Sausage too dry....

[KJUN]

Howdy:

I just got a nice smoker, so I'm starting to attempt to make linked smoke sausage. (Until now, I just made pan sausage or BBQ some stuffed sausage.) My first use of the smoker was not so great. I KNOW my main problem was that I had the temps too high. It took me a day to get the wood:air ratio correct...lol. I knew I should have did a "dry run," but I was too anxious.

BUT, my recipe is off too making it too extra dry. I'm making pure pork sausage from wild piggies, but the problem is that I clean almost ALL of the fat off of the pig and make the sausage out of EXTREMELY lean meat. I want as LITTLE fat as possible in my sausage, but I don't want it too dry to enjoy eating. Thin line, isn't it?

I don't want to use boar fat, so I plan to add beef tallow until it is just moist enough for me to eat. Anyone know of why this wouldn't be a good idea? ...or am I off on a completely wrong track all together? I just wantr to keep the fat in my diet as low as possible at this point.

I would LIKE to add beef tallow to the lean pork, but I have no idea what an absolute minimum needed for good sausage might be. Can anyone offer some practical suggestions????

Thanks in advance,
KJ

[welsh wizard]

Hi KJUN and welcome.

When I started making sausages I wanted to go with as little fat as is possible but they always came out far too solid!

The use of fat I have found is very important to the taste of the end product and different fats impart different flavours. Beef fat ( which I use a lot in game sausages) is stronger than pork fat and for me and my mates that is fine as we like a strong sausage. Personally I now use between c15% fat in the finished product, and that gives me what I consider a fairly low fat sausage which retains moisture and flavour. I have tried 10% fat and although that is OK it does produce more of a solid sausage which is not to the rest of my family's taste.

OOI I have used boar fat in the past and have found it fine,, if a little strong. Why dont you want to use this fat in your prepreation?

Anyway hope the above helps and I am sure you will get better qualified responses than mine but keep on trying out new recipies you will get there in the end - breast of lamb is also a very good fat to try.

Cheers WW

[Paul Kribs]

KJUN

I can see no point in using beef fat in your sausages in preference to Boar/pig fat. I can understand your dietry concerns, but saturated fat is saturated fat. I would personally stick to the boar/pig fat and cook the sausages at a medium heat for about 35 mins in an oven or 20 mins on a low BBQ. The fat will flow through the sausage meat and rusk/crumb and leave it, it will also flavour it. I managed to lose 2 1/2 stone (about 35 lbs) whilst eating sausage cooked in this way.

regards, Paul Kribs

[KJUN]

I can see no point in using beef fat in your sausages in preference to Boar/pig fat. I can understand your dietry concerns, but saturated fat is saturated fat.

I've had some sausage with beef tallow added, and I didn't find the flavor too bad. It was axis or fallow deer sausage (no pork added) if I remember correctly. That's where my idea came from. I'm not using the wild boar fat because I do NOT like the flavor it gives the sausage/meat. Most of the wild boars we harvest are over 300-350lbs, not castrated, and the fat just plain reeks. Clean it off and the meat tastes perfectly fine IMO, though.

Anyway, that's why I'm avoiding using the boar fat in the sausage. If I kill a sow at the same time, I could use the sow's fat, of course. Storing fat for later use won't work since my wife is just learning the "art" of soap making. She renders down my fat as fast as I cut it off of the animal....

cook the sausages at a medium heat for about 35 mins in an oven or 20 mins on a low BBQ.

That's an idea. THANKS! I may do that and then through it on the smoker "just" long enough to give it the right flavor for cooking with later.

Wish me luck!
KJ

[KJUN]

When I started making sausages I wanted to go with as little fat as is possible but they always came out far too solid!

Yeah, I'm learning that! Of course, my learning curve with the smoker (it was WAY too hot) didn't help any!

Personally I now use between c15% fat in the finished product, and that gives me what I consider a fairly low fat sausage which retains moisture and flavour. I have tried 10% fat and although that is OK it does produce more of a solid sausage which is not to the rest of my family's taste.

Thanks! Looks like I'll try to target the 10-15% range (low and high ends) as a start regarldess of if I use tallow or lard. Last time, I did mix some "store bought" ground pork in with my wild stuff, but I have no idea how much fat that really added. I don't think it was enough, so I'd have to add more bought than harvested pork if I wanted to get enough fat THAT way.

Why dont you want to use this fat in your prepreation?

Some of it is just that I'm a weanie. The small boars are OK, but the larger boars reek so bad (even after getting soaked in ice water, etc.) that I can't sttand the flavor it imparts to meat. I'll admit that some of it MIGHT be psychological in nature, but I still can't enjoy it, whether that makes me crazy or not. Just skinned too many of the smelly (insert improper deragatory name here)!

Thanks again!
KJ