Breadcrumbs and Water - (again..sorry)

[deb]

Sorry to bring this up again, I know the info is on here somewhere but I can't find it.

How much rusk/breadcrumb would you add per pound/500grams of meat and fat mixture for a basic pork sausage and the same for water/liquid?

I have a cookie press and would like to start making small ammounts of sausages and get experimenting but I don't think an all meat sausage is for me so would like some advice on the above.

Thanks.

[Oddley]

deb I think the amount of filler you put in your sausage is up to you.

But the consensus of opinion on the forum I believe is an amount between 5% - 10% which is 25 - 50gm per 500gm.

Water for breadcrumbs is 1 to 1 that is 1 part water to 1 part breadcrumbs. Rusk I think is 1 1/2 to 1 that is 1 1/2 parts water to 1 part rusk.

I like to use 5% breadcrumbs with no added water.

[deb]

Thanks Oddley.
I think I'll start with 5% and see how I go from there.

[Bob]

Thanks Oddley.
I think I'll start with 5% and see how I go from there.

I have used 1 TBS. breadcrumbs with 1 TBS. water in 1 lb meat with success. I found that if I used more, the sausage came out mealy tasting.

FWIW.

[deb]

Thanks Bob.

Having been brought up on the good old supermarket banger I don't think I could take a really meaty sausage LOL!!

[Bob]

Thanks Bob.

Having been brought up on the good old supermarket banger I don't think I could take a really meaty sausage LOL!!

If you knew how they make that supermarket sausage, you would not want to eat it. I just discovered in my research on CMC (aka "cellulose gum") that its use is far more widespread than we would imagine. According to the head food chemist at one of the largest industrial suppliers, you can add up to 1/8 water using as little as 1/4 tsp. CMC per pound of ground meat (0.2%). The CMC acts as a water binder allowing the meat to hold so much water.

The ground chuck from one of my butchers that I use to make jerky has a chewy texture similar to what happens when I use CMC directly. There is only one possible explanation - he is lacing his ground chuck with small amounts of CMC so he can add water.

I was told by that food chemist that the practice of adding water-binders is widespread in the food industry. It may not be CMC but it has the same effect - it makes you pay meat prices for the weight of added water.

[sausagemaker]

CMC is not widely used here in the UK for sausage production.
Furthermore you get what you pay for if you want good quality sausage in the supermarkets you can get them if you want economy they are also there.
I get fed up with people bemoaning the products on offer from manufacturer's when all they are doing is making what the consumer buy's.
If the consumer was willing to pay for quality they will get it.
But if they expect to get quality sausage for �1.50 per Kg it's time to wake up & smell the coffee.
Before anyone jumps on the bandwagon of mass produced pulp please remember that none of you would pay butcher's prices to supermarket groups & if you didn't all shop in supermarkets even the high quality ones the high street would be still full of butcher's bakers, tailors etc.

regards
sausagemaker

[Bob]

CMC is not widely used here in the UK for sausage production.

That's because rusk is used as an extender.

Furthermore you get what you pay for if you want good quality sausage in the supermarkets you can get them if you want economy they are also there.

You can get good sausage at affordable prices in Texas from so-called "meat markets". These are small shops owned and operated predominately by old-world Germans and Czechs. They are all over the central part of Texas, known as Hill Country.

I'll bet you all didn't realize that Texas has world-famous sausage in addition to its world-famous BBQ.

[sausagemaker]

Rusk is not an extender it is part of the recipe for british sausage, without it you dont have the british banger
Secondly If texas has world famous sausage then we would know.

regards
sausagemaker

[Bob]

Rusk is not an extender it is part of the recipe for british sausage, without it you dont have the british banger

Rusk is an extender regardless of its necessity as an ingredient in bangers.

Secondly If texas has world famous sausage then we would know.

How could you know - you live in Britain. Most people in Britain don't have a clue what goes on in Texas. Until I came across this forum, I had no idea that the British even knew what sausage was much less how to make it.

Much of the really great sausage in Texas is made by German, Czech and Polish butchers in small town meat markets in Hill Country, which is east of Austin, west of Houston, north of San Antonio and south of Waco (Dallas).



And then there is venison sausage. Texas likely processes more venison sausage than all the sausage in Britain. But then Texas is three times larger in land size than the entire UK, so that should not be surprising.

Another thing about Texas sausage is our meat is not diseased like in Britain. That's because we don't feed offal to our livestock.

Below is a link to a forum entitled "Texas Sausage Makers"

http://www.roadfood.com/forums/topic.as ... 879&#45210

In it there is a reference to an article entitled "The Texas Sausage Circuit"

http://www.texascooppower.com/tcp/103link.html

In "Legends of Texas BBQ Cookbook"

http://home.houston.rr.com/rkba/bbq.html

Robb Walsh dedicates significant space to Texas sausage. In fact when you talk about the types of Texas BBQ, you must include sausage - sometimes called "links".

"Itinerant farm workers who came through town during the harvest bought the smoked meats at the butcher's shop and ate them on the spot. Side dishes were what they could find on the store's shelves-usually just crackers and pickles. Thus began the meat market barbecue tradition."

[Oddley]

I'll bet you all didn't realize that Texas has world-famous sausage in addition to its world-famous BBQ.

Bob does not world famous mean famous all over the world. I have travelled quite extensively but not the USA you couldn't pay me to go there. I have not heard of Texas BBQ or Texas Sausage and nobody I have talked to has heard of it. Like so many Americans perhaps your world is the USA or in your case Texas.

[Platypus]

World famous Texas sausage sounds a bit like the American "world series" sports that only allow Americans to play!!

How could you know - you live in Britain. Most people in Britain don't have a clue what goes on in Texas. Until I came across this forum, I had no idea that the British even knew what sausage was much less how to make it.

I think you just gave an example of how insular Texans are Bob, not us Brits.

And then there is venison sausage. Texas likely processes more venison sausage than all the sausage in Britain. But then Texas is three times larger in land size than the entire UK, so that should not be surprising.

Lots of places are bigger than Britain, but that does not automatically make them better.

BTW, British meat is NOT diseased, yes we HAD a problem but that was resolved last millenium... Try to keep up to date!
And before you start on us you may want to read what happened in TEXAS in 2001 http://www.mad-cow.org/00/jan01_late.html

[Bob]

Bob, does not world famous mean famous all over the world.

There are Texas-style BBQ resturants all over Britain.

I have travelled quite extensively but not the USA you couldn't pay me to go there.

Me neither. That's why I live in Texas. It is a sign of rank provincialism to confuse Texas with America.

I have not heard of Texas BBQ or Texas Sausage and nobody I have talked to has heard of it.

You might consider making some new friends who are not so insular. I bet that if you lived in Texas for a while, you would never go back to Old Blimey. Just ask all the expats who live here.

Like so many Americans perhaps your world is the USA or in your case Texas.

I am a Texan - please do not insult me about being an American. That would be the same as insulting a Pole about being a Russian.

I am really surprised that you know so little about Texas, especially Houston.

Q: What country is Houston's largest overseas trading partner?
A: UK.

BP Amoco has a campus-like office complex in West Houston that makes Trafalgar Square look like a highway piss stop.

[Bob]

BTW, British meat is NOT diseased, yes we HAD a problem but that was resolved last millenium.

When your farmers learned not to feed decayed sheeps carcassas to livestock.

And before you start on us you may want to read what happened in TEXAS in 2001

http://www.mad-cow.org/00/jan01_late.html

Notice how quickly the state authorities tackled that problem.

[sausagemaker]

The known world


Bet you think its flat as well

As for

Notice how quickly the state authorities tackled that problem.

Good job us Brits had it first or you would not have had a clue what to do.