Homemade Sausage Making

Well, I can't speak for all items in the grocery store, but if you are referring to your generic old stuff, it is usually the same story.

For products like that, the goal is to drop the pH as quickly as possible to make the product stable and give it the longest shelf life possible. Drying is not really their objective. Drying the sausage would reduce the weight of the final product and that would decrease profits. These companies are concerned about retaining water, and retaining as much of it as possible. In some cases, they even add water and employ the use of phosphates. This means more money in the companies pocket as the consumer pays for water.

Theycover their trail with extra salt and spices so you don't realize exactly what is missing. Another side of things is that by law, commercial sausages can contain up to 50% fat, except for Italian sausage (35%). Fat costs much less than meat, so guess what a lot of these companies will opt for? Just because you can't see it, doesn't mean it's not there - it is just finely comminuted.

I got a question about salt in sausage recipes.I heard (read) that alot of guys use kosher salt in their sausage recipes and was wondering is it true and why?If I was misleaded please tell me before I use it in my sausage or does it matter or do I have to adjust the quantity compared to table salt.thanks

revid wrote:I got a question about salt in sausage recipes.I heard (read) that alot of guys use kosher salt in their sausage recipes and was wondering is it true and why?If I was misleaded please tell me before I use it in my sausage or does it matter or do I have to adjust the quantity compared to table salt.thanks

I always weigh my kosher salt in recipes as the variety of salts 'out there' differ in weight.
15g of kosher salt is a different volume than 15g of table salt.

I'm led to believe iodized salt for making sausages or curing meats is not a good idea as it may effect the taste. RytekKutas says 'canning salt,' kosher salt', or purified salt' (no other ingredients added) are best in making sausage.

I prefer using kosher salt for it's relative purity, good taste, dissolvability, cost and adaptability to a number of recipes, besides sausage.

I'm sure others more experienced than me will chime in on this salty topic.

-Kevin

Hey guys,
Here's a link that may help: http://wedlinydomowe.pl/en/viewtopic.php?p=251#251

thanks guys and great read there Chuckwagon,much appreciated.I got a recipe from an old butchers son who's dad has since passed away and according to his son was his favorite and most popular.In the recipe it calls for 20 oz of salt.When I asked his son about the salt because he used to help his dad,he didn't know what kind of salt he used .I would like to use kosher but Iam not sure about how much. how much do you guys think I should use,also it calls for sweet paprika and I can't find it anywhere,lots of paprika but not sweet.do you think I can substitute for just plain ?thanks again.

Hi Revid,
The ideal salt content for (fresh) sausage, is about 2 g. per 100 g. meat.
Hungarian sweet paprika is very much worth the trouble to locate. You'll probably have to send to a spice company for it. The most common type is Spanish paprika and it can be a little bitter in higher volumes.
In "Hyde Park" there are a few spice companies listed under resources.
Best Wishes,
Chuckwagon

nepas,
Hey Nepas.
I bought some of them from a local sausage supply place and made some beef sticks. The casing don't seem to stick to the outside of the meat very well. I cooked to 160 in the smoker and then did a hot water bath and switche to cold water bath and put out to dry (Bloom}
Do you have a thought on what i mite be doing wrong????

thanks chuckwagon for the info.Got a line on some hungarian paprika.Now about salt content.Iam in the process of doing some moose(60%),fresh pork(40%),25% beef fat sausages.Gonna try 10lb batches so.......2gms/100gms - salt content
454gms/lb=4540gms divide by 100=45x2=90 gms salt per 10 lbs of sausage.Is this right?

Yep, you got it.

Formula: 2 g. per 100 g. meat

10 lbs. = 4536 grams
4536 ÷ 100 = 45.36
2 x 45.36 = 90.72 grams (or 3.2 oz.)

any idea what 3 ozs of kosher salt weighs?

revid wrote:any idea what 3 ozs of kosher salt weighs?

3 ozs is 0.085 kg or 85.0 Grams
Try this http://www.wedlinydomowe.com/sausage-re ... calculator

also

Table Salt 1 cup 292 g (10.3 oz)
Morton® Kosher Salt 11/3 to 1½ cup 218 g (7.7 oz)
Diamond® Crystal Kosher Salt 1 cup 142 g (5 oz)

yeah I knew there was differences in the weights,so I went and looked at box,duh.lol
windsor kosher salt-1/4 tsp =1.1 gms
soooo....90 grms/10 lbs sausage =90 divide by 1.1=82 aprox
20 tsps aprox
how does that look to you guys?

When you speak of fresh pork what type of cuts are you using? Are you using a specific cut of pork or are you using pork trimmings,as trimmings might have a higher percentage of fat. Beef fat will change your taste. Try a batch with beef fat and a batch with pork fat. I usually keep my fat content between 30-40 percent. When I use wild game in sausage I trim away as much of the fat as possible. This seems to help me give a more consistent finished product,and helps control the gamy taste that you sometimes get with older animals.

John

The pork i use is just pork butt from the market unless i have a pot belly pig that i have butchered up and then i grind the whole critter and use it for the added fat.
Whole pig breakfast sausage is super. I think it is the best.