Bursting Sausages

[Epicurohn]

My sausages burst when grilled or fryed. My fresh sausages burst at any temperature and my smoked ones only when the pan or grill is really hot (>400�F). Besides water content (which I have been modifying to solve this problem with no success), what other factors affect this problem.

I was putting in 2 cups of water, 1 cup of rusk and 1 tsp Soy Protein concentrate. I reduced to 1-3/4 cups water and kept the others the same. NOw I'm down to 1� cups water, but the rusk kept the mix too dry so I reduced the rusk only to 1 cup. A little improvement but not a success. Comments?


Thanks,

David

[welsh wizard]

Hi Epicurohn

Are you using a natural skin? I only ask because they do tend to shrink which of course causes bursting this is why I do not often fry them. If I do I tend to cook them very slowly which tends to reduce the risk of bursting but you say you have tried this. The only other bit of advice I can give is that when I use rusk (I dont always) I use a pin head rusk and match weight for weight rather than volume for volume, so 8oz of rusk to 8oz of water and this seems to work for me.

Hope this helps Cheers WW.

[aris]

do you let the mix rest for some time after mixing in the rusk and water? Perhaps the rusk is absorbing fluid and expanding in the casing before cooking.

You might try letting the mix rest for a while, or slightly under-stuffing the sausage.

[Epicurohn]

First of all, I apologize for omitting the ammount of meat for the previously stated amounts of rusk and SP. These are for 5# of meat/fat (70:30).

I've tried soaking the rusk overnight in the water and spices; then blending into the meat; grinding the meat a second time once the rusk water and spices have been added; freezer for 1 Hr.; mixing with paddle attachment (Kitchen Aid) for 5 min. on 2. Stuffing. Blooming overnite, Freezer.

I use collagen only 32mm. I don't deep fry, I mean pan fry. Will try understuffing. My 500 grm x 0.5 grm scale is on it's way. Right now I only have a 50kg x 0.02kg scale which is useless for spice and additive weighing. How loose would you suggest the casing is left. I don't want to leave it like an old sock on a skinny leg.

Thanks for the input.

David

[welsh wizard]

Yep my bit of advice was not complete either, I should have said that I add rusk at 10% of weight.

Sorry

[aris]

Using collagen casings could be part of the problem - you probably need to under-stuff these slightly as they do not stretch like natural ones.

[THING]

My sausages burst when grilled or fryed.

Hey David, why do you think they're called Bangers? LMAO

[sausagemaker]

Hi David

Splitting sausage is normally caused by water, if there is any free water in the mix it will turn to steam & burst the sausage.
It is therefore most important to balance any added water with rusk at a rate of 2 parts water to one part rusk.
You also need to be sure that you have extracted the protein from the sausage meat. this is done by mixing & by the action of the salt in the seasoning.
After all these are done you need to cook the sausage slowly turning them often as again if they stand in one place on the grill pan or oven tray again they are likely to burst.
Other things to look out for are over filling, under filling, too much fat, insufficient good meat protein & temperature too low whilst making the mix.
Lastly do not assume it is your fault it may be a faulty batch of casings.

Hope this helps
Regards
Sausagemaker

[Epicurohn]

sausagemaker:

What do you mean temperature too low? Too low during mixing? How low is too low?

How do I determine if ALL the meat protein has been extracted?

I use 30% fat. What do you think?

Thanks,

David

[sausagemaker]

Hi David

30% fat is fine.
Temperature too low is 0c or below, as the protein can only be extracted above 0c.
The protein extraction is when the meat gets sticky, the more sticky it is the more protein being extracted, however do not over do this or it will have the texture of bratwurst.
Also by mixing until it is sticky has the advantage of ensuring the free water is absorbed by the meat.

Hope this helps
Regards
Sausagemaker

[Epicurohn]

sausagemaker,

I'm already re-grinding and mixing at about 4�C. I mix for 2-5 min. on #2 setting of a Kitchen Aid 6 Qt. with paddle. I grind to the sticky phase. "to bring out the myocin" as Charcuterie puts it.

I use 5% Rusk. If I use more Rusk I'm afraid it will smell and taste too much like bread. You sure about 10%? On the last batch I got to the 2:1 (Water to Rusk ratio), will test. I need a proper mixer. Time to go shopping.

Thanks,

David

[tristar]

Hi David,

I found that all my meat based sausages would burst if I used any type of filler, rusk, flour etc in the mix. When I stopped using fillers the problems of bursting stopped. I do however use some 2-3% tapioca flour in my Seafood Sausages, which I poach before grilling or frying, I just take the water up to a very slow simmer and poach for 10 minutes, if the water becomes too hot and reaches a full boil the casings on about 10% of the sausages burst, they still taste delicious but just don't look too appetising!!!

I am using sheep casings for all my sausages by the way.

Richard

[Epicurohn]

How do you get enought "bite" on those sausages that don't have fillers?
I tried some sausages without rusk or soy protein at the beggining and they wouldn't burst but they were very crumbly.

A local merchant is offering me Sodium Tripolyphosphate as an artificial binder. Anybody used this? Comments?

Which would expand the most: Rusk or 80% Soy Protein Concentrate?

Thanks,

David

[tristar]

Hi David,

For my beef sausages I used fatty brisket, with additional hard kidney fat to give me the normal 70/30% ratios, I used a teaspoon of Colemans mustard powder and a couple of tablespoons of whole yellow mustard seed in addition to my normal herbs and spices, the mixture was well kneaded by hand before stuffing and the bite was quite firm, the mustard seeds adding to the texture but also the juiciness of the sausage but without adding any heat! Maybe something in the mustard powder assisted the binding process or the protein breakdown which is required for the correct texture. My recipe is on this section of the forum if you want to give it a try. Let us know how you get on anyway and good luck!

Richard

[sausagemaker]

Hi David

Sodium Tri polyphosphate is an emulsifier & will help in the binding of the sausage.
As for the rusk if you do not want to use any more than 5% then add some corn starch or potato starch instead.
As for the rusk / soya question the rusk will expand more but soaks up less water at 2 - 1 soya on the other hand being more fine expands less but can take up to 5 times its weight in water dependant on the type you have.

tristar
Your method of taking out the filler to stop it splitting may have worked for you but I would hazard a guess that you also took out the extra water that was in there for the rusk.

Regards
Sausagemaker