Texture Issues

[kilimanj99]

Hello,

I have made about a dozen attempts at different types of sausages and as I'm getting better with the taste, look, and stuffing the texture is really bothering me. They always come out really grainy is the best way to describe it. I'm using ground pork from a pig I had butchered for me and it's the same mix they use to make sausage just without the seasoning. Their sausage has the correct texture.

My first attempt I left it ground as is. My second attempt I figured it wasn't ground fine enough so I reground it using a smaller hole. After that I read about squeezing it and working it almost like dough so it sticks to your fingers and becomes gooey, I tried that too with no luck. Each time and each recipe they always came out grainy. Some had water, some had wine, some had none, no difference. From reading the sticky note in this forum I thought that might be it but maybe not. Then maybe I'm not mixing it enough? I was thinking of sticking it a food processor and mixing it up more but I don't know.

Any ideas or help would be much appreciated.

Thanks in advance...
Kilimanj99

[yotmon]

Hi Kilimanj99, it may be a good idea to ask your pork supplier if you could watch their production of sausage to see where you are going wrong. it would be a good starting point if as you say, their's are of the correct texture. Also by listing the ingredients and procedure that you used may give members here an indication to where the fault lies. personally, I think its going to be something to do with the way you are mixing the meat, also, temperature and fat content may have a role to play.

[Big Guy]

two questions.
1 how big is your grinder?
2 do you use a stuffer or stuff through the grinder ?

using too small of a grinder will heat up the mince and smear, same thing with stuffing through a grinder you can heat up and smear or you can overwork the bind and break it down

[Kaiser Soze]

How cold is the meat and fat when you grind? I have meat down to almost freezing and the fat a little colder still, to prevent it smearing.

Also, has the meat been frozen before you work with it? I've found frozen pork tends to taste a little grainy after its ground, but that's just anecdotal over a small sample of my own sausages.