Pork and apple sausages

[lornasp]

I am new to sausage making, but have a machine with which I have been eagerly experimenting. I am keen to make pork and apple sausages with a high apple content as I love the taste of apple but the ones I made just disintegrated. What is the optimum proportion for apple to meat and is there anything other than rusk I can add to stop the sausages becoming too wet?

Thanks
Lorna

[captain wassname]

I use granny smith apples chopped into small cubes and find that when cooked they dont mush.
I use at about 12.5% of total.Also using apple juice or reduced cider instead of water can help with the flavour.
If you like to experiment maybe a slug of Calvados?

Jim

[tristar]

Hi Lorna,

Welcome to the forum.

It always helps if you can post your recipe for us to look at. I don't use pork in my sausages, so maybe some of the others here who do, will be able to give you better guidance with regard to the ratios of meat and apple, i would say that there are a lot of variables here and it will depend greatly on the cut of pork, the fat content, the different binders used etc.

As to the subject of binders, there are quite a few you can experiment with,
rusk (crushed water biscuits, or cream crackers), bread crumbs, soaked bread, soy protein, milk solids, cane syrup solids, eggs, rice flour, tapioca flour, tapioca pearls, oats, to name a few.

Richard

[Ryan C]

Welcome Lorna,
I've found that welsh wizards recipe would be hard to beat and is good and appley. IMO the best way to get those lovely apple flavours would be to reduce down the apple juice to concentrate it and also to chop your apples in to small cubes and partially dry them in the oven. this way the apple flavours are again concentrated and the partially dried pieces of apple are able to absorb and hold on to a bit of fat and a bit of your concentrated apple juice.

Good luck

Ryan

[lornasp]

Hi all
Thanks for your thoughts - much appreciated. My recipe used 1k pork shoulder with 75g rusk and about 20g seasoning. I also added 500g or so of apples ( By this point I wasn't using a recipe, just getting a bit a carried away)which is some way over the suggested 12.5%!

I like the idea of concentrating the apple juice and using small chunks of apple - I stewed my apples and then pureed them so the mixture was very liquid. I will give it another go and let you know how I get on.
Thanks

Lorna

[johnfb]

Here's a recipefrom Welsh Wizard

http://forum.sausagemaking.org/viewtopic.php?t=3213.

[wheels]

I can vouch for WW's recipe - it's the one I make and is also good with leeks added.

Phil.