Food Allergies - need help to adjust recipes

[maeser]

Much to my dismay, I have become allergic to a laundry list of foods. When it comes to making sausage, I am particularly concerned with soy & milk. I am allergic to soy & sage, and my husband is newly allergic to milk & soy. We raise all of our beef, pork, & poultry without soy. I have been making fresh sausages for about 50 years, and I am determined to continue to do so, as well as teach my granddaughters sausagemaking. I could certainly use some help with the needed adjustments.

1. My grandmother & I always made a basic, spicy breakfast sausage containing strong sage flavor. I experimented last week and cut the sage by about 90%. I was able to make a very good breakfast sausage. I'll continue to play with it but am open to suggestions.

2. On this site there are references to substituting bread crumbs for either the soy or milk powder. I know bread crumbs are variable in their ability to absorb moisture, but can you give me a rough approximation of quantity of bread crumbs when substituting for soy or milk? Is there another substitution I haven't thought of?

3. My husband doesn't hunt anymore, but would like to try some homemade summer sausage. I do have home grown beef in the freezer, and far more home grown pork. Is summer sausage ever made with pork, or a mixture of beef & pork?

4. I am going to try making hot dogs for the first time. I have in the past eaten a commercial wiener that was slightly more coarsely ground than the usual one & I would like to duplicate that, if possible. I believe the name of the commercial wiener was Maverik?? Is is possible to combine the emulsion most recipes call for with possibly some slightly coarser meat? Or should I just stick to the recipe as written until I have that down pat?

Thanks for any help you can give me. I love this site.

[Knotfree]

I recently used corn starch as a binder. 3 cups per 25 lb batch of Smoked Mennonite farmers sausage. Held moisture very good, nice firm texture with no taste noticed.

[maeser]

I recently used corn starch as a binder. 3 cups per 25 lb batch of Smoked Mennonite farmers sausage. Held moisture very good, nice firm texture with no taste noticed.

Excellent idea. However, I apologize for not listing corn as one of my allergens, as well as potatoes, so products made with those ingredients are off the list, too. Thank you for the feedback!! I'm so sorry I can't try it.

[Bob K]

maesar-
First off welcome to the forum ! Here are a few suggestions and I am sure there will be many more.

1. My grandmother & I always made a basic, spicy breakfast sausage containing strong sage flavor. I experimented last week and cut the sage by about 90%. I was able to make a very good breakfast sausage. I'll continue to play with it but am open to suggestions.

Rosemary and Thyme are spices listed to substitute for sage, of course you will have to experiment as you are used to a certain flavor.

2. On this site there are references to substituting bread crumbs for either the soy or milk powder. I know bread crumbs are variable in their ability to absorb moisture, but can you give me a rough approximation of quantity of bread crumbs when substituting for soy or milk? Is there another substitution I haven't thought of?

If you are open to additives phosphates can be used to retain moisture without the use of soy or milk products, Here is one source from Butcher & Packer (USA)
http://www.butcher-packer.com/index.php ... cts_id=894

3. My husband doesn't hunt anymore, but would like to try some homemade summer sausage. I do have home grown beef in the freezer, and far more home grown pork. Is summer sausage ever made with pork, or a mixture of beef & pork?

No problem at all Beef can be substituted for game meat in almost all sausages. but I would definitely combine pork. Many recipes are around 70% pork and 30% beef or venison

4. I am going to try making hot dogs for the first time. I have in the past eaten a commercial wiener that was slightly more coarsely ground than the usual one & I would like to duplicate that, if possible. I believe the name of the commercial wiener was Maverik?? Is is possible to combine the emulsion most recipes call for with possibly some slightly coarser meat? Or should I just stick to the recipe as written until I have that down pat?

Not sure of the maverick brand but you can make a "grainier" hot dog by grinding through a 1/8" plate (only once) and skip the emulsifying step.

[redzed]

Good quality sausages are made without binders and extenders. They are widely used in the meat industry for economic reasons. It's a no brainer that selling soy and water for 5 bucks a pound can be profitable. And while arguments can be made for using binders for their water-binding capabilities, texture and mouthfeel, they are not essential or necessary. Check out the huge selection of recipes compiled by Stan Marianski on our sister site. With the exception of some traditional British sausages, the recipes do not call for any additions of starches.http://www.meatsandsausages.com/sausage-recipes

If you want to experiment with binders that you are not allergic to, you can use bread crumbs in fresh sausages, or better yet, order some rusk which will retain water much better. You can also use wheat starch that is modified to be used as an additive to meat products, although the latter would probably have to be purchased in large quantities. Another starch that is used in meat products is tapioca. As to the amounts, industry manuals state that the amounts used are between .5 - 5%. You can try adding 2% in your first try and adjust thereafter.

Welcome to our forum and please don't hesitate to ask further questions.

[johngaltsmotor]

4. I am going to try making hot dogs for the first time. I have in the past eaten a commercial wiener that was slightly more coarsely ground than the usual one & I would like to duplicate that, if possible. I believe the name of the commercial wiener was Maverik?? Is is possible to combine the emulsion most recipes call for with possibly some slightly coarser meat? Or should I just stick to the recipe as written until I have that down pat?

You can easily make an emulsion with a coarser grind. My Weisswurst is emulsified but much coarser instead of a smooth paste like most wieners so I only do a single 1/4" grind. You just grind the fat and a fraction of the meat fine but leave the majority coarse then blend it all and emulsify as usual. An emulsion is simply coating the meat particles with a layer of fat, but does not technically require the very small particle size to which most American emulsions are made.

[maeser]

Thanks so much for the welcome. And, thank all of you for your comments. They are very helpful.

[maeser]

Rosemary and Thyme are spices listed to substitute for sage, of course you will have to experiment as you are used to a certain flavor.

Today I tried substituting thyme for the sage and made quite a good breakfast sausage! Thank you. I made this batch from scratch, just guessing at amounts and adding all the ingredients present in the Morton seasoning mix except sage. I made sure I wrote down everything! My memory leaves something to be desired these days.

I did discover today I am allergic to coriander. Grrrrrr. But, it's already in the breakfast sausage, and I didn't itch tooooo badly when I ate some. Any suggestions for coriander substitution? Coriander smells and tastes very good.

[Bob K]

Cilantro powder seems like it would be similar.

Substitutes: Cilantro Powder, Dhana Jeera Powder, Cilantro, Cumin or Garam Masala

http://www.myspicesage.com/coriander-powder-p-98.html

[harleykids]

Substiture ground sumac for corriander. Sumac has a lemony smell and flavor, similar to corriander. Also has a nice dark red/purple-ish color!

One of my favorite lesser known spices! Available at any India or Armenian store.
They sprinkle it on top of fatoush, etc.

[johngaltsmotor]

I could be wrong, but I read somewhere that Coriander is actually the seed of the Cilantro plant. So if you're allergic to Coriander you might want to experiment to verify that you're not actually allergic to Cilantro also. That may be the reason they are listed as substitutes (although to me the flavors are quite different).

[Bob K]

Good catch John you are absolutely correct!