What kind of fat is suitable?

[frances2004]

We made our first lot of sausages last night using the Lidl mincer/stuffer. hog cases and some pork shoulder - we threw in some cayenne, chilli and herbs for a bit of a zing. They were really delicious, we were very impressed and amazed! My husband, however, felt they could do with a little more fat next time and wondered whether adding some olive oil would work OK. Does anyone do this, or should we stick to the high-cholestoral pork fat option? By the way, where on earth can you buy back fat? - and what does it look like??
Any feedback on above would be very welcome!
Many thx
Frances
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[Oddley]

Welcome to the forum frances2004.

I have never used olive oil so I can't really comment on that. But any butchers should supply you with Pork back fat if you use them regularly they probably won't even charge you for it.

Back fat is just the fat from the loin of pork you have seen a slice of it on your back bacon

As for high cholesterol I would rather have 1 scoop of real iced cream once a month rather than Tesco low calorie low fat soft scoop iced cream every day.

[Fatman]

Frances2004

Welcome to the forum

Olive oil would help in binding your meat together for sausage making , but I would keep to backfat or use belly pork to increase your fat content.
Fatback is becoming increasingly difficult to get these days but any reputable butcher usually the old fashioned kind will have some to sell or give you. As it already as been explained it is from the back of the pig where the loin is taken from, hence "backfat" .

Regards

Fatman

[frances2004]

Many thx for your input and suggestions. Will speak to the butcher about backfat! Really looking forward to our next sausage-making session - planning also to have a go at haggis..!
Frances
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[Parson Snows]

frances2004

First of all welcome to the forum.

For your information
Hard Pork Back Fat (the white fat part only)



If you want to include olive oil use as follows.
Substitute 10 % to 20 % of the hard pork backfat with the same amount of virgin olive oil. DO NOT GO ABOVE 20 % AS IT WILL ADVERSELY AFFECT THE FLAVOUR.

hope that this is of some use to you

kind regards

Parson Snows

[frances2004]

Many thanks for the olive oil information, will give that a try on our next sausage-making session before Christmas. Also thx for the illustration of back fat, now I know what I'm looking for!
Off now to buy pork shoulder in bulk - one of our neighbours has put a sausage order in already, so we're going to be busy..!
Merry Christmas to everyone -
Frances
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[Parson Snows]

It sounds like the last time that the shoulders had been fully trimmed, however, if you're going to buy the shoulders in bulk just ask the butcher to leave the fat on. Mention that you're aimimg at a 25 % fat content as it's for sausages. You're looking for 80 VL (visible/visual lean) cuts of meat.

hope that this is of some use to you

kind regards

Parson Snows

PS the olive oil MUST be Virgin Olive Oil, I would also recommend using it at the 10 % level first.

[aris]

My butcher normally uses a whole 'hand' of pork to make his sausages and this had the just right amount of fat - but recently he said that they had been quite lean and he had to order in some back fat.

[Parson Snows]

Aris

you're right the pigs bred today are far leaner than the pigs of days gone by. Most of this has been due to diet changes. People nowadays are trying to eat less fat.

kind regards

Parson Snows

[aris]

I don't mean between today and days gone, I mean between this month and last month Perhps it is the time of the year - with the cold weather or something.

[Parson Snows]

I can't comment on the weather aspect though I do know that evolution or the modification of traits cannot be achieved overnight. Charles Darwin in his "The Origin of Species" observes that it typically takes three (3) generations for most species to adapt (horicultural species tend to take longer). The pigs today didn't just become leaner unless of coarse there has been some form of mineral deficency in their diets. They have been bred leaner. If my memory serves me well your brother-in-law is a vet, he should be able to confirm this.

kind regards

Parson Snows

PS did you ever try what I mentioned and run the mouse cursor over the linking sketches to save them to your PC and then make them bigger?

[Chris's Sauasge Factory]

Not to throw a ringer in, but have you tried buffalo fat? It gives a better flavor than beef or pork, it is readily available from almost any buffalo raiser and if you are processing wild game for other people in most states buffalo is considered to be wild game so no special licensing is needed (you need to check with your state inspection people).

Just my two cents worth,

[Parson Snows]

Welcome to the forum, hopefully down the road you be able to post a few sausage recipes etc.

Buffalo fat may be readily available in the US but I'd think that you'd be hard pushed to find any in the UK. Though you never know.

kind regards

Parson Snows

[Chris's Sauasge Factory]

Why is everyone stuck in a rut? Why use only beef and pork fat? It doesn't need to be Bison fat. Almost any wild game rancher raised animal fat might do. I might start experimenting just to try it.

Where has all the adventure gone? Yes many times the beef and pork fat is cheaper, but have you looked? Many times game ranchers just throw the fat away.

Just my two cents worth,

Chris
Chris's Sausage Factory

[Parson Snows]

Becareful when experimenting and use only SMALL test batches as certain fats such as bear fat, or excessive sheep/mutton fat will impart an unpleasant flavour in the sausages, or whatever you're making.

kind regards

Parson Snows