Adventures of a Sausage Making Tyro

[Wal Footrot]

As I said in another post you can't get a decent banger here on OZ so I've started, with a friend, to make them myself. I just thought I'd chronicle my adventures so far to see if it elicits any new tips or helps out others.

Batch #1 Made with rump steak (won in a raffle) and pork belly. Seasoned with salt, pepper, rosemary nutmeg and lemon zest. Equipment used - George Foreman mincer with sausage attachment. Result - inedible. Fat does matter and we seriously underestimated the amount we should use. We were also a bit light on the seasoning so the taste was very muted. These were so dry that I wouldn't even feed them to the dog. The very dark colour (almost like bratwurst) was off putting as well. However, the experience was a good one as we worked our way around the technical difficulties especially the stuffing procedure. Learning to avoid splitting the casings while stuffing was a learning curve and we went through 15 metres for about 6 kgs of snags. In hindsight rump steak is not ideal for sausage making.

Batch #2 This time we got the local butcher to choose the proportions and contents for us. chuck steak, beef fat, pork shoulder and pork fat. The fat to meat ratio this time was easy to calculate and was about 25%+. We also used a little vege oil at the end. Seasoned with salt (more this time), ground white pepper (ditto), rosemary, oregano and nutmeg. Minced and seasoned the meat and then cooked a very small patty to check for taste. Added more seasoning and the glug of oil. Checked again and all seemed better. Stuffing was easier this time as we used our previous experiences as a guide. These actually look like sausages and they've been in the fridge for about 20 hours now. Can't wait to try them. If they are successful then we're on our way!

The whole thing has been a tremendous learning curve and one I'm thoroughly enjoying. I'll use a couple of mates to help me taste test the product. One in particular will be very blunt.

[aris]

Ha, one thing I do like about the ozzies is their bluntness. For you to say one of your ozzie mates is blunt - well - he must REALLY be blunt.

You only have to look at Ozzie slang to get the picture:

http://www.koalanet.com.au/australian-slang.html

[Wal Footrot]

Tried the snags tonight by cooking them in my Weber.

The taste is good however I'm not happy about the texture. There seems to be enough fat in them but they bordered on the gritty/dry to the palate. When I minced the meat I used a medium blade. Do I need to go coarser or finer. Could there be another problem? Do I need to remince the meat?

All advice greatly appreciated.

[Spuddy]

Wal

This is a common problem amongst newcomers to sausagemaking.

The usual cause though is mixing at too high a temperature. You need to make sure the meat and fat is VERY cold before mixing so that you create an emulsion (a bit like a meat and fat mayonnaise) which helps to hold in the juices and bind everything together so that you don't get the grittiness.
To help you could also use rusk or breadcrumbs as a binder (not my taste though).

It has been discussed a few times on the forum so I suggest you do a bit of searching.

Let us know how you get on.

BR

[aris]

Has anyone come up with a definitive temperature that the mixing could take place? This would be useful as one could then use a thermometer to determine if the temperature is correct.

[tristar]

Aris,

I normally take my forcemeat after spreading on a tray and chilling for about 15-20 minutes in the freezer before I start the mixing for regular sausages, if I am making proper emulsified sausages I also add shaved ice to the mixture prior to mixing. I think it is a combination of the mixing and the temperature which makes a good bind. But bear in mind that I am in the tropics and you may get away with less chilling if you are doing your thing in the middle of a temperate zone in the winter.

Regards,
Richard

[Spuddy]

Has anyone come up with a definitive temperature that the mixing could take place?

Personally I aim for around -3C as the mixing raises the temperature quite quickly. I never let it rise above +1C whilst mixing (but then I don't use rusk in most of my sausages so the risk of breaking the emulsion is greater).

[saucisson]

-3C, I don't think I've done it that low, maybe that's what I've been doing wrong I'll try that next time, thanks,

Dave

[dougal]

There seems to be enough fat in them but they bordered on the gritty/dry to the palate. When I minced the meat ...

OK, I'm not disagreeing AT ALL about the need to *mix* cold.


BUT, you need to *mince* cold too.

Near frozen meat minces more "cleanly".
And its better for food hygiene.
However, the point I'm raising is that mincing heats the meat.
It can - especially if the blade is blunt (or even backwards), the plate is clogged, there's sinew between blade and plate, or the meat was at room temperature - heat the meat to the point that it 'greys' on mincing. Its started cooking! And the result is a texture that most people call "gritty".

One more detail to watch out for!

[Spuddy]

Good point Dougal.
Considering the ambient temperature of Wal's location then I would also recommend putting the mincer housing, plates and blade (NOT the motor)in the freezer for an hour or so before mincing.

[Ianinfrance]

Hi Dougal & Spuddy.

Very interesting points you both make here. I've been making my own "English Sausages" using a variant on a Jane Grigson recipe. In the past, before I discovered this site, I'd just cubed, seasoned, minced and stuffed in one smooth sequence, but noticed that sometimes my sausages were somewhat gritty. I'd always put this down to lack of fat, or something....

I should say that I wasn't using rusk, and used to try to get a coarser textured sausage, a little closer to a Tousouse style.

Recently I made a number of different sausages using rusk, and a little water, with the mix chilled in between, and got much smoother sausages, and ones that were juicier too.

From what you both say, and from what I've read elsewhere on these sausaemaking sites, it is looking to me as if this is an important part of the process that I was entirely ignorant of.

A very fertile field for experiment has opened up! But that'll have to wait until I've finished the 6 kilos that remain in the freezer!

Thanks guys, very much.

[Wal Footrot]

What a great site. I simply mention a problem and someone immediately comes up with an answer that makes sense.

This has also raised a few questions for me.

If I use a coarser blade will the heating effect be lessened? I'm using medium at the moment.

My mincer is only 1400W. Will nearly frozen meat cause problems for the motor?

What will be the effect of breadcrumbs? I like a smoother texture in my snags so will this provide it?

How do I determine the proportion of breadcrumbs to water?

Will I now be able to use less fat?

All answers gratefully received for this newbie.