to rusk or not to rusk

[lynyichang]

I'm a beginner at all this. re: rusk - read lots about it & am getting confused. can someone help me?
Q1. what is rusk?
Q2. why is rusk used?
Q3. could something else be used instead?
thanks, in advance, to those who will help me.

[johnfb]

1. Rusk is a yeastless breadcrumb
2. It is used as a bulker in sausage and burgers. It helps retain moisture in sausages.
3. You could use, as I do, normal breadcrumbs but remember that there is yeast in these and this can go off if left too long without freezing causing a bad taste in the sausage

John

[Sojourn]

Hi,

If you want to make your own rusk from normal 'yeast' bread dry the breadcrumbs in a moderate oven for about 15minutes, this will kill the yeast and make the 'rusk' more suitable for your sausages.

Regards,

Sojourn

[wheels]

...or, there's a recipe for rusk here:

http://forum.sausagemaking.org/viewtopic.php?t=339&highlight=rusk+economy

Phil

[Sojourn]

thanks for that Phil, missed that one, any ideas if that can be made with gluten free flour so I can make sausages for coeliacs?

[wheels]

I don't know! There's a discussion about this:

http://forum.sausagemaking.org/viewtopic.php?t=3923

I believe some coeliacs can have oats, they could also be a possibility.

Or, find a recipe for gluten free bread (Google) - then dry it in the oven?

HTH

Phil

[Spuddy]

any ideas if that can be made with gluten free flour so I can make sausages for coeliacs?

How about just using meat?

[Sojourn]

Phil, good tip, I think pinhead oats may work...

Spuddy, all meat sausages? are you crazy? only joking, I make all meat for myself sometimes but I find they need more attention when cooking (30 mins low heat) , when I sell my sausages I cannot be sure that the buyers will cook them low and slow so to help keep them moist I tend to put no more than 5% rusk in which makes the banger a little more forgiving as most people cook them to quickly - My opinion only, but it seems to work.

I will try both methods, give the coeliac a free sample of both and ask their opinion...

Cheers,

Sojourn

[wheels]

...but check they are OK with oats first:

http://www.coeliac.org.uk/healthcare_professionals/dietary_management/1123.asp

An alternative may be rice - as in a Cambridge Sausage?

Phil

[johnfb]

I made sausages without breascrumbs to try them, some time ago. Didn't think too much of them...too meaty.
I feel they need rusk, breadcrumbs or even rice as discussed before.

[Sojourn]

I will check to see if they can eat oats (I want a reaction from them but not the allergic type!)

Another rusky tip is if you use a commercial rusk you should soak it in water before adding it to the meat - the reason was brushed upon by Ray in the 'Pig in a Day' DVD is that the rusk causes a very light exothermic reaction when added to water therefore raising the heat of your meat mix - granted not a massive raise in temp but as most people know the cooler the better when you are processing meat...unless you are trying to either ferment or cook it!