Using beef in sausage making

[welsh wizard]

There seems to be a much higher percentage of people using pork to create their sausages rather than beef, and I was wondering why? When I was a lad beef sausages seemed to be the ones thet we always had, but was that a fond memory or was it a fact that there was more beef sausages sold then (35 years ago)? Possibly the price of pork then was dispraportionate to the price of beef?

To be honest I have not used beef yet but hope to do so very soon and was also wondering what is the best cut to put through the mincer - does this depend on the type of sausage - do beef fat / meat ratios differ from pork fat / meat ratios?

Cheers WW

[Paul Kribs]

Welsh Wizard

I use pork because it is cheapest, and I do like the flavour. I have used lamb on a couple of occasions. I used 3 whole legs to make some Goan Vindaloo but it worked out near �1 per sausage. Also used a leg and 1/2 shoulder to make some lamb with rosemary and mint.

I did mince up 3 quite large joints of topside for some top quality beefburgers, got 85 out of that batch. We are still chowing our way through those.

I think I will stick with the pork for sausages unless we decide on something more special.. then she can pay for the meat.

Regards, Paul Kribs

[Oddley]

Welsh Wizard I have tried Pork and beef sausages. Although they were very nice, I like the texture and taste of 100% pork.

I don't believe the ratio's of fat are any different with beef than pork or a mixture of meats. They are still there as flavour carriers and to make the meat moist.

[welsh wizard]

Paul and Oddley thanks for the info. One of the reasons I asked is I really want to try Boerewors, especially on the BBQ. I have seen a few posts for the sausage and all of them use beef so I suppose beef it is. Unless you know any different?

Cheers WW

[sausagemaker]

WW

Pork is favoured throughout the world for sausage production due to its succulence & price. Beef sausage is less succulent & tends to be dryer, it was prevalent in the North of Scotland & the midlands in the UK,Pork & Beef sausage was the biggest seller here in the UK for years then BSE hit & not one wanted beef anymore.

Regards
sausagemaker

[othmar]

Pork in sausages is used, as it has been addressed here, as a flavour carrier and to hold the sausage moist.
It is the fat in the pork which acoplishes this.
A 100% beef, lamb or wild game sausage would be a very dry sausage with little flavour of the seasoning. Sheer meat does not hold flavour well.
The usual procedure is that in almost all sausages there will be at least 20% medium lean pork or even fat from the back.

Regards
Othmar

[Heather]

The boerewors recipe I follow uses 1.5kg beef, 1.5kg pork and 500g pork fat, or I use 2kg belly pork, and the texture, flavour and moisture are good. I use leg of beef, which is a cheaper cut of beef, and it works well.

I have also made Merguez using lamb shoulder (again, cheaper than leg of lamb) and the fat to lean ratio was OK, and the sausages were very good.

When I make droewors (the thinner, dried version of boerewors) I use the recipe posted a while ago by aris, and use a ratio of 1.8kg leg of beef to 200g lamb, and here I tend to use all lamb breast to give some fat and flavour, again a VERY cheap cut of lamb (sometimes free from our butcher).

[aris]

Yes, that's what I do too for my Droewors. I buy pre-minced beef from Costco (it is minced steak - very good quality), then add about 20% breast of lamb I get from Tesco which I mince myself. This adds the necessary fat, and adds flavour too.