Homemade Sausage Making

I`ve used the Kassler recipe many times over; I guess it`s a comfort zone where good, lean Ham can be made without fail.
All was well until this last time.

Have a look at the photo below, and with CW`s good help I think I have also again learnt something, even in a comfort zone.
See the black / dark marks in the slices, they are visible throughout at places where I pumped the meat. The difference this time was the meat had been cryovac packed and frozen for about one year.
The texture is also very "mushy".
One of two things went wrong; either the meat was of exceptionally poor quality (yes I did buy the Loin on sale) or it had previously been slow frozen.
So the whole 9 lbs will be tossed.

Lesson learnt.

That is a bummer. If it isn't spoiled it is still good for pet/dog food. Give it to an animal shelter feed it to your dog or just throw it into the woods where it will be eaten.

I'm with Ross! Booboo Dog is the benefactor of my every culinary mishap, even eats most vegatables, tho not peas. RAY

Bubba wrote:Lesson learnt.

Bubba, bad luck Mate, btw, did you use a dirty needle ?
I reckon I've tossed more ham than I've kept for one reason or another.

Regards,
Gus

If the texture of the ham is very "mushy", it explains a lot. The proteins may have broken down, especially if the ham was frozen "slowly". Another factor is the year storage. Anything over 3 months will be affected gradually but sometimes severely. Many times, wholesalers will get rid of their near "PSE" grade (pale, soft, exudative) meat at rock-bottom sale prices. Another possibility is that it could have had poor water-binding capability initially, due to an abnormally quick drop of the pH after slaughter. If you`ve got a couple of these conditions in a single piece of meat, chances are you`ll wind up with a poor product. Right off hand, I`d think the year storage in the freezer is the largest factor.

Best Wishes,
Chuckwagon

I will donate all 9 lbs to an Animal Shelter.

sawhorseray wrote:Booboo Dog is the benefactor of my every culinary mishap

Is that why Booboo sticks his tongue out when you snap a photo of him.

After I saw these marks I was first leaning towards the brine pump needle as well, took the needle to a strong magnifying glass in our QA lab here at work (we manufacture Poly belts and Timing belts) and all checked clear.
With all my equipment I am always very careful to toroughly wash after use, and I wash it again before use. (I follow what I learnt in a previous topic on this Forum)

That was when I sent CW a message and with his help I understand what went wrong. Probability is very high that I had the meat in the Freezer too long.

The Boo is a female, she just looks a little masculine due to being 88 pounds of solid muscle.