Homemade Sausage Making

So "prep-cooking" and placing the sausage into the smoker are the exact same thing? The Kabanosy reaches a IT of 148° as opposed to 152°, then gets pulled to cool and dry out in the fridge wrapped in paper towels for 4-5 days? For a difference of only four degrees I'd think they could be pulled at 152° to dry with the knowledge that they were completely cooked and safe to eat. I guess I'm just not getting it. RAY

Ray, if a sausage is pulled out at around 146 or 148 and finishes by drying (not cooking), the product will become "semi-dry cured" when it drops below Aw 0.86. It has an entirely different taste (and texture) than one finished by cooking those last few degrees to 155° (Rytek said 152°F).
Think of it this way. There are basically only 4 types of sausage.
1. Fresh Sausage - mixed and kept refrigerated 3 days or frozen.
2. Cured-Cooked-Smoked Sausage - Fully cooked, contains nitrite, and smoked.
3. Semi-Dry Cured Sausage - Contains nitrites - is "par"-cooked - and further dried.
4. Fully Dry-Cured Sausage - Raw sausage is not cooked at all. It is dried only. This sausage is the only type safe to store outside of the refrigerator. It is also made with specific rules regarding bacteria, lactic acid, salt, and nitrates.

All four have completely different textures and flavors. One sausage recipe can be made in four different ways depending on HOW it is made.

Best Wishes,
Chuckwagon

Thanks for the insight CW, I've got it! RAY

If you look closely at the cut cross-section of Scott's kabanosy, you can see that there are no signs of "broken" fat - little droplets of oil. The cut is clean and the fat is in tact. This shows that he stayed below 148°F in the prep-cooking step and will further dry the sausage until it becomes about "70% yield" (loses 30% moisture). As the temperature surpassed 137°, any possible trichinella spiralis were destroyed as well as many pathogenic bacteria. The lower finishing temperature insures the correct "bite" in texture and differs greatly from "fully-cooked" meat. However, further drying is necessary in order to complete the destruction of pathogenic bacteria. He's got a wonderful "semi-dry cured" product in his photo. Cooked just right and dried to perfection. Stored in paper sacks in his refrigerator or vacuum packed and frozen for future use. I'm hooked on the stuff. I use 19 m.m. collagen casings, prep-cook it in an oven (careful not to overcook the stuff), and dry it using four large fans. Why... goodness gracious... people have been known to beat a path to my front door, carrying large, empty sacks, but engaging in furious, wild, and inappropriate fist-fighting, wrestling, and other violent actions, with others waiting in line! Yes, yes, yes... Their behavior is positively shocking! As my re-inforced steel front door is repeatedly broken down by the feral hoard, a "herd" of austere and wolf-hungry barbarians swarm my kitchen... chanting "kaba, kaba, kaba"!
One has to be careful making this stuff! It may be dangerous to yer' health!

Best Wishes,
Chuckwagon

I'm going to have to try those as they look excellent !

Why not make 'em now cogboy? Be sure to take some photos. This is the best snack stick there is!

Best Wishes,
Chuckwagon

Chuckwagon wrote:Why not make 'em now cogboy? Be sure to take some photos. This is the best snack stick there is!

Best Wishes,
Chuckwagon

Work has got the best of me right now, not much time for any fun projects ! I am reading many posts here(old and new ) learning some valuable info from the members of this group.

Well, it's nice to have you with us cogboy. Let us know if we can help you with anything at all. Enjoy WD and keep reading the posts! When you get ready to make kabinosy, give me a PM and I'll send you a few tips I stole from BlackRiver.

Best Wishes,
Chuckwagon

Thanks and I will do that ,just looked into some 22-24mm sheep casings and didn't realize the price difference between them and hog casings.The sausagemaker seemed to be reasonable for my budget. P.S. kinda early out there isn't it ??

cogboy wrote:Thanks and I will do that ,just looked into some 22-24mm sheep casings and didn't realize the price difference between them and hog casings.The sausagemaker seemed to be reasonable for my budget.

You will no doubt use some colourful language the first time you use sheep casings. They tangle knot and are difficult to put on the stuffing horn. And you will have blowouts, as they are not half as strong as hog casings. So don't stuff too tightly.

Cogboy,
Most of the follks on this site are using 22 m.m. collagen casing (dry) for kabanosy. Some "purists" object, saying the original recipe was made in real lamb casing. However, with this economy and limited lamb casing available, collagen has become most acceptable. Actually, I prefer it for kabanosy. It is simple to stuff because you just slide the dry, pre-folded roll on the horn and crank away. No tying links either... simply cut the links to size with a pair of scissors. The best part is you don't even have to wet or soak the stuff. Simply place it on the horn dry and begin stuffing - it's sterile. It is very economical and is an organic product made from the gelatinous epidermis of the cow's hide. Technically, collagen is a group of proteins found in the flesh and connective tissues of mammals. It makes up about 30% of the whole-body protein content, but constitutes only one to two percent of muscle tissue. In fibrous tissue such as ligaments and tendons, it consists of elongated "fibrils". In muscle, collagen serves as the major component of the endomysium - the layer of connective tissue that forms a sheath around a muscle fiber. It is an important component of connective tissue found in tendons, skin, bones and cartilage. Due to its high water holding capacity it is used as binding agent in blood sausages and gelatins. It`s great stuff for the inexpensive manufacture of practical artificial casings - and the price is hard to beat.

Best Wishes,
Chuckwagon

I have used collagen casings in the past and will give them a whirl instead of the sheep casings. Thanks!