Experimental Fish Sausage

Post Reply
User avatar
el Ducko
Veteran
Veteran
Posts: 1340
Joined: Sun Dec 25, 2011 04:59
Location: Texas Hill Country
Contact:

Post by el Ducko » Tue Jun 17, 2014 22:40

...any chance of getting a traditional Japanese sausage recipe or two from you? I suspect that you guys do "interesting" things with fish bits. (Although we non-Japanese don't always find them appealing, we always find it fun to explore.)
:mrgreen:
Experience - the ability to instantly recognize a mistake when you make it again.
Nico
Newbie
Newbie
Posts: 10
Joined: Sun Sep 02, 2012 13:45
Location: Tokyo

Post by Nico » Wed Jun 18, 2014 09:20

Oddly enough... I don't know of any Japanese sausage recipes, even after living here for 20 years. Never seen "Japanese sausages" on any restaurant menus either.

No doubt a lot of fish products over here get emulsified and turned into ingredients like fish cakes, fish balls, etc., but I've never seen any of this used to make sausage. Those processed fish products end up getting added to stews, noodles or soup dishes.

Japanese love sausages however, but the focus is completely on the traditional pork & beef European styles, such as German, French, Italian, Spanish, etc.
User avatar
Butterbean
Moderator
Moderator
Posts: 1955
Joined: Mon Mar 05, 2012 04:10
Location: South Georgia

Post by Butterbean » Wed Jun 18, 2014 18:27

Don't know if you can call this Japanese or not but this is a seafood emulsion sausage I have been working on. Still a long way from perfecting it because I've found emulsifying seafood is not as easy as I thought. Experimentation with this sausage is slow because seafood is much more expensive than pork or beef. It does show some promise.

Image
rgauthier20420
Frequent User
Frequent User
Posts: 191
Joined: Mon May 12, 2014 21:11
Location: Chicago

Post by rgauthier20420 » Wed Jun 18, 2014 19:36

Butterbean wrote:Don't know if you can call this Japanese or not but this is a seafood emulsion sausage I have been working on. Still a long way from perfecting it because I've found emulsifying seafood is not as easy as I thought. Experimentation with this sausage is slow because seafood is much more expensive than pork or beef. It does show some promise.

[url=http://i102.photobucket.com/albums/m114 ... 03b1a4.jpg]Image[/URL]
Butterbean, how about a recipe? I've got a father in law that's a non meat eater, that heathen, and he'd be interested in this. I've seen posts of your stuff, so even if it's not 100% of to snuff, I'm sure it's damn good.
User avatar
Butterbean
Moderator
Moderator
Posts: 1955
Joined: Mon Mar 05, 2012 04:10
Location: South Georgia

Post by Butterbean » Wed Jun 18, 2014 21:00

I'll have to dig through my notes but I'll gladly share what I have but its far from perfect. Tastes good though it just that the bind is tricky.

What got me interested in this was an emulsified fish a Japanese lady once prepared for us at a Christmas party. It was like a sausage in shape but no casing. It was then sliced into pieces. It was a work of art.

There were a lot of narrow minded people there who would not eat it but I found it extraordinary and the lady let me carry a lot of it home. I had never tasted or seen anything like it and don't remember what it was called but it was great. My idea was to try and make something similar but use a casing to make the round form. I suspect she used a mold of some sort.

I'll dig around and for my notes tonight. I know I still have the photos.
rgauthier20420
Frequent User
Frequent User
Posts: 191
Joined: Mon May 12, 2014 21:11
Location: Chicago

Post by rgauthier20420 » Wed Jun 18, 2014 21:06

Thanks a lot! I've looked around also...oddly enough about caseless sausages. I will likely experiment with something closer to a fresh cajun spiced sausage, but I will make it caseless. My plan of attach will be to dice the chilled meat and mix with the spices and pop it into the freezer for 30 minutes. Pull it out and grind is pretty small and give it a hand mix to get a bit of a bind. Then I would lay out of on saran wrap in equal amounts and form it in links using twine to tie them off. Then I'd poach it to bring it to temp and unwrap them. They should be able to hold there shape at this point and I can brown them in a pan.
User avatar
Butterbean
Moderator
Moderator
Posts: 1955
Joined: Mon Mar 05, 2012 04:10
Location: South Georgia

Post by Butterbean » Thu Jun 19, 2014 01:23

I think you are dead on with the saran wrap. I tied some in saran wrap as a tester and it did real well. My troubles seemed to begin when I stuffed them in casings. I'm also thinking cellulose casings would work well.

Here is what I did.

Ingredients
Image

3.5 lbs of fish (I used flounder)
3.5 lbs of scallops

Step A Combine these together - be sure they are as dry as possible - and add 15 grains of salt and 29 grains of Old Bay Seasoning to the fish and stir it up good to coat it well. Put in the freezer and let it chill really good then grind with your fine plate. Put back in freezer.

Image

It helps if you freeze your grinder parts before grinding and work with really cold fish.

Image

Step B Next you need to make a panada which is a bread based binder. To do this soak 3.5 ounces of bread crumbs in 22 ounces of heavy cream. Mix this up good and put in freezer to chill.

Step C Next prepare a garnish or your show meat. Take a pound of peeled and veined shrimp and cut into small 1/4 inch pieces. Then take about 1.25 lbs of blanched lobster meat or crab meat and dice into small pieces. Next take 1.25 lbs of fresh salmon and do the same. Next take a pound or so of bay scallops - or if you use sea scallops diced up. Then add 2.5 - 3 tbs of fresh parsley. Mix all this together.

Note the meat in this picture should have been placed on paper towels to remove excess moisture. You don't want your mix to get soupy.

Image

Step D Next take the fish you first put in the freezer and place in a food processor and grind it as smooth as possible. Next add 11 egg whites to this mince and add the panada and then pulse this mix together. As you do this, gently add more heavy cream but do not exceed 22 ounces. This is the tricky part. You want this mix to be smooth but not soupy and the moisture content of the fish will dictate this. This is where I've screwed up so go with your gut instinct on what it should be like and not this procedure.

Ground fish
Image


When you think it is at the proper consistency - keeping in mind you will be adding the show meat which may be wet - add the garnish - (Stuff in Step C) and fold it into the mix till its evenly distributed.

What not to do. Too soupy.
Image

This is more like it. Thick mayonnaise like. Show meat and garnish added to it then folded in. Remember this addition could add more moisture and you can always add a little more cream.
Image

Next take a sample and wrap in saran wrap and poach it to see what spices you might need. More Old Bay never hurts and put the rest in the freezer.

If your spices are right the next thing to do is stuff into casings and tie them off in 4-5 inch lengths. Its important to tie them because this makes a mess if they burst in the water and tying will add some insurance in case of ruptures. Be sure not to jump the gun with your thermometer or you will have a mess.

Image

Next poach in 165F water till the internal temp hits 145F. Shock them in ice water and cool. Cut out individual links and pan fry in butter.

End product - pretty good but could be better. The stuff in the middle of the plate is from ruptures. I did mention not to jump the gun with the thermometer so do as I say and not as I do. :wink: It was tasty though.

Image

I highly recommend that you feel free to add more spices or even add some other spices like crushed red pepper. I think that would be a pretty garnish and add to the flavor. Also some lemon zest or lime zest would be a good addition. Biggest thing though is to go with your gut instinct when making the mousseline. You don't want it too soupy and when you think its right it probably is so don't feel compelled to add all the cream. Go with your gut. You will know when its right.

Good luck and hope you find this to your liking.

Oh, I'd also suggest lobster over canned crab. Firmer and more dense.
ssorllih
Veteran
Veteran
Posts: 4331
Joined: Sun Feb 27, 2011 19:32
Location: maryland

Post by ssorllih » Thu Jun 19, 2014 04:55

In among the recipes that I have seen for chorizo one of the islands in the sea between north and south America makes chorizo using tuna. The other note is that the Jews have made fish balls for centuries called gefilte fish. maybe a good place to look.
Ross- tightwad home cook
User avatar
Butterbean
Moderator
Moderator
Posts: 1955
Joined: Mon Mar 05, 2012 04:10
Location: South Georgia

Post by Butterbean » Thu Jun 19, 2014 14:06

Thanks for the gefilte tip. Seems to be some similarity in procedures and could give some tips on other methods.
rgauthier20420
Frequent User
Frequent User
Posts: 191
Joined: Mon May 12, 2014 21:11
Location: Chicago

Post by rgauthier20420 » Thu Jun 19, 2014 14:30

Butterbean, thanks for taking the time for the write up. The wife is pregnant, so she can't have all that much fish, but this might be a nice thing to make for my father in law. We shall see. Thanks again!
HamnCheese
Frequent User
Frequent User
Posts: 123
Joined: Tue Jan 17, 2012 03:24
Location: PA

Post by HamnCheese » Thu Jun 19, 2014 15:03

Yes, Butterbean, thanks for this recipe and the great photos. You always do such a bang up job and your never ending search for the new and delicious is amazing.

Your formula and process remind me of fish terrine recipes. Have you looked at any of them for inspiration and information?
Youth is the gift of nature, but age is a work of art.
Stanislaw Lec
User avatar
redzed
Moderator
Moderator
Posts: 3852
Joined: Fri Apr 20, 2012 06:29
Location: Vancouver Island

Post by redzed » Thu Jun 19, 2014 16:45

Two days ago I processed 17 sockeye salmon and now I'm beginning to think that I should try making some salmon sausage. Perhaps in August when the pinks come. They are cheap to buy and I can catch them from shore. I usually prepare a supply of salmon burgers using pinks, so making sausage might be another option.
User avatar
Butterbean
Moderator
Moderator
Posts: 1955
Joined: Mon Mar 05, 2012 04:10
Location: South Georgia

Post by Butterbean » Fri Jun 20, 2014 03:36

Redzed, salmon is gold here. I'd give it a try.

Thanks Hamncheese, this stuff just interests me and I find it fascinating. I've looked at terrines and things like that but never specifically googled fish terrine till tonight and it looks like there is a gold mine of information. Thanks for the tip. Its ironic, we were discussing the wonders of the net at supper the other night and I said the hardest thing nowadays is knowing what to ask. This is a perfect example.
ssorllih
Veteran
Veteran
Posts: 4331
Joined: Sun Feb 27, 2011 19:32
Location: maryland

Post by ssorllih » Fri Jun 20, 2014 04:18

I have knife minced fresh salmon and shrimp into the equivalent of grinding through a 1/4 inch plate and used it to stuff mushrooms. By the time it is mixed for a few minutes it is pretty sticky.
Ross- tightwad home cook
Post Reply