by vagreys » Sat Jul 14, 2012 6:55 pm
Just noticed this question that came it while I was away, and thought I'd offer my two cents.
Saturated fats that go solid or semi-solid at room temperature, like animal fats, will stick to the roof of your mouth until they warm sufficiently to start melting. It is the nature of saturated fats, like lamb, beef, pork, and chicken fat to go sticky/tacky as they solidify.
Different fats have different melting points. Poultry fats have the lowest melting points (start melting at 75-80°F), and melt quickly in your mouth, so they don't stick to the roof of your mouth unless they are cool. Pork fats are next lowest, melting at around 94°F, so they also melt quickly in your mouth, and again, don't stick to the roof of your mouth unless the are cool. Butter melts at about 98°F. Beef fat start to melt at about body temperature, but doesn't fully melt until it is warmer than body temperature, which is why you can still detect a film on the roof of your mouth when eating a room-temperature or cooler sausage made with beef fat. Lamb fat has the highest melting temperature of these fats, and doesn't melt at body temperature, which is why lamb is generally served hot, or defatted if served cold - unless it is hotter than about 115-120°F, the fat will congeal in your mouth.
The higher the beef fat content of your room-temperature or cooler sausage, the more you will notice the fat sticking to the roof of your mouth. Mouth feel, flavor and texture are important reasons why beef fat is not widely used in sausage making, and why pork fat is preferred.
Smoking will not affect this characteristic of saturated fat. If you were to smoke your sausages, they would taste smoked and the fat would still stick to the roof of your mouth.
- tom
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