Standard Ingredients For Pork Sausage

[Bob]

Yeah, we know - we chased a bunch of them back home a couple times IIRC.

I see a patriotic argument coming so I think I'll let that slide.

I wish you'd come back and burn Washington DC down again.

Texans never got over losing the War of Northern Aggression (American Civil War). In fact, Texas did not sign the surrender at Appomattox Courthouse and continued prosecuting the War for another year and one half.

I hope the sausages work out for you let us know how they tasted

I will be making one today.

I do not have a good map of Britain so it's always a pain trying to figure out where places are. Can you tell me where each of these regions is located:

Yorkshire, Epping, Manchester, Cumberland.

Which one is home to English "bangers"?

Thanks.

[Parson Snows]

Sausagemaker wrote

I would use 25% fat as 40% seems rather high almost commercial

The 2003 Sausage Survey done by the British Government covered 65 samples of sausages from 10 different categories. The average fat content of �high quality� pork sausages was 20.2 g, with Iceland 16 Thick Pork sausages (Frozen) being the highest at 30.5 %. The average was 25 %.

Sausagemaker wrote

And sausages would be in a casing

Of the 400 + regional sausages currently made in the UK, I can immediately think of four that aren�t in encased in skins. These are Cornish, Epping, Glamorgan, and Lorne Sausage (more accurately know as Lorne Square)

Sausagemaker wrote

Also Cumberland would not be linked but left in a coil.

Wall�s Cumberland Sausage
Nothing is sacred as most butchers are now doing this.

Bob wrote

Texans like a spicier taste and the red pepper flakes are a must

I suggest that you try out Bigwheel�s Genuine Texas Hot Links. Recipe posted on this forum.

Sausagemaker wrote

I understand what you say about your own taste and if this is to your taste then so be it. Go for it & enjoy

That�s exactly what I did when I posted my �American Style� pork sausage recipe on the forum. Everyone likes different types/tastes. Find out what you like and stick with it/experiment with new ideas and/or ingredients. As I mentioned prior there are over 400 different regional sausages currently made in the UK and on top of this every butcher has their own �secret recipe�.

Sausagemaker wrote

The way I work out my fat would be to use shoulder meat & pork belly assuming the meat is split into 11oz pork shoulder with 15% fat & belly pork at 5oz at 50% fat then 11oz of shoulder would have 1.6oz fat & the belly 2.5oz fat = 4.1oz 4.1/16 = 25.6% fat

For an 85 vl pork shoulder the typical/recommended fat content would be 23.5 %
For belly pork 50 vl the typical/recommended fat content would be 55.0 %
Therefore fat content = ((11 x 23.5)+(5 x 55.0))/16 = 33.34 %. This figure would be reduced once any spices/herbs, filler/binder, liquid etc. are included. You can also use Pearsons� Square (also known as St. Andrew�s Square) for this if you like. Information previously posted on the forum.

Sausagemaker wrote

All sausages are made with a casing except the lorne sausage from Scotland

As I mentioned above off the top of my head I can think of another three

Sausagemaker wrote

Some recipes can go down to 50% meat as the English law allows this

The present UK/EC standard (as of January 1st 2003) is 42 % though for �economy� sausages this is a mere 32 %. This came about as the definition of meat has been revised to bring everything in line with current EU standards.

Bob wrote

It appears I am using too much breadcrumbs

The amount of breadcrumbs is entirely up to you, some people use none � others a lot. For my personal preference when making a 78 % pork meat/fat sausage I use 10 % rusk and approx. 13 % water/liquid. For rusk the ratio should be between 1 � parts to 2 parts water/liquid to 1 part rusk. (if you�re going to use breadcrumbs then I would suggest that you use a ratio of between � parts to 1 � parts water/liquid to 1 part Breadcrumbs). Add the liquid slowly a LITTLE AT A TIME until the correct texture/consistency is achieved.

Bob wrote

I can't eat unsalted/unpeppered food

Too much salt isn�t good for you for numerous reasons. I would suggest that you start out using 1.7 % therefore if your total sausage mix is one kilo you would use 17 g salt (as a rule of thumb 1 Tablespoon of fine salt weighs approx. 28 g)

Sausagemaker wrote

These (seasonings) have been obtained from a book called "Hippisley Coxe's Book of Sausages" - ISBN0575040041.

This book is not on the top of my list for numerous reasons. These mixes were taken from the �Handy Guide for Pork Butchers� by Thomas B. Finney (1904) with no credit being given. I have already posted these on the forum. Finney suggests using � oz per 1 lb of sausage meat. (15 g per 450 g). If you notice the Cumberland seasoning states white pepper though in their book (on page 112 of my copy) they state �For Cumberland sausage seasoning, see page 46.� though on page 111 (my copy) they state �The distinguishing characteristics of the type are the coarse texture of the chopped pork, spiced with black pepper (though one source stipulates white)..� On pages 40 � 41 (my copy) they mention the Catermaster �Syssyl� sausage making kit. Catermaster haven�t handled any sausage making equipment since 1996. Also, at least in my copy, there is no mention of a Lincolnshire sausage. I also know for a fact that the recipe for the Porkinsons Banger (page 162 and 163 in my copy) is also wrong. There are numerous other anomalies and oversights though this should be expected when the other titles written by Anthony Hippisley Coxe include �A Seat at the Circus�, �Haunted Britain� and a book on smuggling.

Kind regards

Parson Snows

[Parson Snows]

Bob wrote

Which one is home to English "bangers"?

It is generally accepted that the so-called "British Banger" is based on the Cambridge sausage. Though as soon as I post this others will probably disagree.

kind regards

Parson Snows

[Bob]

Sausagemaker wrote

I would use 25% fat as 40% seems rather high almost commercial

The 2003 Sausage Survey done by the British Government covered 65 samples of sausages from 10 different categories. The average fat content of �high quality� pork sausages was 20.2 g, with Iceland 16 Thick Pork sausages (Frozen) being the highest at 30.5 %

NB: I think you meant "20.2%".

As mentioned earlier, I use pork butt where I have trimmed the visible fat off the exterior. I do not trim the interior. To each 3/4 lb of VL trimmed pork butt I add 1/4 lb of 100% fat. I once did trim the interior meat and found that it was 80% lean so I use that to calculate 40% fat for the mix described above.

My experience with sausage making is that if I do not put enough fat in, the sausages comes out far too dry - almost like sawdust after I smoke it. Judging from the pictures posted here of fresh sausage, my sausage does not look much different in terms of the pink to white ratio. IOW, the sausages you all have posted look about as fatty as mine.

If I plan to cook the sausage as patties, then I can lower the fat but not by much. If the fat is too low - like 30% - then the cooked product is dry tasting.

Bob wrote

It appears I am using too much breadcrumbs

The amount of breadcrumbs is entirely up to you, some people use none � others a lot. For my personal preference when making a 78 % pork meat/fat sausage I use 10 % rusk and approx. 13 % water/liquid. For rusk the ratio should be between 1 � parts to 2 parts water/liquid to 1 part rusk. (if you�re going to use breadcrumbs then I would suggest that you use a ratio of between � parts to 1 � parts water/liquid to Breadcrumbs). Add the liquid slowly a LITTLE AT A TIME until the correct texture/consistency is achieved.

I have been using 2 T. breadcrumbs per 1 lb pork. What does the above proportion work out to in terms of Tablespoons of breadcrumbs?

Maybe it's because you use rusk that you can get by with less fat.

Bob wrote

I can't eat unsalted/unpeppered food

Too much salt isn�t good for you for numerous reasons. I would suggest that you start out using 1.7 % therefore if your total sausage mix is one kilo you would use 17 g salt (as a rule of thumb 1 Tablespoon of fine salt weighs approx. 28 g)

I use 1 t. salt per 1 lb. pork. Based on 28 g per T., that's about 9 g salt per 1 lb pork. The weight in grams of the pork is 454 g so my ratio is 9/454 = 2% salt, which is close to your 1.7% recommendation.

[Oddley]

Walls sausages are the main reason I make my own. I love English sausage of all sorts and would not describe the walls abomination as a sausage.

You know something. I haven't wanted to cause a big discussion about it but. I never use water I use breadcrumbs but no liquid.

The sausages always come out open textured with a good bite and lovely and moist.

Ok I suppose it's hammer time.

[Franco]

I was brought up on Italian sausage, meat, salt, black pepper and fennel seeds..nothing else. These are a fantastic and easy sausage to make and until recently I made all my sausage recipes in this manner ie no rusk or breadcrumbs as I was always led to believe that these were used as cheap fillers, since experimenting with rusk I can't believe that for years I closed my eyes to it and thought of it as inferior way of making sausage.

I believe rusk used as 10% of a sausage is a little too much and now use around 5% plus 5% water, I add the rusk dry to the sausage ad add the water as ice.

Franco

[Parson Snows]

Bob

You wrote

NB: I think you meant "20.2%".

I apologise for the omission,

The average fat content of �high quality� pork sausages was 20.2 g, with Iceland 16 Thick Pork sausages (Frozen) being the highest at 30.5 %

Should have read �

The average fat content of �high quality� pork sausages was 20.2 g per portion � two (2) cooked sausages, with Iceland 16 Thick Pork sausages (Frozen) being the highest at 30.5 %.

Due to varying weights of different sausages included in the survey an average portion size was obtained from the following publication

Food portion sizes
Compiled by A. Mills and S. Patel
2nd edition
Provides dietitians, nutritionists and others with a handy reference to the weights of both individual items (e.g. chocolate bars) and average portion sizes of a large number of foods.
HMSO, 1994 A5 xii, 102pp Chiefly tables
ISBN 0112429610

The 2003 Sausage Survey done by the British Government also covered the salt content of the 65 samples of sausages from 10 different categories. The average salt content of all of the tested pork sausages was 2.4 g per portion � two (2) cooked sausages. (Due to varying weights of different sausages included in the survey an average portion size was obtained from HMSO/FSA publication �Food portion sizes�), with Richmond Irish Recipe 12 Fresh Pork Sausages being the highest at 2.62 %.

kind regards

Parson Snows

[Bob]

Walls sausages are the main reason I make my own. I love English sausage of all sorts and would not describe the walls abomination as a sausage.

You know something. I haven't wanted to cause a big discussion about it but. I never use water I use breadcrumbs but no liquid.

The sausages always come out open textured with a good bite and lovely and moist.

Ok I suppose it's hammer time.

I am most interested to discover whether the use of breadcrumbs will allow me to lower the fat content. The recipes I have seen for English sausages are way too low in fat for me to make because I would end up with spiced sawdust. In fact I still have several batches in the freezer for Artie, our beagle. We could not eat them.

So there has to be some explanation for how English sausages are edible and it has to be the use of a moistening agent like breadcrumbs.

If I do not trim any fat off a pork butt (shoulder) it works out to be 30% fat, which is too low an amount of fat, so I have to add back fat. If, however, the use of breadcrumbs with the correct amount of water (if any) will moisten the sausage enough, I may be able to get by without adding any back fat.

[Bob]

I was brought up on Italian sausage, meat, salt, black pepper and fennel seeds..nothing else. These are a fantastic and easy sausage to make and until recently I made all my sausage recipes in this manner

We too are fans of Italian sausage and I have made several variations on the recipe above. We like to pan fry links and put them in a homemade sauce with angel hair pasta. Our favorite sauce is called "Whore's Sauce" because it is easy to make and the whores would make it for their clients after they were finished. It includes tons of garlic, butter, anchovies, capers and sliced black olives.

I believe rusk used as 10% of a sausage is a little too much and now use around 5% plus 5% water, I add the rusk dry to the sausage ad add the water as ice.
Franco

How do you know how much 10% is? Pork is measured in weight and breadcrumbs are measured in volume.

If my standard sausage recipe is always normalized to 1 lb pork, how much breadcrumbs in terms of volume is 5%? I assume the water is the same volume as the breadcrumbs.

What fat percentage do you make your sausages with when you use rusk?

[Oddley]

Bob I don't know if I can help.

I normally make my own bread any that is not used I leave just kicking about the kitchen cut into slices until they are rock hard I mean totally dehydrated. I then process them into fine particles. When I cook my sausages very little fat is leached even if they split whilst cooking.

[Bob]

I believe rusk used as 10% of a sausage is a little too much and now use around 5% plus 5% water, I add the rusk dry to the sausage ad add the water as ice.
Franco

Looking up a recipe I came across this one by Franco:

+++
Posted: Fri Dec 31, 2004 4:59 am
Post subject: old english

Old English Sausage

10 lb pork
1 lb rusk
[snip]
+++


Hey, dude - that's 10%.

[Bob]

Bob wrote

Which one is home to English "bangers"?

It is generally accepted that the so-called "British Banger" is based on the Cambridge sausage. Though as soon as I post this others will probably disagree.
kind regards
Parson Snows

In another thread you said you had the recipes for the following regional sausages:

Cumberland Sausage
Lincolnshire Sausage
Manchester Sausage
Epping Sausage
Cambridge Sausage
Oxford Sausage
Yorkshire Sausage

Please post them or email them to me. Thanks.

[Bob]

Bob I don't know if I can help.

I normally make my own bread any that is not used I leave just kicking about the kitchen cut into slices until they are rock hard I mean totally dehydrated. I then process them into fine particles. When I cook my sausages very little fat is leached even if they split whilst cooking.

We too make our own bread. Of late my wife makes a whole wheat bread but I do not think it would be a good idea for sausage.

I could make a plain loaf of white bread for the sole purpose of using it for homemade rusk. But why bother if breadcrumbs work?

[Bob]

Now that I have a pretty good idea of the range of ingredients for making English sausage, I would like to move to the cooking phase.

I assume you put the newly seasoned sausage in the refrigerator overnight to let the spices act on the meat, in particular the salt which causes the meat to become firm. From there the sausage is stuffed into hog casings.

How long do you age the sausage once it is stuffed?

After suitable aging, I believe you poach it. I poach sausage in other products like Italian pasta sauce or sauerkraut but in this case I would use plain water. I keep the water temperature around 160F so the poaching process does not split the casings.

I poach to an internal temperature of 155F, which takes about 20 minutes. Normally I just let the sausage sit in the hot water for 1/2 hour and not bother with the internal temperature measurement.

Then I believe you pan fry the sausage in butter on a low heat until the casing takes on a golden brown coloration.

Comments, please.

[Oddley]

Bob I'm not sure but I think Franco may be considering making that recipe up into a sausage mix the more rusk the bigger profit. don't get me wrong nothing against profit at all good luck to him.

I have made some commercial recipes posted here and the ones I've tried I have had to substantially adjust to give acceptable results.

This is all grist to the mill for me because I get loads of ideas from these recipes. So I would not bank on all the recipes here. But some I would highly recommend.