making breakfast sausage cant find pork fat help

[mulepackin]

Ditto this. I usually get 3# packages in the bacon case of most grocery stores around here. I've used them very successfully in salami, summer sausage, polish, snack sticks. I just eyeball for a fat percentage, and calculate from there. I usually go with an 80-20 lean to fat ratio. Here are some along with some butts I used in my last (failed) batch of sticks.

 

[bb53chevpro]

If you feel that you need more fat, you could just add some lard. Since it is rendered down fat. Should be able to buy it anywhere.

 

[pops6927]

What he said! Pure pork fat with the impurities cooked out of it. Used to save all the fat from the hog and grind it into bags for the farmer's wife to render it down (put it in loaf pans and bake in the oven, then cool, cut and wrap in oil paper and freeze). But, if my mom knew I was cutting hogs she'd come downstairs (we lived over the grocery store) and beg for a half a bag of it if it could be spared so she could render down her own... it made THE BEST pie crusts you ever had! She guarded that lard in her freezer (her sister would come and steal it!).

 

[grogger27]

I just usually ask for 50/50 pork trim a fews days before I need it, and the local grocery store butcher has for me everytime. He's even offered to order in some trim if I wanted some.
Good luck

 

[rstr hunter]

Most grocery stores will still sell lard by the butter area as most pie crust recipes still call for lard. Lard is just pork fat that's been rendered and then allowed to harden. If you want pork fat this is pure pork fat that should be available at most stores. Hope this helps.

 

[marknb]

What you need to do if you can is make friends with the folks that own or run a small local meat shop. Even better, buy half a pig from a local farmer. I live in a fairly low population but still urban area, but I have a choice of people I could be buying locally produced critters and varmints from not that far away. My local shop can get me whatever I need with a few days notice - the owner supplies his own beef, their pork supplier is an operation about a 45min drive from here.

The chain stores don't really cut meat like they used to in the old days (I'm not that old, 41). I can still remember seeing actual sides of beef hanging in the back coolers at the local grocery stores. They don't get their meat that way anymore, it comes in chunks in big vac bags. Chances are your local chain grocery store can't get you the fat you need because it never came to them in the first place.

 

[pandemonium]

Cool thanks for the info everyone

 

[scarbelly]

The last time I made sausage the pork shoulder was real lean so I eliminated the salt from the ingredients and added some salt pork. Worked well for me