www.sausagemaking.org

How can pineapple with its acidity be used in sausage without screwing up the bind. can it be neutralized with some baking soda? How about canned pineapple, it seems all the cans I've look at have citric acid added. would the citric acid act as a cure accelerator?

Raw pineapple contains Bromelian wich is an enzyme that dissolves/attacks protein.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bromelain

I think it would reak havoc in a sussage and render it sloppy joe in a casing.

Bromelian is destroyed by heat and thus canned pineapple might be the way, but you might want to check acidity and regulate it with baking soda to desired level before mixing.

DanMcG wrote:How can pineapple with its acidity be used in sausage without screwing up the bind. can it be neutralized with some baking soda?

Yes, use baking soda

Thank you Gentlemen! I've been following a thread on another site I frequent, and thought I'd ask the Pro's here..

Would I want to neutralize it or just close to a 7 PH? I'd think a little tang would be good.
I need to get some better test strips before I attempt anything. Any recommendations for strips?

I adjust to pH 6 for maximum water holding.

Thanks Paul.

NCPaul wrote:I adjust to pH 6 for maximum water holding.

I assume you're talking about adjusting the pineapple, any advantage to adjusting the meat too?
I know these questions might be a little lame, but I've never thought much about PH.

Fresh meat is usually at 5.8 so not much adjustment is necessary. I'm not sure where I found the number 6, I know the least water holding capacity is at pH 5.3.

Adjusting the pH addresses the acidity, but won't neutralize the enzyme.In my experience, if you use fresh pineapple, it will start changing the meat to unappetizing paste in a matter of hours. Also true of papaya. Pineapple canned in juice does not have this problem, but is much wetter than fresh. Strain canned pineapple well, and gently press on paper towel to remove excess liquid before adding to sausage. Pineapple packed in syrup is way too sweet, I think.

Chicken teriyaki with pineapple bits and minced onion makes a much better cocktail sausage when it doesn't turn to paste. Honest.

I'd rather add the pineapple after everything sausage related's gone, because of the aforementioned reasons; after all, pineapple juice was something the gangsters of the Prohibition era used to dissolve their fingerprints, so that might give you an idea of how powerful the thing is!

Canned pineapple could be too sweet, so unless you're going for a sweet-and-salty combination, could it be an option to cook fresh pineapple beforehand (on a BBQ? I know that barbecue'd vegetables are quite tasty, so why not fruits?)?