Today I made some sausage with rather disappointing results. It isn't bad it just isn't good.
The pork that I used was very lean loin. It wasn't good for pan fried chops and it wasn't good for a roast. As a last resort I thought to try making sausage. If this was my first experience with meat I might be inclined to throw in the towel.
Sixteen years ago my eldest granddaughter was christened and I hosted the reception. I made beef barbecue using a brisket baked in a covered roasting pan at low heat for a rather long time. It was very good.
In the fall of that year a couple of friends brought a large pot of barbecue beef to our apple festival at church. They were careful to be concerned about FAT so they choose top round beef because it was very lean. It was also very dry and tough. I am a pretty good cook but I could not redeem that pot of barbecue and all of the effort that went into it.
They say of wine for cooking that if it isn't good enough for drinking DON'T put it in your food.
The Butcher that trained me to cut meat when I was in high school believed that the best meat came from forward of the ribs. He was not impressed with beef from farther back than the rib roast.
My neighbor in Oregon said that when he was a young man herding sheep he asked his butcher for a fifty cent soup bone. He said that at that time they cut the round from the leg for soup. He said that the butcher told him a twenty-five cent soup bone would be plenty for him and Loretta. This was a full cut of the round two inches thick that included the top, bottom and eye round and the thigh bone. That was the mid 1930's. A fifty cent soup bone would have been four inches thick.
I use round for soup but I use chuck for pot roast and stews.
The Marianski Brothers look to the pork shoulder butt as the choice cut from a pig and it is with very good reason. Your sausage can be no better than the meat that you use to make it.
Where the cut of meat comes from is important
Where the cut of meat comes from is important
Ross- tightwad home cook
I agree but would like to add on regarding something you didn't mention...I've found that purchasing my meat from better shops (paying a bit more) has help significantly. While I love to support my local butcher when I can (it's where I get my fatback and casings) I can't always afford to get my pork shoulder from them. What I can do is pay just a bit more than my local mega-mart super mega pack sale price which results in a much better product.
Now that I think about this though, wasn't sausage created to use up the cheap bits?!?! Oh well, the times they are a changin'..
Now that I think about this though, wasn't sausage created to use up the cheap bits?!?! Oh well, the times they are a changin'..
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Chuckwagon
- Veteran
- Posts: 4494
- Joined: Tue Apr 06, 2010 04:51
- Location: Rocky Mountains
Hi Guys,
The problems of texture USUALLY plague folks who are just beginning to make their own sausage. There seems to be an unwritten rule that our first batch must be thrown out just to take the curse off!
A lot of folks try to stuff the meat into casings as soon as it leaves the grinder. Shucks, that's just like me - (won't work!
) On the other hand, when comminuted meat is "mixed" before stuffing, the myocin and actin proteins become "actomyocin" and it is this compound that binds the meat into the proper texture. The addition of salt and dextrose has much to do with this process. Of course, there must also be 25% fat included, to keep the texture "lubricated" as we chew it. It also adds much flavor. Many people, without stuffers, simply grind the meat, mix it by hand until it becomes sticky, then put it through the grinder again using a metal disc "spacer" with two large holes in it, instead of using a grinding plate to get the meat into the casings.
Ross, perhaps I could interest you in reading my post about improving sausage texture. As I said before, I surely don't know it all, but I just may be able to help you with a few problems that I've encountered over the years myself. Good luck my friend.
Here is a direct link:
http://wedlinydomowe.pl/en/viewtopic.php?t=4807
Best Wishes,
Chuckwagon
P.S. Oh I almost forgot. While it's true that "butt" is the cut of choice for sausage, many other types of great sausage are made from different cuts of various animals. Fresh ham and fresh bacon (belly) cuts make some of the best sausages around. So, don't be too hard on the "cut". Without the proper handling techniques and processing procedures, virtually any sausage is bound to fail. Shucks pard, using the right equipment and the right 'savvy', I believe one could make horsehoof sausage turn out well.
The problems of texture USUALLY plague folks who are just beginning to make their own sausage. There seems to be an unwritten rule that our first batch must be thrown out just to take the curse off!
A lot of folks try to stuff the meat into casings as soon as it leaves the grinder. Shucks, that's just like me - (won't work!
) On the other hand, when comminuted meat is "mixed" before stuffing, the myocin and actin proteins become "actomyocin" and it is this compound that binds the meat into the proper texture. The addition of salt and dextrose has much to do with this process. Of course, there must also be 25% fat included, to keep the texture "lubricated" as we chew it. It also adds much flavor. Many people, without stuffers, simply grind the meat, mix it by hand until it becomes sticky, then put it through the grinder again using a metal disc "spacer" with two large holes in it, instead of using a grinding plate to get the meat into the casings. Ross, perhaps I could interest you in reading my post about improving sausage texture. As I said before, I surely don't know it all, but I just may be able to help you with a few problems that I've encountered over the years myself. Good luck my friend.
Here is a direct link:
http://wedlinydomowe.pl/en/viewtopic.php?t=4807
Best Wishes,
Chuckwagon
P.S. Oh I almost forgot. While it's true that "butt" is the cut of choice for sausage, many other types of great sausage are made from different cuts of various animals. Fresh ham and fresh bacon (belly) cuts make some of the best sausages around. So, don't be too hard on the "cut". Without the proper handling techniques and processing procedures, virtually any sausage is bound to fail. Shucks pard, using the right equipment and the right 'savvy', I believe one could make horsehoof sausage turn out well.
If it looks like a duck, walks like a duck, and quacks like a duck, it probably needs more time on the grill! 
