What kind of pork do I use for sausage

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Blackriver
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What kind of pork do I use for sausage

Post by Blackriver » Sat Jan 08, 2011 15:25

Hello I am new to the forum. I am going to be making some summer sausage and bratwurst next weekend. I just have question on the type of pork to use. I have a choice of either pork trim or a pork shoulder roast which one is best to use? I am also adding pork backfat to the brats for the added fat. The backfat I have is almost a year old but it has been vacuum sealed is it still good? Thanks in advance for the help.
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Post by odell » Sat Jan 08, 2011 20:29

Hey, Blackriver
My opinion would be to go with the shoulder roast unless your sure of the fat amount in the trimings. I would be leery of the backfat,even if it is vacuum packed. It can pick up an off flavor with age. Keep in mind this is an opinion, i'm sure you will get more feedback on your questions.Have a great day. Another thought, you might cook just a little of your backfat and check the flavor. :smile:
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Chuckwagon
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Post by Chuckwagon » Mon Jan 10, 2011 05:23

Hey Blackriver, Allow me to throw my 2 cents worth in here ok? I'm surprised only one member has answered your question. Odell is absolutely correct on both counts as far as I'm concerned. The shoulder roast is the perfect choice and foods over two months in plastic can fail and pick up off flavors. (see article in recent Cook's Illustrated Magazine). Here are a couple of observations on my part. I surely don't know it all, but my biscuits ain't bad!

Boston Butts And Secret Recipes!

Have you ever wondered why pork shoulder is called "Boston butt"? Meat cutters in the eighteenth century seaport Boston, Massachusetts, packed cuts of pork shoulder into wooden casks called "butts" to be placed aboard ships. I wonder if the folks in Boston yet know their shoulders from their butts. :lol:
Unless you butcher your own livestock, it is probably best to purchase untrimmed Boston butts from a reputable charcuterier, grocery-meat cutter, or specialty meat supplier for making all around well-balanced pork sausage.

Many people are under the impression that sausage is made from random odds and ends, cut from cheap meats being ground up with all sorts of cereals and fillers added to disguise awful offal. Rytek Kutas, the ol` Sausagemaker™ himself, used to say, "junky meat makes junky sausage". The plain truth is good sausage is made from good meat. Moreover, Boston Butt is the ideal sausage-making cut, having the perfect texture with just the right amount of fat. Most trained meat cutters and butchers today, do a great job in removing sinew, gristle, clots of blood, excess fat, and glands from meat processed and sold commercially. At home, we must be quite diligent in locating these impurities and removing them.

By cutting the meat into chunks before grinding, many problems may be eliminated. Any connective tissue or sinew is cut into short lengths rather than having long strands invariably wrapping themselves around the center of the rotating cutting blade in the grinder. If you see "smearing" taking place or sausage exiting the plate holes looking bland and ragged, you`ll know you must take the grinder apart and clean the blade.

As you gain experience in cutting, grinding, curing, mixing, stuffing, and finally finishing a few batches of sausage, you`ll begin to realize that your success in making quality sausage lies not as much in the ingredients found in a recipe as it is with the process you`ve used to achieve it. Almost every beginner dreams about discovering the "secret" formula for the world`s greatest sausage! Most spend hours closely scrutinizing recipes in books and the internet only to discover in time that the vast majority of sausage contains merely salt and pepper and just one or two more commonly used "signature" spices such as marjoram in Polish kielbasa, or sage in English bangers. At first, many believe they can "fudge" just a bit on the precise techniques and processing procedures, especially in dealing with proper temperatures. In due course, the quality of the product suffers and usually the recipe receives the blame. Although many beginners give up at this point, determined folks begin to correctly focus their attention on the details of accurate processing techniques, armed with the savvy of how microorganisms affect their product. Only then, will a novice begin to realize there is no such thing as a "secret recipe".

Best wishes, Chuckwagon
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Post by Troski » Mon Jan 10, 2011 12:25

Blackriver you stick to what CW said and you'll be fine. I just wanted to add that the big box stores the ones that start with "K" and one with "W" are selling butts cheap as low as $.99.@Lb. Look very close at them if they say "extra tender" or "always moist" or if they have a list of ingredients on the back stay away from these for sausage making. They have already been injected with salts and phosphates and will not give you good results. Welcome to the forum and keep us posted with pics.
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Post by Siara » Mon Jan 10, 2011 21:35

Blackriver, to my humble opinion all depends from the type of sausage, and the recipe you will use. Most recipes clearly specify which class of meat you should use and in which proportion.
So we can specify following:
First class:
Image
Second class:
Image
Second A class:
Image
Second B class:
Image
and class III:
Image

So to sum up, you can use mix of shoulder and ham as first class and so on.
Please specify what you mean by summer sausage as I'm not familiar with this recipe.
Do you mean something like this ?

Image
For bratwurst you can use recipe for kiełbasa biała:
http://wedlinydomowe.pl/en/viewtopic.php?t=4788
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Post by Blackriver » Fri Jan 14, 2011 01:18

Thanks a lot for the very good info! I will get a pork butt and use that. I will keep you posted on the results
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Post by Chuckwagon » Fri Jan 14, 2011 09:57

Hi Siara,
How about clarifying something for me. In my younger years I stayed away from kielbasa biala (white sausage) because I always believed the recipe contained milk. Unfortunately, I'm lactose intolerant and quite allergic to milk. Shucks pard, I always believed that milk was for young calves and Colorado Cool-Aid (Coors) was for cowboys!
Rytek Kutas added a lot of milk to his white sausage recipes... so much, in fact, that I thought he must be hiding a herd of dairy cattle behind his shop! :lol:
Anyway, the picture you posted almost made me reach for the sausage right through my computer screen. It looks absolutely wonderful. I can just imagine the flavor. I immediately went to the kitchen and started a batch of your wonderful recipe - as I see it does not contain milk.
My question is... in Poland, do sausage makers put milk in any sausages? Didn't the name "white" sausage come from the addition of milk?
Heck, I grew up thinking I couldn't put chicken or milk in a sausage. I never figured out just how I could chase a chicken into a casing! :wink:
Now, I'm finding out that DaveZac and others make great chicken sausage and you make kielbasa biala that I would commit a felony for... just to get my grubby mitts on some you made!
I'll let you know how mine turns out. Thank you for posting the recipe and pictures. We're most appreciative.
Best wishes,
Chuckwagon
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Post by Siara » Fri Jan 14, 2011 10:31

Well, let`s start from the name. As you can see on the picture, the shade of "kiełbasa biała" ( white sausage ) is white :smile: because it is not smoked. If you boil white sausage it will turn even more white. So white sausage took it's name from the color.
Now about the milk. I've seen some recipes , where milk ( especially powdered milk ) is used. In the recipes powdered milk is used as emulsifier. Example will be "serdelki". Sort of boudin. Here below,excellent batch by EAnna
Image
This is not necessary ingredient, and you may replace it with cream of wheat, pork class III or beef.
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Post by Troski » Fri Jan 14, 2011 12:44

Siara; Is it traditional or is it necessary to make the Kielbasa biala short and fat like the ones in the picture and what are the ones on the right they look interesting.
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Post by Siara » Fri Jan 14, 2011 13:05

No, the picures show Serelki & parówki ( sort of boudin )

Biała looks like this:
Raw
Image
Boiled
Image
This one made by Polish forum member - Sokoz.
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Post by Dave Zac » Fri Jan 14, 2011 13:39

My biala is made in a single long sausage...as long as the casing. Is there any advantage to linking it? The only reason I can think of is long term storage. Easier to freeze 2 or 3 links than the entire sausage.

CW~ I used to add powdered milk to my white sausage. I have recently learned that by Polish standards this is a sin and no longer do it.
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Post by Troski » Fri Jan 14, 2011 14:09

Siara; OK I just thought there might be some advantage to your way of doing them . I'm with Dave Zac. I fill my casings till I run out. Serelki & parowki look interesting I'll have to find a recipe I'll post the recipe I use for boudin, it's not like the French version "Boudin Blac" But a Louisiana type. Where should I post it?
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Post by Siara » Fri Jan 14, 2011 14:47

Troski wrote:Where should I post it?
Make new topic in sausages " call it the way you want but easy for other new members to find in case they will use search engine
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Post by Troski » Fri Jan 14, 2011 23:21

10-4
Marz o tym, jakbys` mial wiecznie zyl, zyj jakbys` mial umrzec dzis
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Post by Chuckwagon » Mon Jan 17, 2011 09:28

DaveZac wrote:
CW~ I used to add powdered milk to my white sausage. I have recently learned that by Polish standards this is a sin and no longer do it.
Were you using it as a binder Dave?

Wow, I just tried Siara's recipe. That is some kind of great sausage! When I was a kid, I don't even remember chicken sausage being around anywhere. Now I realize what I've been missing all these years.
BUT,
kabanosy is still king!
Thanks guys...
Best wishes, Chuckwagon
If it looks like a duck, walks like a duck, and quacks like a duck, it probably needs more time on the grill! :D
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