How to get fat for your sausages

[Oddley]

I have been reading that you guys are having problems getting fat for your sausages. If you mix one lean meat, with one fatty meat, you can achieve the fat content you require. I have written a program for domestic use, to help you with this.

Here is my description from the help files included.

What is Sausage Makers Square.

Sausage makers Square is a program that provides the industry standard way of determining the fat content of sausage meat. With pigs being bred for much leaner meat due to public demand, the availability of pork fat is much reduced and the fat is much more expensive. Sausage Makers Square solves this problem, by allowing you to combine fatty meats with lean meat, to get the fat content you require.

What is Meat Calculator.

Meat Calculator, unlike many other Sausage Makers Square programs, allows you to work out automatically, the exact weights of the two meats, you need for your sausage making project. This is all accomplished using the results from Sausage Makers Square, within a simple to understand interface.

The program can be downloaded from two places.

http://rapidshare.de/files/12446033/Sau ... e.zip.html

http://www.megaupload.com/?d=1SXWTN45

If you think the program is good, bad or you are having problems with it please post and let me know.

[Wontigonk]

Your sausgae square program looks great, and really useful for a newbie like myself. Unfortuantely, the links you posted seem to have expired. Is it available from anywhere else?

[saucisson]

I'm sure Oddley will post a new link soon.

Dave

[Oddley]

Hi Wontigonk, I have uploaded the program for you and anybody else who missed it the first time.

Click Here

[Wontigonk]

Many thanks Oddley - playing with sausage software may help stem the frustration of today, where family induced delays made me miss the butcher - or in this case, 4 local butchers (can't say I didn't try...) Looks like Tuesday then...

Anyway, thanks for providing the software and the effort in writing it.

[Deer Man]

Oddley,

Downloaded the software, many thanks! How do you determine the percentage of fat(presumably visable?)in types and cuts of meat?

For example whats the % of fat in venison and other meats? and if i use back fat will the programme accept the 100%?

I know there are lots of variables such as breed cuts etc but are there any general percentages?

Many thanks for your time!

[Rik vonTrense]

It's all got a bit complicated ennit ?

whats wrong with your eyes these days.........you grab a pack of pork belly slices and a joint of pork shoulder that will give you about 75/25 of meat to fat.......I like a bit of tasty fat in my sausages


so there.

[Wohoki]

I'm with you Rik. I just buy a piece of likely-looking meat, mince it and stuff it. If it's fairly lean I make a coarse sausage, if it's fatty I make a fine mix.

Sausage is, after all, just a way of using up the left-overs from a carcass after the best cuts have been taken of.

[Oddley]

Deer Man, I use the Visual/Lean notation.

Belly is usually 50% VL = 50% Fat
Shoulder is about 80% VL = 20% Fat
Loin about 70% VL = 30% Fat

Back fat surprisingly enough is not all fat can't remember the exact amount but think it is about 97% fat