Sausage Recipe Secrets

[Rik vonTrense]

Hi WW.......morning.

I have the 3Kg Reber and I find that the straight winding handle is quite handy for large bore stuff but I tried several times with hog casings and the second size horn and just wound expecting the case to fill itself and eject off of the horn being all nice and wet and slippery then all I would have to do is to pinch off and twist for my sausages......

sadly this never happened and I had several bursts as the meat expanded the skins and it never fed off of the horn....

I find I have to assist it in feeding off the horn with one hand and I cannot turn the other end at the same time even though the machine is screwed down now......I neede a turner of the handle.

Maybe it is because I am in a wheelchair and am at a lower level to the worksurface.

Another thing is that when I have passed water through the skins prior to feeding them on to the horn I have found numerous pin holes in the skins.....is this normal or am I unlucky.


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[welsh wizard]

Hi again RvT

I will answer your questions as best I can but I am sure there are more qualified people on this site than me, however here we go.........

1) Not too sure where you are buying your casings from but they should not just expand and burst, especially hog which you can fill to almost mamouth proportions! I assume you are soaking the skins for a minimum of 2 hours before use, if not overnight as I do.

2) Sorry but this may be a daft question, are you sure you are using the correct size filler tube on the Reber? Also try putting a little oil on the filler tube, it will make the skins slide down the tube easier.

3) I also sometimes have bursts but this is mainly because when I slide the casing up the horn if I am using a long casing it strains at the filling end as the casing slightly dries out. If you move the casing down when you can see the top part of the horn has bunched up casing and the end has a single skin it stops the strain and hence stops the burst.

4) Being in a wheel chair will I am sure not afford you the best mobility to crank the handle and yes I also have problems with this (even lifted the table up a few times)! I find that if i "wiggle" the cylinder as I am cranking the handle to bring the press towards the meat I can get a lot of air presure out of the cylinder and hence it makes life a lot easier. Also when I pack the cylinder with the mix I try and compact it as best I can so as not to leave any air inbetween the meat.

5) Skins with holes in - yep once again I also sometimes have these but it should make little difference to the filling process.

Cheers WW.

[Rik vonTrense]

Cheers Wizz.

The skins are Franco's and I do soak them overnight and then run the tap through them to feed them on the horn.....but I will take the tip to put a drop of olive oil on the horn and maybe the skin to stop them drying out.

Tell me do you just tie a knot in the skin as the filling has reached the end of the pipe........I found by experience that I made a plate to go in the the Horn nut and I blank off the filler I then crank up the meat and compress it....this expels the air in the large filler holder and then I release the pressure and then fit the horn with the skin onhalf a wind and the meat is at the mouth of the tube ready to knot the skin..

Tell do you just wind away and eject a long cunberland type sausage and then twist off the length of sausage you want ??

As far as the right size tube......the casings seem to fit the second smallest size horn as with the third size the do not go all the way....but maybe it would be better to try the third size and only put them half way...the bigger the tube the easier it is to fill them.....I will have a go and report back.

I think with the bursts it is where there is a pin hole and it fills without slipping off the horn.


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[welsh wizard]

Hi RvT

Re filling the casing; I tend not to tie the end at all untill I have finished filling the case. When I started with the Reber I tied the end almost at the start and this meant I had a sausage ballon before any filling hit the caseing, but I know better now. Now I pull 2" - 3" proud of the nozzle, and start to fill, once the whole skin has filled I then tie off on both ends. From there I get the length of sausage I need, slightly massage between fore finger and thumb and then twist. I do not cut the sausage until all the sausages have been twisted and then I cut. If you employ this method you need to twist the first sausage clockwise a couple of times and the next anti clockwise and so on. Once I have twisted about 8 - 10 I then cut them and start again.

Hope this helps WW

[Wohoki]

Can I suggest that it is way easier to run off a good length of stuffed casing, and then link them off? I used to do the right twist/left twist thing, and it is a lot slower, and less succesful than doing the link-making after the casing is stuffed. Try Mr Kribbs's tutorial, which is both succinct and easy to follow.

[TJ Buffalo]

Can I suggest that it is way easier to run off a good length of stuffed casing, and then link them off? I used to do the right twist/left twist thing, and it is a lot slower, and less succesful than doing the link-making after the casing is stuffed. Try Mr Kribbs's tutorial, which is both succinct and easy to follow.

Hi RvT
I don't do the linking as elaborately as Paul does, though I've seen his video and admired it, I just link mine in a long line of sausages. I would second the idea of doing the stuffing first and the linking afterward, it just seems to go smoother, doing one job at a time. I smear olive oil on the tube of my stuffer to minimize binding, and I keep a small bowl of water nearby that I use to keep the casings moist while I'm stuffing them, just grab a few fingersfull of water and pat the casing on the tube.

[Paul Kribs]

Rik

I also use the second smallest horn when using hogs casings and find I have no problems with the casing flowing off the nozzle other than having to apply slight pressure to restrain it from coming off too quickly as it fills. When I thread the casing on the nozzle it is loose, and thus friction of the mix on the inside of the casing pushes the filled sausage away from the nozzle... all I do is guide it whilst turning the handle. To illustrate how loose a fit it can be, have a look at the pics on my site showing stuffing of a salami casing compared to the size of nozzle used for stuffing. When filling salami casings you actually need to restrain the casing quite drastically and apply a heavy grip as it wants to fly off the nozzle.

I do not tie a knot in the end of the casing until I link, but have about 3" hanging off the end to start. When the mix starts to enter the casing, I loosely pinch with forefinger and thumb until about 4" is full and then move my hand onto the horn to regulate the speed (and fullness) of the sausage. I used to have problems with pinholes causing the skins to burst when filling but with trial and error found that I was not putting enough liquid into the mix. I start with 10% rusk with 10% water. I then mix and see how it feels and add more if needed. All meat has differing natural water content which is why I mix and add water until it feels right. A slightly wetter mixture could also help with your difficulty whilst turning the handle, and the pressure needed to get things moving.

Regards, Paul Kribs

[Rik vonTrense]

Cheers people....I shall attack my REBER with fresh enthusiasm....

I chatted to Mark the Welsh Wizard last night about a few problems I was having wespecially over my Traditional Pork breadcrumb mix .

I used the recipe on the front of the packet of Franco's spice packet of 140gm of Trad breadcrumb mix and multiplied it by three as I was using about 1.5Kg
of lean pork shoulder and 0.75kg of lean pork belly....so I used 420gms of breadcrumb mix and 450gms of water.

I mixed the meat with breadcrumbs first and then added the water and put it in the fridge overnight ( this was definitely a mistake) and in the morning I found the the resultant sticky mess was difficult to get through the mincer...
but we eventually got it done.

I gave it a good mix after mincing and the result looked and smelled very nice.

I loaded the Reber and using the second smallest sized horn and a short soaked skin I punched out half a sozen Pork bangers.

The looked so nice that I decided to have a couple for my lunch.

So a drop of veggie oil in the pan and on a low heat I cooked two of the succulent looking beasts, I cut the links so that they were separate as I like a bit of well cooked extrusion out of the ends of the sausage.

I sat mesmerised watching them cook and marvelled how they filled out and they looked perfect in the pan.....suddenly they both burst and like a live snake turned themselves inside out almost and became twice the size.

Well I continued to cook them until they were done but on tasting I found that first they were too salty foir my palate andf secondly they were like eating solid cooked porridge....like they were made of all breadcrumbs and no meat.

I checked and double checked the recipe and there was no errors.

So I have decided to add a Kilo of boned wild rabbit meat which I shall mince and mix in with this Trad Pork mix and I shall add 20gms of Standard Pork spices (Parson Snows) minus the salt.

The we will see how that turns out.

I am also going to try using callogen skins that I got with the Reber as I
am keeping these in a jar of sunflower oil....when drained off they do seem more pliable and not so papery.

Well we will see how it goes today.


.PS.........

Have just found Paul's website...what a treasure this is....he is a man after my own heart and we must be from the same mould.....I started off life in the RN and then on my release followed my Father as a Miller. Fed up with the shift hours I found myself building Motorcars for Mr Ford....graduated to staff in the Purchase department and then computers were the up and coming thing I elected to join the ranks of the systems analysts..I eventually left Fords as a Systems Analyst having mastered programing and Cobol and of all things became a Builder.

Having found that I had a natural aptitude for this calling I spent the next thirty years as a Builder....but in 1986 I succumbed to an accisent that curtailed my life as a builder and since then I have met any challenge that has come along...but although I enjoy good health at my 74 years my knees are of no use now and my mobility is governed by a wheely chair indoors and an electric mobility scooter outdoors although I still drive.

I digress....Pauls pictures are worth a thousand words and I can see immediately where I am going wrong. So back to the battle...........


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[Paul Kribs]

Rik

I have just spoken with Franco regarding the Traditional breadcrumb mix as I was concerned by your use of 140 grams per kilo of meat/fat. I normally use it at 50 grams per kilo of meat/fat, although the instructions 'used to' recommend 20 - 40 grams. I was wondering if the recipe had changed recently and sure enough the manufacturers recommendation is for use at 13.75%, which does equate to 145 grams... pretty much the rate at which you used it. If it transpires that the manufacture recipe has not changed then I would say that this would account for the finished sausage being too salty. I don't mind a bit of salt and have always used the Traditional mix at 50 grams per kilo, with the addition of 10% rusk and have found this to be a pleasant tasting sausage.

Franco said he would get on to the manufacturers and try to clarify the situation. In the meantime, if it were me I would try a small batch at the 'old' recipe of 20 - 40 grams per kilo, and before stuffing the casings try frying a small patty, then add more as required, weighing as you go, until you find your required preference.
I am not in a position to do this as I still have a fair amount of the 'old' recipe batch left.

Regards, Paul Kribs

[Rik vonTrense]

Hi Paul....

Many Thanks for your concern,

This morning I boned three rabbit carcasses and got a kilo of meat from them and also added about three quarters of a pound of cooking bacon as sold by Tesco..minced this up and gave it a level desertspoon of spices less salt and mixed this in with the previous mix.

Made pattie and gently fried it and it was absolutely just right.

Gone was the excessively sticky breadcrumbs and the texture of the freshly minced rabbit and bacon gave it a bite which was quite nice.

I think I am ready to load the REBER and start producing. I will use the callogens and see how they go and I will certainly use Pauls method of soaking skins as I have had a terrible time with skins wrapping themselves round the plug chain............

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[Rough Country Boy]

Gidday

Hey Seminole, you say 2% salt. 2% of what, just the meat or the whole amount?

I am going to be killing my sheep this coming weekend and then going to bone out some and try my first attemp at sausage making. I might even try to cure a small bit to see how that goes too. So please wish me luck and throw any hint my way that you think might help.

[Seminole]

Rough Country Boy,

Of the meat. If you have 100 g of meat, the 1.5 - 2% salt will come up to about 1.5 g - 2 g.
Then I recommend you taste your sausage. Make a tiny meat patty, fry it and see if you like it.

[Rough Country Boy]

Gidday

Thanks mate. I read your website and it confirms wjhat I have long believed.

But it also leaves me with one more question. Why does it mention the use of sodium nitrite?

Is that for curing a sausage to be kept long term without refrigeration?
And from that question rises another, what extra steps are needed for that?