Texture not right

[lucana]

Hello everyone, I am very new to this sausage-making lark so please be gentle with me

I have been trying to find this PDF of recipes advertised on the homepage but the only link seems to go back to the home page. As I have never been able to find this PDF I have been trying to find suitable recipes from within the forum. During this time I have read with interest a great many posts but I do have to agree with Parson Snows that a dedicated post/page for "recipes only" and a rating system would be an excellent idea. I only say this because there are so many recipes hidden in string after string that it is almost impossible to find them unless you are searching for the correct recipe name.


The other problem I have (other than the fact that not one sausage I have made so far even resembles, let alone tastes like a sausage) is that the texture is never quite right. I have used all belly pork as some recipes suggest and sometimes I�ve used 1/2 belly 1/2 shoulder.
The sausages lack bite, could this be that the belly pork is too fatty and should I try using all shoulder?

Finally as I am so rubbish at making sausages I do not want to make such a large quantity (because it will probably end up in the bin). Could some one give me a recipe for a herby sausage i.e. Lincolnshire or other that only makes a small amount, I have tried reducing down some of the recipes but by the time you get down to the spices it is less than measurable amounts. I think maybe I need a separate flavourings recipe.

If you have not already lost all will to live and are actually still reading this I would greatly appreciate any help you can offer me.

Many thanks in advance

Sue

[deb]

Hi Sue and welcome. I cannot offer much advice about texture etc. as I'm inexperienced myself, but I did have an idea regarding the spices. How about making up a batch of mixed herbs and spices of your choice and then find some way of working out how much of this stock batch you would need to use for say 1lb meat. For example if you mix up the ammounts shown for 10lb of meat and this makes 5 teaspoons you would therefore need to use about half a teaspoon per 1lb. I don't know if this will work as I've never tried it but the theory sounds o.k. to me.

[TobyB]

Hi Sue,

I'm also new to this lark but all the sausage I've made so far has been great (smug wotsit aren't I).

If you go to the Beginners section someone has just posted a "getting started basic pork sausage recipe". If you want to make a herby version of the sausage there just add a teaspoon or two of the herbs of your choice to that recipe.

If you are adding rusk to your sausage already then the lack of bite may be something to do with how you are mincing your meat and fat. If you do this too finely it will make an emulsion and this may produce an unacceptable texture. Alternately, if when mincing your meat it gets too hot it seems that this also affects the texture although I've no experience. I used a Kenwood multichef to chop my meat rather than a mincer and made my sausage with a coarse grain and it was fine.

If you want definitive advice from one of the (many) experts on here you'll need to go into detail about what you are doing (mincer plates how used and in what order and exact ingredients).

I'm afraid I'm not one of the experts and do everything by eye but as I said mine all worked. For what it's worth I posted a link to the two nicest ones I've made so far one of which was herby (and garlicy) in this section under maple syrup and herby Italian sausage. The quantities were only 1kg in total so you could try one of these.

Good luck and don't give up. it's really brilliant when they work!

Should have asked, how are you cooking them? I grill mine and that works fine but I coocked some in an AGA top oven the other day (was visiting friends) and they were grim. They worked fine when grilled so can only assume that aga cooking doesn't work for sausage (or not my ones anyway)

best wishes

Toby

[aris]

Sue,

How are you mincing the meat, and what equipment are you using to mince with? You might try partially freezing the meat before mincing.

[lucana]

Hi all and thanks for the replies,

I will try to respond to all at once.

Firstly

Hi Sue and welcome. I cannot offer much advice about texture etc. as I'm inexperienced myself, but I did have an idea regarding the spices. How about making up a batch of mixed herbs and spices of your choice and then find some way of working out how much of this stock batch you would need to use for say 1lb meat. For example if you mix up the amounts shown for 10lb of meat and this makes 5 teaspoons you would therefore need to use about half a teaspoon per 1lb. I don't know if this will work as I've never tried it but the theory sounds o.k. to me.

Thank you Deb, I will see if I can find some ready made spice recipes on here as do not think I am good enough to experiment yet.

Secondly

Hi Sue,

I'm also new to this lark but all the sausage I've made so far has been great (smug wotsit aren't I).

If you go to the Beginners section someone has just posted a "getting started basic pork sausage recipe". If you want to make a herby version of the sausage there just add a teaspoon or two of the herbs of your choice to that recipe.

If you are adding rusk to your sausage already then the lack of bite may be something to do with how you are mincing your meat and fat. If you do this too finely it will make an emulsion and this may produce an unacceptable texture. Alternately, if when mincing your meat it gets too hot it seems that this also affects the texture although I've no experience. I used a Kenwood multichef to chop my meat rather than a mincer and made my sausage with a coarse grain and it was fine.

If you want definitive advice from one of the (many) experts on here you'll need to go into detail about what you are doing (mincer plates how used and in what order and exact ingredients).

I'm afraid I'm not one of the experts and do everything by eye but as I said mine all worked. For what it's worth I posted a link to the two nicest ones I've made so far one of which was herby (and garlicy) in this section under maple syrup and herby Italian sausage. The quantities were only 1kg in total so you could try one of these.

Good luck and don't give up. it's really brilliant when they work!

Should have asked, how are you cooking them? I grill mine and that works fine but I coocked some in an AGA top oven the other day (was visiting friends) and they were grim. They worked fine when grilled so can only assume that aga cooking doesn't work for sausage (or not my ones anyway)

best wishes

Toby

He He He - there�s always one that gets it right first time
Only kidding

I am using rusk and if the recipe says breadcrumbs I quite often substitute for rusk, maybe I should use less rusk when doing so - I will have a practise although I think Devon is declaring a national shortage of belly pork since I started this endeavour.

Finally I usually fry or grill them but I may try and use the food processor as you suggested to get the coarser texture

Many thanks Toby for your help I am now of to check out your recipes.


And finally

Sue,

How are you mincing the meat, and what equipment are you using to mince with? You might try partially freezing the meat before mincing.

Thanks for the reply.
I mince in a small home mincer (sorry don�t know the make) but I only have 2 mincing blades 1 fine 1 coarse. I always use the coarse blade but i think it is too fine.
I have now started to put it through the mincer only once and this has improved the texture slightly but it is still not right - I can only describe it as "pappy" don�t even know if that is a word sorry. I think I will try Toby�s idea and not use a food processor instead - maybe they will come out meatier then.

Finally is the link to the recipes PDF not working or am I being stupid and not reading it correctly?

Many thanks all

Sue - Soon to be expert sausage maker ...��..maybe

[Oddley]

Sue I like a quite open textured sausage so I put in about 3/4 oz of breadcrumbs pr 1 lb meat and no water(contentious subject) if you like a sausage with a firmer texture, frankfurter like use little or no fillers.

Another very important thing is keep the meat cold at all times as has been mentioned or the fat will start to melt and congeal in the meat.

As for sausage recipes one of the best I make is the simplest. Leave out the breadcrumbs if you want a firmer texture. Always use proper measuring spoons to get a repeatable result.

Oddleys

Ingredients:

1 1/2 lb Lean shoulder pork
1/2 lb Hard back fat
1 tsp Salt
1/8 tsp Nutmeg
1/8 tsp Mace
1/4 tsp Black Pepper
1 1/2 oz Stale Breadcrumbs

Method:

Keep the meat between 0 - 5 centigrade at all times. Mince fat and shoulder of pork on a fine blade 3/8 in, then mix all other ingredients in a kneading motion. fry a small amount to see if you like the recipe Fill sausage skins. leave in a cool room for about 20 min's then in the bottom of the fridge overnight.

[Erikht]

Dear Sue,

I am hardly an expert, put try this once and see if it works for you:

2 parts coarsly minced mutton or lamb
1/2 part coarsly minced pork belly
1/2 part finely minced pork belly(this will help your sausage to keep together and not burst. If your sausage bursts, dont't worry. They very often do)
1 teaspoon salt
1 heaped tablespoon coarsly ground black pepper
2 heaped tablespoons fresh, choped rosmary
3 heaped tablespoons fresh, chopped thyme
15 juniper berries, chrushed
1/2 dl black currant syrup
4 shallot onions, finely chopped
4 clives of garlic, finely chopped

Cut the meat in cubes. Mince half the pork belly finely. Mix the finely mincrd pork belly with the rest of the meat and the spices(exept the syrup, this goes in later). Mince coarsly. Mix with the syrup. Let it stand for 2 hours in the fridge. Make sausages. Let the sausages rest in the fridge over the night(or use them at once. They are already lovely). Fry or freeze.

Remember that you can freeze sausage casings. I always buy 100 meters at a time, and then cut it in lengths(usually 1 and 5 meters), wich I pack in cling film and roll into little balls. Theese I keep in two plastic bags in the freezer(one for the short, and one for the long). Pop them in a bowl of lukewarm water for 20 minutes, and you can make sausage for grilling or frying(or simmering!!!)the same day.

[aris]

What size plate do you use when you refer to 'coarsely minced'?

[lucana]

Thanks Oddly

I will try that, and i think you may be right about the heat - it takes me so long faffing about that the meat wont be very cold - i am sure that must be the problem - i am going to try again tonight and i will mince the meat down now and leave it in the fridge and make it the spices first and only get the meat out when i am ready to mix and stuff.

I am suitably inspired again thanks to you all.

Sue

[aris]

Sue,

Chop up the meat into a size your mincer will accept, then put the meat in the freezer for 30-40 minutes before mincing. That will keep the meat cold - and also keep the meat firm as it minces.

[lucana]

Hi All,

Thanks again for all you help.

Many thanks Erikht
I will add it to my list of recipes to try

Thanks also to Aris
I am going to make some bangers tonight with COLD meat and i will try your freezer trick. Tomorrow i will get back to you all with my results.

many thanks again you wonderful people

Sue

[Jonty]

Sue,

If you make up a separate spice batch, add a little to the minced meat, fry a spoonfull up and taste it. Then, if you feel it needs it, add a bit more and repeat the tasting. This way you can ensure that you don't overseason the mix before stuffing.

Good luck with the next batch.

[_Darkstream_]

For a spice recipe, check out my LO FAT Lincolnshire type susage below.

BUT be warned, you may not need the same quantities I put in, because mine are ULTRA low fat sausages. However, the overall mix is good. I sugest you try making it up and adding half the quantitiy, cook a small paty of it, and see what you think. You can allways add more, but it is VERY difficult to remove the spice once you have put it in.

You can also use these floavouring recipes I have developed, these are for one pound of meat before the addiditon of other ingredients:


SPICE MIXTURES:

1. Lincolnshire style sausage.

This is a traditional peppery English sausage.

A scant 1 teaspon of white pepperCORNS, which you then finely mill

1/2 teaspoon each of black and green peppercorns, half coarse milled, the rest cracked

1/8 to 1/4 teaspoon each of ground dried ginger and cayenne (you can adjust to taste,
but this is not a �chilli� sausage, just peppery).

Mix the dry spices together.




2. Cumberland style sausages.

1 teaspoon of whole white peppercorns - mill or grind this VERY fine

1/2 teaspoon of whole black pepper corns - cracked or very coarse milled

a small pinch (1/4-1/8 tsp or less) of each of ground mace, dried powdered ginger, and
cayenne)

20 to 30 fresh sage leaves, finely ground (note, my sage is a narrow leaf sage, broad
leaf sage probably half that amount)

1/2 tsp chopped fresh marjoram


3. Pork and Fresh Herb Sausages

1 teaspoon of whole white peppercorns - mill or grind this VERY fine

1/2 teaspoon of whole black pepper corns - cracked or very coarse milled

1/4 teaspoon of dry English mustard powder

20 to 30 ground sage leaves, and now visually approximately the same amount of

parsley,

chives,

lemon zest,

marjoram,

thyme,

basil



4. Oxford Bangers

substitute 1/2 of the minced pork with minced veal

Spices:

1 teaspoon fine milled white peppercorns

1 teaspoon coarse milled black peppercorns

1 teaspoon nutmeg

1/2 teaspoon mace

1/2 teaspoon ginger

1/4 teaspoon allspice

zest of 1/4 lemon

NOTE: If you are new to this, you may want to add 1/2 the spice mixture first, and
then fry a small patty to test the taste. You can then add as much of therest as you
wish.

They will keep up tp a wek in the freidge, 1 month freezer. Best left to mature for one
day.

[lucana]

Success!!!

I followed all your wonderful advice tonight and made my sausages ensuring the meat was cold. Well I must say they were not half bad, your advice was spot on and much improved from any of the other batches I have done. The texture was much meatier and firmer. the problem was defo my meat not being cold enough it made a big diference.

I tried irish sausages as the recipe seemed simple enough. It wasnt bad, not herby enough for me but at least my partner knew it was a sausage this time which is a big improvement from the last time .

As I am so inspired now and Darkstream has kindly given me all these spice mixes (thanks) I am going to serve him sausages every day this week until i have cooked the perfect banger - poor guy .

I have just realised i should have posted this string in the beginers section so i must apologise for being "lost in a forum" as well as a hopeless cook.

Thank you all once again and although i cant help you with sausage making if you ever get a website problem then i'm your gal!

Thanks

Sue

[Jonty]

Congratulations, Irish sausage eh?? When you get a moment would you pass on the recipe.

If you like herby sausages, a good handul of fresh sage added to a basic sausage mix certainly does it for me.

Cheers