Homemade Sausage Making

Twice now I've authored a missive on my most recent smoked sausage pineapple failure only to have it all wiped out when I hit the "submit" button. Even tho I was logged in the screen asking me to login appears, I login, and what I've written is gone. I'm still using a back-up computer tower while waiting to get everything transferred to the new laptop, and I think it's all the fault of this piece of junk. Anyway, my second effort at smoked pineapple sausage ended just like first, in the garbage disposal. I'm not wasting any more time or money on that again. Porkbutts are on sale here for 99≠lb and I'm just going back to some good old Italian mild. RAY

The failure to post has happened to me before as well. I think the phpBB software logs you out a little too soon sometimes.

What I have done on long posts is type it all up in Wordpad or whatever then copy /paste into the forum.

As for pineapple sausage... doesn't pineapple have an enzyme that can make meat mushy, kind of like papaya does?

73 de Allen, W1SBY

w1sby wrote:The failure to post has happened to me before as well. I think the phpBB software logs you out a little too soon sometimes.

What I have done on long posts is type it all up in Wordpad or whatever then copy /paste into the forum.

As for pineapple sausage... doesn't pineapple have an enzyme that can make meat mushy, kind of like papaya does?

73 de Allen, W1SBY

Thanks Wisby! Stupid me, I've marinated venison in pineapple before to soften it knowing full well that papaya and pineapple are the only fruits that actually do the trick. My dreams of pineapple sausage are now a thing of the past, tho I am starting to have thoughts of a smoked chicken-artichoke when the season rolls around. Thanks again, RAY

PS: I'm using my father-in-laws computer which he has pretty much ruined by DL'ing malware and viruses, this piece of junk will no longer copy and paste. I'll be set up with my new unit in about a week.

Raw pineapple can't be used in jello but canned pineapple is successful because the cooking distroys the enzymes.

What about dried pineapple? I would think that would work also. It should soften up after sitting in the meat mix for a while without the enzyme effect, I would think.
Now you got me thinking about trying it.
Not that I don't have enough to do. After two months offshore, I've got a lot of catching up to do around the house.

Hey guys, the enzyme you are talking about is bromelain - a proteolytic enzyme (digests proteins). It is also a natural anti-coagulant as it breaks down the blood-clotting protein in your body called fibrin. Bromelain is also used to treat muscle injuries as well as being a digestive aid. When singers feel the effects of a sore throat coming on with a cold, we have them drink plenty of pineapple juice and eat fresh pineapple because bromelain also thins mucus as well as having potent anti-inflammatory properties. Bromelain enhances the effect of the digestive enzymes trypsin and pepin, thus aiding digestion. Believe it or not, it also enhances the effect of the antibiotics amoxicillin, erythromycin, penicillamine, and penicillin. And get this... in a recent study of 100 participants having urinary tract infections, ALL were cured when given bromelain with the trypsin enzyme, compared with just 46% who received antibiotics alone.

There`s even more to this stuff and in the medical field it is being used for all sorts of things. To us smoke-sniffin` sausage benders, bromelain is a powerful enzyme used to break down proteins in meat. Ross is absolutely correct about pineapple in Jell-O. (Just ask any housewife in Utah where more Jello is sold than in any other state in the nation.) If fresh pineapple with bromelain is used in Jello, it makes a mess out of the stuff resembling the snot drippin` out of my horse`s nose! However, destroyed by moderate cooking temperatures, the enzyme is no longer active.
Will it make mush out of your sausage? Yep!

Best Wishes,
Chuckwagon

Chuck W, you are a compendium of knowledge!

Speaking of pineapple, I wonder if anybody on this forum has heard of tepache. This is a fermented beverage made with pineapple rinds. It tastes great - tart and a little sweet, with a touch of fizz. If you are so cheap like me that you can't stand to toss out even pineapple rinds, it has the added bonus of turning waste into something delicious. I learned about it when I gave a Mexican friend some kombucha (a fermented tea drink) and she said it reminded her of tepache. You can make an alcoholic version by adding a beer to the ingredients, but I haven't tried that yet.

Ingredients
1 pineapple
1 small apple, or half of a large one
1 gallon water
1 cup sugar
1 cinammon stick
3 cloves

Equipment
Large pot
Gallon jar
Piece of cloth and a rubber band

Method
1. Remember to wash your pineapple before you trim it.
2. Twist off the leafy top and discard. Save all the rind, including top and bottom, the core, and any other trimmings of the flesh, including one round of flesh.
3. Core the apple and chop it roughly - no need to skin it
4. Bring all ingredients to a boil and simmer gently for 10 minutes. Let cool to room temperature for ease of handling.
5. Transfer liquid and all ingredients into the large jar.
6. Cover the jar top with the cloth, snap the rubber band around it, and let it sit on your counter for a week to 10 days. Check after a few days for mold and skim it off.

The tepache is ready when it tastes good to you - it should be slightly sweet and tart, and have a pleasing pineapple flavor. Decant it (toss the rinds and apple - the chickens will enjoy it) and store it in the refrigerator,where it will keep for at least 1 week - probably a lot longer but it never lasts that long around here. You can increase the fizz by decanting into tightly stoppered bottles, then letting them sit on your counter for another day or two. Fizz will develop more quickly at warmer temperatures, as will tepache itself.

Cheers!
Jeff

huckelberry wrote:What about dried pineapple? I would think that would work also. It should soften up after sitting in the meat mix for a while without the enzyme effect, I would think.

Huck: I used pineapple that I had dehydrated, and rehydrated it with pineapple juice. The jar of pineapple juice was more expensive that the four pineapples I bought at 99≠ ea

CW: I'm sure my finished product was quite similar to the snot that comes from your horses nostrils. No more pineapples in sausage for me, or turkey either for that matter. Nope, I'm sticking with pork and chicken for sausage, tho I plan to be smoking a 14lb turkey this coming Monday. RAY

sawhorseray wrote:
CW: I'm sure my finished product was quite similar to the snot that comes from your horses nostrils.

I'm sorry that the sausage didn't turn out, but this line cracked me up.

I was kind of thinking that with a vast amount of soy protien concentrate and collegen casings I still might be able to pull pineapple sausage off, then I thought, "nah".

I just got back from my local Food Source market, they say they'll always beat any advertised price. I walked in and showed them Savemart Market is selling whole bone-in porkbutt roasts for 99≠lb. They gave me a price of 98≠lb, I walked out with 65 pounds worth and might go back for more, that price is good till next Wednesday. Tomorrow I'll climb back on that horse and pound out 25 pounds of spicy fresh Italian sausage with red wine and garlic, early next week get going on 25 pounds of smoked Polish sausage. Pineapples are for sissies, now I hate them! RAY

Pineapple makes a nice garnish on a roast ham.

Pineapples are for sissies, now I hate them! RAY

Yeah! That's right! Now, what kind of a block-head, no-account, porch-perchin' owl hoot would put the stuff on top of perfectly good pizza?

Gray Goat wrote:

sawhorseray wrote: CW: I'm sure my finished product was quite similar to the snot that comes from your horses nostrils.

I'm sorry that the sausage didn't turn out, but this line cracked me up.

Uh oh! Look out! This is bound to show up in TALL TALES in the near future.

As to losing your post, I often get a bit long-winded (amazin' as that sounds) and, when I post, it kicks me out and wants a log-in. No problem. Log in, then page back to where your post is, then click the "submit" button as usual. The BBS will pick up the post that way, just fine.

But if you are paranoid (my little voices tell me), typing up your thoughts in Notepad or some other word processor, then cutting and pasting, works just as described by W1SBY.

...think I'll break for a tall glass of pineapple juice, now. Hmmm... I wonder if it restores hair, too.

73 and 10-4 Good Bubbies. WooHoo!

Oh my, that poor Duck is sick, sick, sick! I don't know what's the matter with him, but I'll bet it is really, really, hard to pronounce!

...too much pineapple juice as a kid.
WooHooj! WooHoo! WooHoo! (hic)