You asked for it……grab a cup o’ java and pull up a log…this’ll take a few ! hehe.
OK, first off I need to clarify…….my percentages are probably due to the fact that I use only fat, not “pork”. I have an arrangement with several butchers in the area. When they do their trimming, I get the fat off of it. I only use fresh, and never freeze it up. Takes some timing, but no big deal. I’m particular about which fats I use too. For pork fat, I use only the fat from pork butts and loins. For beef fat, I use on the fat caps from strip loins and 109’s.
I give away a lot of sausage/burger each year, to folks that have never tried “wild game” before. I generally make up somewhere between 200 and 300 pounds of sausage and burger each year. By using the fat caps from strip loins to cut into my burger meat, I add enough fat/moisture that they generally can’t screw it up too bad. Remember, folks that have never tasted wild game, have never COOKED wild game and will cook those burger to a well done, cremated state. Without a decent fat content, they’ll come away HATING it. I run about 10% beef fat into my grind for burger….less for my chili grind.
There are fat substitutes out there. One is called “rp lean” or something like that…it was developed by the USDA. I’ve heard mixed reports on it. Frankly, there’s no substitute for “real” fat. Most of these substitutes are made from oats…..yeah, OATS. The reason I use only fat, and not pork “meat” is that I believe I can use less, and it doesn’t impart a domestic flavor to the game meat near as much. It’s a helluva lot cheaper too.
Encapsulated Citric Acid....Let’s call encapsulated citric acid “eca”, so I don’t have to type the whole dang words out. You can't use just citric acid...has to be encapsulated, or your meat will not be firm. It doesn’t actually ferment the sausage….it merely makes the sausage taste like it was fermented. Kinda like liquid smoke. It does a real good job of it too. Takes very little to work. The “capsule” actually melts around 135 degrees. You do NOT hold this in the frig overnite….after you get your sausage mixed up, then add the eca (carefully, folding it into the mix), then cook it up. ECA is in a powder form, and folds in easily. Remember, citric acid is a naturally occurring acid too. IF the acid blends with the meat at the mixing process, it will make the meat sort of mushy….I believe this is where people screw up. It ain’t rocket science, you have to fold it into the mix, and don’t run it thru the grinder. It encapsulated for a reason, ya know. ECA is an acidulant as well as an antioxidant too. Acidulants help reduce the ph in the sausage, which helps preserve the meat.
There’s another product like eca on the market called “fermento”….basically, it sucks bigtime.
Now, dextrose vs. sugar……dextrose is about 75% as sweet as sugar. Because it’s less sweet, you use more. If you are using the regular starter vs. citric acid, dextrose helps the lactic acid ferment better. Cane sugar is table sugar. It is usually used in meat brines but not used much in sausage because it will easily burn or scorch. Brown sugar is used in most brines but sometimes used in meat because of its flavor. Dextrose is corn sugar and it will not burn as easily as cane sugar. When a recipe calls for cane sugar you can replace it with dextrose by adding 20% to 25% more dextrose than cane sugar due to the sweetness factor between cane sugar and dextrose. One of the biggest differences using dextrose vs. cane sugar is that if you use dextrose, you will notice when you grill your sausage, it doesn’t “burn” or scorch…you sausage isn’t what’s making that link black, it’s the sugar. If you didn't like the "taste" of dextrose, something was wrong. Not sure on brining....maybe use corn syrup solids...which is basically dextrose, but I think there is a subtle difference.
OK, now binders. Soy protein concentrate is probably the most popular in sausage making. Goes from beans to grits to protein concentrate to protein isolate. Now, these binders are used to keep water in your sausage. What happens is, it allows you to add water to your sausage mix, and when cooked/smoked, the water is the “moisture” that leaves the sausage before the natural juices do. There are special meat binders out there that work better, and actually do help give you a better/moister end product.
made from the refining process of soy beans. The first step is soy grits, which are used in patties and products like Hamburger Helper®. Next comes soy protein concentrate, then soy protein isolate. All soy products have a high protein value. This gives soy its binding capability, allowing you to add water to your sausage for a moister product. Binders are used to prevent weight loss and shrinkage to products being processed in the smokehouse, by helping to retain the natural juices (moisture) in the meat. This product also helps to bind the sausage together and can be use in meat products such as burgers to retain the natural juices from cooking out. Binders are added at about 5% of the total meat’s weight.
So, ‘nuff info ???
God Bless.
Topic: Venison Salami and Summer Sausage (Read 3764 times)
