First Pinoy Sausage Batch

[cpanderson]

Well I can't say that it was a disaster because I made some sausage and it looks like sausage, tastes like sausage... but damn, I was picturing it being what I see in the movies... lol... j/k... so first try at making sausage ever! Wife wanted me to make Langanisa, pinoy style, without the sugar... so I settled on a recipe.. and got down to figuring out my means and methods. After figuring out how to attach the LEM 10# hand grinder to my counter top (it didn't fit, so I Jerry rigged it) #JerryIsGenius, I got down to cleaning and sanitizing... and grinding, and sanitizing, and grinding, and sanitizing, and stuffing... yeah, maybe I went a little overboard on cleaning... or not... but I managed to stuff 6 lb of sausage... I'm going to have to learn how to twist those sausages just right, and also how to stop using run on sentences... because both are hard... so with much ado... the final product... the final test will be when I feed it to my filipino in-laws...

 

[DanMcG]

Those sure look good, nice work for your first attempt. They look like collagen casings, they don't twist well at all.

 

[cpanderson]

Yep, collagen casings... will have to get me some of the natural casings to try next time

 

[crazymoon]

CPA, Your sausage looks fine and better than fine for your first time ! Hope the inlaws like it !

 

[cpanderson]

So after getting feedback, both the wife and in-laws said that they thought the sausage was dry. Looking at my actual weighed quantities, my fat percentage was 34%. I am wondering what steps I should take next time to get a juicer sausage. Here are the parameters that I think affected the final product that could be changed:

1) I ground the sausage with a rough grind (3/8"), mixed in seasoning and then a fine grind (3/16")... I wonder if leaving it as a rough grind would make for larger fat particles that will render slowing while cooking.

2) Wife's mom says that I should have reserved some fat and cubed by knife instead of grinding to add larger fat particles... that might be worth a try also

3) Increasing the fat content would add more juiciness, but I wonder how far I should go. Maybe I will try 45% fat next time.

4) Do collagen casings have any direct impact on the dryness of the final product? I am looking at trying some natural casings.

Any feedback is appreciated, and I welcome any constructive criticism as well as suggestions to change the recipe. I have provided the recipe below for any critique:


Pork Shoulder 1.7389 Kg
Pork Back Fat 0.89 Kg
Total Meat Weight 2.624 Kg
Salt 26.24 g
Brown Sugar 52.48 g
Black Pepper 6.56 g
Red Pepper Flakes 6.56 g
Paprika 13.12 g
Garlic 10 Cloves
Soy Sauce 26.24 ml
Vinegar 183.68 ml
Water 131.2 ml
Cure 6.55 grams

 

[chopsaw]

I do straight pork butt . I don't know what pinoy is .
Question #
1 . I do one grind 3/16 plate .
2 . I say no , but maybe that's the type of sausage it is ?
3 . I think you're already high on the fat , but again maybe the type of sausage calls for it ?
4 . I don't think so . I use natural , and store them wet . Works great .

The more experienced guys can look at the % in your formula and give input on that . I've made my share of dry ,,, but have got to the point that I know it's going to be good . I did 12 lbs of hot Italian today . Grind , season , add some water mix until sticky . I let it rest over night , and stuffed today . Came out real good .

Edit , Sorry , I was thinking about what you were asking , and forgot to say that it looks great . If that's your first time you did a fantastic job . My first time , I ground up a pork loin ( didn't add any fat ) seasoned and stuffed into hog casings , that I didn't rinse . Looked and smelled great , but it was like eating a over cooked pork roast that someone rolled in the sand box .

 

[indaswamp]

Is this a fresh sausage or a smoked sausage? How was it cooked? And for how long?

I agree with chop-34% fat is enough fat to keep the links juice and not have a dry mouth feel. Minimum is 20%, after that the fat contributes to flavor IMO.

 

[indaswamp]

How was the bind on the sausage? When did you add the vinegar and soy sauce? Did you add the cure and let it sit in the refrigerator over night between 1st and 2nd grind to extract proteins?

 

[cpanderson]

Chopsaw - Sorry for the slang. Pinoy means filipino. There are several varieties of filipino Langanisa, ranging from sweet to savory and garlicy and vinegary depending on the region.. I went with the garlicy/vinegary variety... Since my in-laws are filipino, I guess their feedback was important to me, so went searching here for feedback on how to improve my process. I appreciate the kind words about it being good for my first try. I am happy with it, but always looking for the wise wisdom of others to make it better.

Indaswamp - This is a fresh sausage, I just cooked up some as I was posting, in about an inch of water brought from cold to a simmer and then 6 minutes at simmer... one link unraveled and the other link split lengthwise leaving me a sausage with no casing. I finished in hot oil to brown the outside briefly. I thought it was moist but had a "mealy" mouthfeel.

I ground the sausage with a rough grind, put it bag in the freezer and then added spices, cure and liquids and did a 3/16" grind. I put it back in the freezer and prepped the stuffer and stuffed immediately. The entire process was a few hours. As far as the "bind" on the sausage, I guess that will come with more experience, as I tried to work it to a "tacky" "furry" feel before stuffing.

 

[chopsaw]

To much water can be a bad thing . The split and the mealy makes me think to much water , or wasn't mixed enough to all bind together .

 

[chef jimmyj]

All looks right. Hog casing will make twisting the tiny links easier. Most of the recipes online have about 30% Fat so you should be good there. One way to retain moisture is a good bind. Mix the meat until very sticky, then mix some more! Non Fat Dry Milk, 80g/kilo, works great at holding moisture too...JJ

 

[cpanderson]

Chopsaw - That is probably the case, as when I was casing it, liquid was coming out the nozzle back into my casings... it seemed wet to me, but wasn't sure as it was my first rodeo. I might have overstuffed it also. I will take that into consideration as any other feedback I get from you wisemen for my next attempt. I'm happy it is edible (and in my opinion tasty)... so I will let the inlaws know that it will take some time before it is just like what they remember back at home (if it ever is)...

 

[chopsaw]

yeah ,,, I just went and looked at a formula for what you're doing . Like JJ said , you need a binder . NFDM powder .

 

[indaswamp]

I thought it was moist but had a "mealy" mouthfeel.

I ground the sausage with a rough grind, put it bag in the freezer and then added spices, cure and liquids and did a 3/16" grind. I put it back in the freezer and prepped the stuffer and stuffed immediately. The entire process was a few hours. As far as the "bind" on the sausage, I guess that will come with more experience, as I tried to work it to a "tacky" "furry" feel before stuffing.

When you use acidic liquids, you really need to get the primary bind before adding to the mix. Do first grind, add the seasoning and salt, but no liquid. Mix for a couple minutes... the salt will start pulling out it's own moisture and with it-the myosin protein for your binder. Now you can add in a small amount of water in which you dissolved the cure (use the least amount of water here that you can). Mix it in for another minute or two and then refrigerate for minimum of 10 hours to let the cure and salt distribute and absorb. Then do the second grind, and add your acidic ingredients, mix in, and stuff.

I learned about the primary bind and acidic ingredients when I was doing research for my pineapple sausage a month ago...

Also would not hurt to add egg white at the rate of 1 per every 2 pounds of meat paste. Egg whites are basic and will counteract the acid from the liquids. You want the pH of the meat paste above 5.4 or the bind will suffer and the sausage will have that mealy mouth feel. It will also loose more moisture when cooking which the additional protien from the egg will help to bind.....

 

[indaswamp]

yeah ,,, I just went and looked at a formula for what you're doing . Like JJ said , you need a binder . NFDM powder .

I recommend egg white as a binder when using acidic liquids in sausages. Egg whites have a pH of 7.5~9 and will counteract the acid in the mix....

 

[cpanderson]

Thank you all for the feedback. I still have a couple vac packs in the freezer before I make another batch so I will use my spare time to research what you have recommended. That is some solid feedback. After the bacon experiment, trying another batch of sausage is on the itinerary.

 

[crazymoon]

CPA,I grind my all pork sausages meat only once using a 3/16 or 1/4 plate for fresh sausage.