, and that is adequate for most. I prefer the finer resolution of a 1/100g scale, but that's just me. Both these scales are available from a variety of on-line suppliers.

I definitely recommend a standalone stuffer (I use a 5-lb hobby stuffer, which holds 2kg of sausage perfectly). I typically make 15-30 lbs of sausage at a time and have a #12 electric grinder. I use a #10 manual grinder for very small batches.

Emulsion sausages are tricky. Everyone screws up some, so don't be discouraged. Temperature is key to a good emulsion meat batter. Good luck!
- tom

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