For and against the prick

[Twoscoops]

I watched an Antonio Carluccio programme this morning. In it he made a Pugliese sausage with lean-ish pork mince, pecorino romano and fennel seeds. He also pricked the sausages as he was stuffing them to let the air escape. Can anyone comment on this? I always thought that you shouldn't prick in case the moisture escaped, but it usually escapes from the ends anyway.

[Parson Snows]

What you are asking is actually two different questions. The reason that Antonio Carluccio pricked the sausages was because of entrapped air. When you watched him he probably pricked them with what is called a sausage pricker, obviously. This has small diameter sharp pointed prongs and leaves a minute hole which will actually heal over. Leaving the air in the sausages can cause three things to happen.

1) the casings/sausages can spit/burst due to the entrapped air expanding during cooking.
2) the sausages may spoil, even if the are frozen, as the air will act as a breeding ground for the bacteria present.
3) The sausage may well crumble at that point if the air pocket is rather large.

If there had been no air entrapped under the skin, he still may or may not have pricked the sausages before cooking them. There are two schools of thought on this, and this argument goes back to the 16th century when they first started linking sausages. I personally believe that if they are natural skins then they ARE NOT TO BE PRICKED, as doing so will allow some of the juices to escape during cooking, resulting in a drier sausage than if you had not pricked them. As to the juices escaping from the ends. NO. The next time you cook a sausage watch it and see, not too close though. The actual ends very rarely, if at all come into contact with the cooking surface. Typically it�s the middle third of the sausage that is in contact with the heat.

Hope that this is some use to you

Kind Regards

Parson Snows

[Twoscoops]

As to the juices escaping from the ends. NO. The next time you cook a sausage watch it and see, not too close though. The actual ends very rarely, if at all come into contact with the cooking surface. Typically it�s the middle third of the sausage that is in contact with the heat.

I'm not sure i know what you mean. How would the sausages not coming into contact with the cooking surface mean that the juices don't escape? How does the fat escape?

[Parson Snows]

The sausage skin has been twisted at the ends and then cut later to separate into links, so it's already touching moderately tight at the ends. The skins naturally shrink, typically more than the meat, making the seal even tighter. That is the reason that in cheaper sausages you will often find the meat being pushed out of the ends (Knob ends). The skin has shrunk a little and has started compressing the meat, outwards being a lesser strain than trying to burst the seams. However, with quality products the juices are retained within the sausages. though once you have pricked the sausages, typically along the middle 2/3 rds of the sausage length the cooked juices will seep out and be lost for good.

Hope that this clears it up a little better

Kind Regards


Parson Snows