Sausage "Chatter"
I use pork shoulder,and try to buy the leanest at that.I keep my fat down to 25%.My friends tell me that you can hardly taste that "gamy"moose taste so thats why I stick with this.I have been using the 60/40 moose/pork ratio but might go to 75/25 moose just to see what it turns out like.The pork here is really expensive,around $3-$5 /lb and the pork fat back even more.I get the beef fat for free and a memeber said thats what he uses in his moose/game sausages and it tastes bettr than pork fat.Iam really new at this sausage racket so Iam going on advice for now.
Wow $3-$5/per pound. I guess I should not complain at our prices.we have been paying. $1.76 per pound in double packed craovac =about 30 lbs. or $1.45 in 75 lb. case lots. Last year I was paying $1.09 in case lots. One of the hardest things to get is back fat.They are getting $1.00 per pound and I have to drive 45 miles to get it.
John
John
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I am wondering how far ahead of a sausage making project do forum members mix their spice and seasonings? I generally use packaged seasoning and after awhile they start to taste flat. Would two or three days still give a prime flavor? Do most of you get the spices together just before mixing? Should I toss out the old spice mixes or can adding additional new spices renew them?
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I always use some kind of liquid. Beer, Butter milk. wine something liquid to mix the spices and make the meat easier to handle.
I think it was nepas that mentioned using butter milk for some tang in the mix. It tast great.
Also for using your grinder for stuffing it helps a lot to get a foot switch so you have both hands free.
I think it was nepas that mentioned using butter milk for some tang in the mix. It tast great.
Also for using your grinder for stuffing it helps a lot to get a foot switch so you have both hands free.
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Rubbed Sage
I live in Victoria BC, on Vancouver Island. I can't find rubbed sage locally. Any suggestions?
Thanks,
Bert,
Thanks,
Bert,
Re: Rubbed Sage
Hi Bert.ajwillsnet wrote:I live in Victoria BC, on Vancouver Island. I can't find rubbed sage locally. Any suggestions?
Thanks,
Bert,
Rubbed sage is a dried sage leaf that is rubbed between the palms of your hands. It makes you hands smell good! I believe it blows back to olden times when herbs were hung upside down in the kitchen to dry. When sage was needed you'd grab a leaf or two and pub them between your hands to crumble it up in the dish being cooked.
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Most sausage recipe that call for sage as an ingredient usually call for rubbed sage. The only product I see here in Victoria is sage powder. I don't think I would get the same result by using sage powder. I found a guy over in Vancouver who sells it by the kilogram(2.2 lbs)
That would be a lifetime supply.
Bert,
That would be a lifetime supply.
Bert,
From memory, there are a whole bunch of plants that fit into the family of herbs used as sage. Sage(s) are mints. Rubbed sage is the leaf, only. Powdered sage contains stems. Chopped sage should be leaf but may have pieces of stems. By weight they are all pretty much the same. By volume powdered same has more flavor and will weigh more. Rubbed sage weighs the least and by volume will have less flavor. Some folks swear by rubbed sage, won't use the others. Other folks will not touch dried sage, insist only fresh sage will due. I grow my own herbs, hang them in the kitchen and use whatever I have around.
Bert, you'll probably be ok with substituting chopped sage, if you can find that.
Bert, you'll probably be ok with substituting chopped sage, if you can find that.
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ssorllih wrote:Oxide, Do you find that your herbs have more or less flavor depending on when you harvest them? I picked sage leaves this summer for some flat bread and they were very good but later in the fall some that I picked and dried were quite bland.
Yes, I experienced the exact same thing. Sage was actually very disappointing in the fall. Some leaves I had picked earlier and didn't use I tossed into a bowl. They dried and I used them in the fall, too. They had a lot of flavor, but the fresh sage was flat.
Fwiw, the same radio program that was talking about GMO also mentioned that all herbs/spices sold in the US now are irradiated (nuked). It seems to compliment what is written in (I think) 'Charcuterie' by Ruhlman and Polcyn about NOT using fresh herbs from your garden in your aged meats. They mention botulism is airborne, everywhere including your garden herbs, but insignificant because it is dormant in an aerobic environment. As soon as you include those tasty herbs from your garden in your aged meats you move the botulism into an anaerobic environment, and it becomes game on.
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