Fresh Blood

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Rick
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Fresh Blood

Post by Rick » Thu Apr 04, 2013 20:50

Hello all,
My question is regarding how to slow the coagulation of fresh blood.

Wanting to make some kiszka today, I ordered a qt. of fresh beef blood for pick-up from my local slaughter house. The butcher had it ready for me when I arrived, and it was no older than 1 hour. When I arrived home I immediately added 1 tablespoon of vinegar to the quart of blood and put it in the freezer to cool down. I did notice some coagulation going on when I added the vinegar.
When it was time to mix the blood, I strained it through a cheese cloth and out of the qt. I did end up with a pound or pint of usable blood.

My question then is, does this sound like the right yield from a qt. of blood?

Is there anything else I should have done in order to slow the coagulation process?

I had read many years ago that when dealing with fresh blood you should add vinegar to stop the coagulation, but I really don't recall the amount to be added.

So I'll throw these questions out to all the kiszka lovers hoping someone can set me straight.
Thank you
Rick
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Post by Butterbean » Thu Apr 04, 2013 21:09

Been a while since I collected blood but a tablespoon sounds about right. I added it as soon as the blood quit dripping. Seems like I remember a few curds in it but I just added that as well and didn't strain it. I didn't chill it though.
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Post by JerBear » Thu Apr 04, 2013 22:37

Though blood-sausages on my to-do list to be honest I have no personal experience with it, however, I believe I remember seeing or reading that you should stir the blood almost continuously during the cooling process to keep the coagulation at bay. This is often done slowly with a whisk but not so vigorously so as to create any bubbles.
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Post by Rick » Thu Apr 04, 2013 22:46

Well I just pour the tablespoon of vinegar in and closed it up. I didn't stir it and probably should have.

Now that I have a source for blood, I'll have to play around with it and see what works the best.

I'm interested in how this is going to taste. The stuff I get at the market now is made without blood. They use kitchen bouquet instead. This is because in Michigan the blood has to be inspected and by the time the sample was inspected and the results back to the butcher, the blood would be spoiled.

Thanks for the help too.
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Post by IdaKraut » Fri Apr 05, 2013 01:31

Back when I helped my friend who was raising beef and butchering I always used trisodium citrate to keep the blood from clotting. It worked really well. I got it from a vendor on ebay. Nowadays, I am using dried blood that I obtained from the UK.

Vinegar didn't seem to work for me. Plus it changes the flavor quite a bit.
Rudy
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Post by Rick » Fri Apr 05, 2013 14:41

Hello IdaKraut,
Thanks for the input. Can you give me any more specifics about using the trisodium citrate, like how much added to what amount of blood?

I really try and stay away from adding chemicals, as that's the whole reason I like to make my own sausage. If it works as good as you say, I'll have to do enough research on this chemical to satisfy my use of it. Make no mistake, I'm not an organic nut by any means, I do love to use Roundup in my garden and any chance I get!

Here's my take on using chemicals, take a loaf of store bought bread. Check out all the chemical preservatives on the label and then you'll know why a loaf of bread lasts three weeks without molding! That just seems wrong to me.
Now bread baking is my other passion right next to sausage making. My sourdough bread contains only flour, water and salt. Yes, it does mold after 4 days. Then again, the more often I get to make something I love making, the happier I am!
Thanks,
Rick
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Post by IdaKraut » Fri Apr 05, 2013 16:30

Rick,
I understand your concerns with "chemicals". Trisodium citrate has been used for a very long time in both the medical and food industries (Tang beverage powder and Country Time Lemonade both use it). It is also used to prevent clotting in blood samples as well as blood for transfusions. Check out this wiki for more info: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Trisodium_citrate

It's been a few years since I collected and saved fresh beef blood, but when I did, I added 3.5% trisodium citrate. For example, I would add 132 grams to each gallon of fresh blood and stir thoroughly and then I poured it through a kitchen screen strainer to catch any clots that formed before adding the trisodium citrate (it's amazing how fast blood clots!)

By the way, I see that the Marianskis mention the use of this chemical for blood anticoagulation on page 324 of their book "Home Production of Quality Meats and Sausages".
Rudy
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Post by Rick » Fri Apr 05, 2013 17:21

Rudy,
Thank you very much and for having such a good memory! Next time I get some blood in my quart container I'll drop in 33 grams and give it a whisking.

The small slaughter house I go to kills beef on Thursday at 8 a.m. I just have to be there at 8 and he'll walk it off the kill floor directly to me. Can't be any fresher than that!

I just finished stuff it after sitting all night in the fridge to meld. There were 6 or seven nice rings and boy did they smell good! I've got em a couple of deep hotel pans of water in the oven to finish off.

I'm looking forward to Sunday morning breakfast!

Thanks again Rudy!

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Post by Rick » Fri Apr 05, 2013 17:37

Rudy,
Does this look like the stuff?

http://www.amazon.com/Sodium-Citrate-10 ... B00729JKCQ


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Post by IdaKraut » Fri Apr 05, 2013 18:08

Hi Rick,

Yes, that's the right product. You might want to check this: http://www.ebay.com/itm/Sodium-Citrate- ... 1c2d1fce53 which is a few bucks cheaper when you factor in the shipping. 1 pound will do a lot of blood.

I'm envious. There's nothing like fresh beef or pork blood. I'm using the dry stuff now only because I can't get the fresh anymore, but it doesn't taste as good as the fresh.
Rudy
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Post by Rick » Fri Apr 05, 2013 18:19

Rudy,
I have the slaughter house for my fresh beef blood and I also have an Asian market that sells pork blood (not frozen) and tongues. They say it's fresh and get it in every week. Funny though, it doesn't have any curdling at all like the beef blood, so there must be an additive. I have 4 pints frozen of the pork blood.

Since I don't have much experience with comparing the two, can you tell me if you prefer one over the other, pork to beef?

I used the Rytek recipe for my Kiszka and I believe he also has a tongue blood sausage recipe I'd like to try.

Rick
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Post by IdaKraut » Fri Apr 05, 2013 19:00

Rick,

I can get pork and beef blood from an Asian food store 100 miles from here. I think they water it down and add some anticoagulant to it. I prefer the pork blood myself but compared to fresh beef blood, I would have to say the fresh beef blood is much better.
It does impart a darker color to the finished product vs. pork blood and it has a more pronounced flavor than the pork blood, but I'll go with fresh every time.

Rytek's recipe for blood and tongue sausage is good. I modified it somewhat for my taste. In my opinion, there is no better sausage than blut-zungenwurst (blood tongue sausage). Just make sure you have some nice pork backfat to add to it.
Rudy
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Post by Rick » Fri Apr 05, 2013 20:10

Rudy,
I see Len Poli has a Blut-Zungenwurst (Blood Tongue Sausage) recipe also. Although I believe Len's is a lot more involved with spices and pork shoulder etc. I've never tried it, have you?
Rick
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Post by IdaKraut » Fri Apr 05, 2013 21:28

Rick wrote:Rudy,
I see Len Poli has a Blut-Zungenwurst (Blood Tongue Sausage) recipe also. Although I believe Len's is a lot more involved with spices and pork shoulder etc. I've never tried it, have you?
Rick
Actually the recipe you refer to is one that I submitted to Len for publication. Yes, it is good and I have used it numerous times.
Rudy
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Post by Rick » Sun Apr 07, 2013 01:59

Just wanted to report that I had the grandson taste test the Kiszka. He said it was awesome! I tried it and I concur that it is indeed awesome. So we have a keeper. Next on the list is the tongue blood sausage.
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