Saturday, January 7, 2012

Welcome to the NEW SausageMania Blog!

Hey There, Sausage Lovers!

SausageMania.com is a completely FREE informational website, live on the Web since 2001. Although we participate in Google AdSense, SausageMania.com offers nothing for sale. The revenue we receive from ads helps defray the costs of maintaining the site.

This BRAND NEW SausageMania.com blog will give you, the Visitor, a chance to ask anything you want to know about making sausage at home. We're well-known for our award-winning Photo Tutorial on How to Make Sausage. We also have several pages of sausage recipes, including new ones on Russian Fruit Sausage and Italian Porcini Sausage.

Home sausage making was the original reason that SausageMania.com was created, but since 2001, we've branched out in new directions.

Visit our LoxMania, KipperMania and the new CaviarMania pages. And be sure to catch our Photo Tutorial on How to Make Salmon Lox.

Most recently, we posted a new PestoMania page on How to Make the World's GREENEST Pesto Sauce, which includes a never-revealed secret on how to keep your Pesto Sauce from discoloring.

Send us your questions, comments and observations.

Welcome once again to the SausageMania.com Blog — and Happy Sausage Making!

Sausagemeister

44 comments:

  1. Do we need to slap the meat when mixing?

    I read it somewhere recommended to do so, and it said this step is crucial to make the meat and spices come together.

    ReplyDelete
  2. Tuesday, January 10, 2012 1:05PM

    Hi Sabai,

    Thanks for commenting!

    Where did you read about such an interesting recommendation?

    I've never heard of slapping the meat while mixing, and have trouble understanding how it would make the meat and spices come together.

    It does make sense, however, to let the seasoned mix "steep" for a while, to allow the spices to permeate into the meat fibers, though the difference in flavor between steeping and not steeping is fairly subtle.

    ReplyDelete
  3. Dear Sausagemeister,
    I have seen in delis and on TV cooking shows links of sausages draping in the windows and I was wondering if that's how you should store sausage. Is this technique used for drying the sausages? What are your thoughts on this?

    Sincerely,
    Knit Nat

    ReplyDelete
  4. Hello KnitNat,

    Thank for your your questions.

    I will reply with a parable.

    Once I was visiting Manhattan -- in the tacky Times Square district. It was 1959, perhaps, or a bit later. There was a sidewalk pizzeria where the pizza chef was performing in the window, so that passers-by would presumably be attracted by the authenticity of his pizza-making expertise.

    He was tossing his pizza dough up into the air, catching it on his knuckles, spinning it and thinning it out and re-tossing it as it got bigger and thinner.

    At one point, he tossed it way too high, and the dough got caught on the neon sign, at the very top of the window, that read: "PIZZA PIZZA PIZZA" in flashing day-glo pink letters.

    Now, where the pizza dough was not hanging on the sign, the neon letters were covered with a plush blanket of dust and grime. Which meant that where the dough was hanging had also been coated with the same filth, but now the filth was concealed by the nice, moist pizza dough, to which all the filth had adhered.

    The Pizza Chef, not to be perturbed by a minor contretemps, perfunctorily grabbed a long stick with a hook at the end, kept handy for such mishaps, and freed the pizza dough from the neon tubing and caught it handily.

    He then proceeded to toss and re-toss the dough until it was quite ready to be slathered with pizza covering and baked in the oven.

    But, not to worry! The oven sterilized everything, even the dust and the grease.

    Now, the moral of this parable is, Do Not Buy Sausage That Has Been Hanging in the Window.

    ReplyDelete
  5. My wife loves pork loin. She wants me to make some sausage in natural casings from a pork loin. I'm assuming that there's not enough fat in that cut of meat. How do I calculate how much fat to add and where do I get it? Just ask at a butcher shop? Or is her request not something that will work well?

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Wednesday, January 25, 2012 05:43PM

      Dear Cookshacker,

      Pork loin is, as you suggest, too lean to make good sausage.

      The "pork" portion of loin is really no different from the "pork"portion of a fattier cut, such as pork shoulder (a.k.a. pork butt or Boston blade).

      So using a fattier cut of pork, which is going to be ground, is not that different from grinding loin and adding fat to it.

      The problem is that it is not easy to grind pork fat and mix it in evenly with a non-fatty cut, such as loin. The fat tends to stick to itself and "ball up" in tight little clumps so that it is difficult to mix it evenly with the ground loin.

      Hope this helps!

      Regards,

      Sausagemeister

      Delete
    2. Thanks Wurstmeister! As far as cooking goes do you have a favorite method? Grill, oven, pan, smoker? Do you vary the method based on the type of sausage?

      Delete
    3. No, no favorite method, because, as you suggest, it all depends on the type of sausage.

      Delete
  6. I just found your site, and what a wonderful resource! I can't wait to peruse the recipes and make some sausage of my own. I was looking online for some better quality sausage than what is offered at my local stores, and what better than learning to make my own!
    I do have a question-my quest is for the perfect small sausage for a sweet bread kolache...do you have any recipes for a cocktail wiener-type sausage?
    Again, thanks and I look forward to more from this blog, and site!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thursday, February 9, 2012

      Thanks for the kind words!

      Sorry, but I have no recipes for a cocktail wiener-type sausage.

      Good luck!

      Delete
  7. Question: What's better; a dull $200 knife or a razor sharp $2 knife?
    You created a great site I have visited for several years and as a retired knife sharpener I would like to give back. So, please look into Ben Dale's knife sharpening system "Edge Pro" I took our 13 year old granddaughter and gave her 15 minutes instruction, handed her a 10 inch chef knife and told her I wanted it razor sharp with 17 degree angle. 10 minutes later she handed back to meeting my specifications. A previously sharpened knife usually takes about 90 seconds to resharpen. Again, thanks for a great site. R Fraser, Shelton Wa.

    ReplyDelete
  8. Hey Ben,

    Clearly, the $2.00 sharp knife. However, you omitted the URL for your sharpening system! Please share it with us. I, personally, am always looking to improve my knife sharpening skills and tools.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Ben Dale is the developer of the Edge Pro knife sharpening system
      Just type in Edge Pro in your search engine. Now, I want to motorize a 22 grinder but not sure about the motor ready ones or stay with Chop Rite. I have a LEM #12 and Chop Rite #12 and I get a better grind with the hand #12 than the LEM. So, what would you recommend in the 22 size, the 22 Chop Rite or a motor ready 22. The only advantage I can see with motor ready is they are easier to clean. But I know the quality of the plates and knives of the chop rite.

      Delete
  9. Ben Dale is the owner Edge Pro. He has a web site www.edgeproinc.com
    I have used his system for the past 12 years. One never gets a bow in a knife and it removes very little metal with each sharpening. Again, you can set any angle on a knife and next time you sharpen set the system for that angle and it is dead on.(take a black felt tip marker and mark the cutting edge. Set a dry stone and lightly run over the cutting angle edge. you will see how accurate the system is. Also, the felt marker will let you know if angle is correct: if it removes marking at cutting edge the angle is too high and if it removes marking away from cutting edge angles is to low. Hope this helps
    r fraser

    ReplyDelete
  10. Dear Loxmaster,
    I freeze my smoked salmon after vacuum-packing it, but how long does it keep in the fridge after thawing and opening it?

    Sincerely,
    Knitmaster

    ReplyDelete
  11. Dear Knitmaster,

    Assuming your lox was properly cured and kept frozen, it should last for two or three weeks in the refrigerator, as long as it is tightly wrapped. The lower the fridge temperature, the longer it will keep.

    ReplyDelete
  12. I have a question regarding making caviar. Is the refrigerated shelf life limited to 3 weeks if vacuum sealed? I have access to silvers and pinks where I live, but caviar consumption would be for the most part limited to me, except around the Christmas holiday season. There is not to much opportunity to catch a egg laden hen during that time of year.

    ReplyDelete
  13. The truth is, I have still not found a good way to preserve fresh caviar. Yes, three weeks is about the most time vacuum-packed caviar can be kept in the refrigerator.

    After three weeks the caviar does not spoil, but it loses its fresh taste and takes on a fishy flavor which you might not care for. Then oil will separate out from the eggs, and the oil eventually becomes rancid.

    Some people freeze their caviar, but this basically destroys the eggs, so, while thawed caviar may taste OK, its texture and "poppingness" is lost.

    The big mystery to me is how commercial caviar packers manage to vacuum-pack their caviar for unrefrigerated storage, as commercial vacuum-packing requires heating the product to the boiling point, as far as I understand.

    ReplyDelete
  14. Thanks!!! My thoughts too about how they make them shelf stable. Making lox this weekend. I was able to get a fresh filet of Atlantic Salmon (small scale first). I have a freezer full of vacuum sealed King from my last visit to AK. Great site. Packed with lots of info. I will be making linguisa (sp?) next week and will try out your recipe. Any suggestions on good books for sausage. My background is making Polish sausage varieties, pork links, Italians; basics. Just retired and finally starting to get involved in my hobbies.

    ReplyDelete
  15. There are many books of sausage recipes.

    The hands-down best, I think, is "The Complete Sausage Cookbook," by Pamela Riddle and Mary Jane Dudley (San Francisco Book Company, Inc., San Francisco, 1977).

    You will find it available, used, on Amazon.com.

    Mine is falling apart after 35 years of use!

    Good luck on the lox and liguica.

    ReplyDelete
  16. Lots of good info here. Thank you for this blog. As we "speak" there are 5 lbs. of freashly ground pork shoulder and beef in the fridge and pork casings purchased from the Syracuse casing co. I'm trying to copy a Swedish smoked sausage called Ystad Korv (Ystad Sausage)Two questions...Has anyone heard of smoking sausage or meats with juniper wood? And should I put Prague powder in this mix since it will be smoked? Any tips would be greatly appreciated !

    ReplyDelete
  17. I have not heard of using juniper wood for smoking, so I have no opinion about it, except juniper is a coniferous tree, and as such, the wood may be resinous. Using the wood for smoke may transfer tars or resins to your sausages.

    As for Prague powder, I would not use it, as contains both sodium nitrate and sodium nitrite, neither of which is particularly healthy. With cooking, especially charring, they can be converted to nitrosamines, known to be a carcinogen. Stomach acid can also cause this conversion.

    Prague powder or its equivalent is required in all commercial sausage, principally to reduce the risk of botulism.

    Prague powder will turn your sausage a nice rosy pink after cooking, so if you like that coloring, go ahead and use it. Without it, the cooked sausages will be gray inside.

    ReplyDelete
  18. Does it matter what type of salt to use for the brine for making the lox? I have Morton Kosher and Tender Quick. Just one fillet so I don't think that I will need more than one gallon of brine.

    ReplyDelete
  19. Yes, it certainly does matter what kind of salt you use!

    First, avoid any salt that is iodized.

    Second, TenderQuick® is not just salt: it's a meat curing compound containing salt, sugar, sodium nitrate, sodium nitrite and propylene glycol (a cousin of automotive antifreeze). Avoid it for fish.

    So use the Morton kosher salt. It's a solid contender in the salt league.

    Now, with only one fillet, I do not think you need more than a gallon of brine: a quart or two should be enough. To achieve a 90° salinometer brine, you should use 1.25 cups of Morton kosher salt per 32 oz. water. It helps dissolve the salt if you stir it into hot water. Of course, let it cool down before dropping the fillet into it.

    Do not skin your fillet, as the skin makes a good "slicing platter" when the lox is finished. Just make sure to score the skin with a razor blade in several places, taking care not to slash the meat -- just the skin.

    Then, depending on the thickness of your fillet, brine it as follows:

    3/4": 9 hours

    1": 12 hours

    1.5": 18 hours

    Then follow the instructions for "freshening" the fillet after brining, as shown in the Loxmania Tutorial:

    http://www.sausagemania.com/LoxmaniaTutorial.html

    Good luck!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Followed your instructions. Everything was going great until the smoking process. Left the door to the smoker open to keep the temp down and just enough heat to create smoke. Some time in the last 10-15 minutes of smoking process the door got closed by the wind. Looks like the thinner pieces got cooked, sort of fall apart, but the thicker pieces survived. We had bagels and lox for dinner last night with one of the larger pieces, survivors got vacuumed sealed and frozen. Thanks for the help. I will be doing this again once the fish start to run and rivers open up. I took some pics, but don't know if I can attach them here.

      On a sausage thought. I agree with you about not using coniferous wood to smoke. Although I have a hunters sausage recipe that recommends using Juniper, the author stating that Juniper is the only exception to the coniferous wood rule. I haven't tried it, yet. But I have several Junipers an my property, using the berries for cooking. Maybe this summer I will get adventurous.

      Thank You again.

      Delete
  20. Well, wind or no wind, by the time you are smoking the lox, you've put in so much time, effort and expense that you simply have to be on top of the smoking process, which, after all, takes only 30-45 minutes.

    What I've done is to get a remote thermometer, put its probe in a fillet closest to the heat source in the smoker, then set the receiver's alarm to 80° F., so if the alarm goes off, I run outside and see what is going on.

    I keep a large cookie sheet on top of the smoker, so if there is a flame-up, I simply slide the sheet over the wood chip tray to smother the flames.

    If the chips have ignited and are flaming (a greater risk than wind closing the door), your whole batch can be ruined in just one or two minutes. I have a huge propane cook ring in the bottom of my smoker, so I need to "tune it down" very carefully once the chips have started to smoke, in order to avoid a flame-up, which sometimes happens anyway.

    ReplyDelete
  21. Can your Portuguese Linguica be smoked or dry cured

    ReplyDelete
  22. Any sausage can be smoked, but smoking may negate any delicacy of the spices you have used. As for Linguica, I have never smoked it, so I cannot answer your question.

    Why don't you smoke part of your batch and compare it with the non-smoked part? Let me know how it turns out.

    Re: dry curing, I have only tried it once, many years ago, and it was a horrible, mold-encrusted, inedible failure. I make no pretensions about dry-curing sausage and salame -- you need to find another expert!

    ReplyDelete
  23. I just made my first homemade sausage patties. Taste-wise they turned out pretty good, but the patties are far too dense. I included some bacon which I pureed like pate, and some maple syrup, but had no breadcrumbs or other filler. I'm thinking maybe I need to drop the bacon and maple syrup. How can I get the sausage patties to be less dense and more crumbly? Any advice would be greatly appreciated.

    Les Center

    ReplyDelete
  24. I am not certain why your sausage is too dense. It is probably the paté-like bacon (paté is very dense), and the maple syrup also contributed.

    The density of sausage is governed by its fat content, and by "fat" I mean unrendered fat that is ground to the same degree as the meat -- ideally the fat should be part of the cut of meat you use, and not added. Most sausage needs at least 20-25% fat, or else it will not be "sliceable" when cooked. It will crumble.

    If "crumbalibility" is what you are after, just use a leaner cut of pork, such as loin, add only your spices (no liquid or syrup), and it will crumble after cooking. You can add a bit of brown sugar, but whenever you add sugar to sausage, you will find that the sausage browns quickly and deeply as the sugar caramelizes.

    ReplyDelete
  25. Thank you... I'll try that.

    Les Center

    ReplyDelete
  26. Living in the Philippines, sausages are now beginning to come into their own. However, the sausages here are tied, not twisted. My son has made sausages according to you directions, and every step works, except that when the twists, (5 back, 5 forward), are cut, the ends unravel.I have a suspicion it could have something to do with temperature, but the work is done in a cool environment. Your advice would be welcome.

    ReplyDelete
  27. My son produced sausage (Breakfast), according to your directions, which went perfectly, until the time came to cut the links. He twisted them correctly, but when they were cut, the ends unraveled, and his work was all for nothing. It's a simple problem I'm sure, but neither he nor I can fathom it out. Your advice would be more than welcome. Phil

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I am not clear what is going wrong. The forward-backward twist has worked for me for years and years.

      What kind of casing are you using? My technique works with sheep or hog casings. If you are using collagen or other artificial casings, I am not sure it will work.

      Delete
  28. Dear Phil,

    Five back on one link, then five forward on the next link should definitely not unravel if you are using natural casings, such as hog casings.

    It's possible, on the other hand, that your son has misinterpreted the directions. For a given link it is either 5 forward or 5 back, not both. Otherwise, the 5 twists you gave will be immediately undone by the 5 twists in the opposite direction. The "forward" is for the first link, "back" is for the second link, "forward" for the third link, etc., etc.

    Hope this helps!

    ReplyDelete
  29. Phil,

    P.S.: You can tie off each link with string of you want; that's also a time-testing method, but it is really a waste of time and string, and then the string gets in the way when you're cooking, and has to be removed first.

    ReplyDelete
  30. What a great site. I just bought a choprite 32 , choprite said a 12" pulley and a 1725rpm 2" pulley 1/2 hp will work. Has anyone done this or is speed break much better, thx

    ReplyDelete
  31. Carlo
    Hi, I have question about adjusting the seasonings, all the recipes I see for Longanisa are 10 – 20 or more pounds of sausages, which is way too much for us. I would like to make 1 or 2 pounds at a time. My question is, how do I reduce or adjust the seasoning for that amount of sausage. I hope this will help other sausage enthusiasts. you Can e-mail me at carlo_corsino@yahoo.com Thank you in advance “PS you have a great site”

    ReplyDelete
  32. Well, if the recipe you are using is for 20 lbs of sausage, divide all the ingredients, including the pork, by 20. That gives you all the ingredients for one pound of sausage. Then just multiply those amounts by the pounds of sausage you intend to make...and that is your answer.

    Best regards,

    Sausagemeister

    ReplyDelete
  33. Hi!

    Newbie on sausage. I would like to know if the fennel seeds you use in your recipes are whole or if you grind them before the mixing process.

    Thanks in advance. Great site.

    Salvador.

    ReplyDelete
  34. Hi Salvador,

    I use them whole, but it doesn't matter if you grind them or purchase ground fennel. True Italian sausage has whole fennel seeds.

    Another thing you can do is toast the seeds in a hot frying pan, until you can smell their fragrance and they are very slightly browned. Then add them to the mix.

    Good luck!

    Sausagemeister

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Wow, that was fast!

      I'll try both ways.

      Thank you.

      Delete
  35. Hi Sausagemeister

    Firstly, thanks for the fantastic site and info.

    I am hoping to become a little sausage maker as I love sausages but can't get anything decent where I am living now. Consequently I decided to resort to making my own.

    I am looking at the kit I need and have found a grinder but can't find a sausage stuffer (sausages are not a big thing in this part of the world). I have noted that the grinder has, what appears to be, an attachment for stuffing sausages though. It looks similar to the attachment that you have shown on your page with instructions on how to motorize the Choprite #22.

    Obviously, I note that you do not use this attachment and so the question is:

    "Should I use this attachment for filling" or is it "Not really a good idea, for some reason unknown to my novice self"

    I could keep looking for a sausage filler or try to order one online, if using the grinder attachment is not such a great idea. I would rather get a good sausage than ruin it because it gets to warm or something similar using the grinder attachment.

    Thanks for you advice.

    Amax

    ReplyDelete
  36. Dear Amax,

    What part of the world are you in where sausages are not popular?

    Well, anyway, to answer your question, it is perfectly OK to use a stuffing horn, or stuffing funnel, attached to your grinder. You will probably need a good wooden masher to push the mix down into the throat of the grinder, because when you are not dealing with chunks or strips of meat unground meat, the auger inside the grinder has no meat fibers to grab hold of.

    Aside from this practical difficulty, using the grinder as a stuffer will work fine: I did that for years before getting a dedicated stuffer.

    Good luck!

    ReplyDelete