Need Help Troubleshooting Mealy Sausage

[DanMcG]

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[thirdeye]

Bigpoppa, glad you're back and found this thread. Not only did the Walton's guy not mix well enough, he didn't add any icy water. I wonder if the video just showed how to mix the hi-temp cheese in, and they did not film the actual hand mixing, because his meat looks too dry to even stuff.

And back to your other question about the KA grinder, here is mine in use, when the meat is cold the grinder does not strain at all. Just making you were not going with a full speed grind. VIDEO

 

[daveomak]

Guys, thanks for all the responses. I'm going to field the replies and suggest that my online friend join this wonderful forum.

Dave, out of the hundred or so sausage photos, I don't have a hands-on mixing photo. Until now. Would it be okay to use this, with credit of course?

[/QUOTE]
Yep, no problem.... That meat, by the way, was ground once through a medium plate, and mixed in a hand crank meat mixer..

 

[thirdeye]

Guys, thanks for all the responses. I'm going to field the replies and suggest that my online friend join this wonderful forum.

Dave, out of the hundred or so sausage photos, I don't have a hands-on mixing photo. Until now. Would it be okay to use this, with credit of course?

Yep, no problem.... That meat, by the way, was ground once through a medium plate, and mixed in a hand crank meat mixer..
[/QUOTE]
Thank you Sir.

 

[chef jimmyj]

This guy is talking about Two different types of sausage, Brats and Mex Chorizo and giving the Chorizo directions for making Brats. Brats are typically eaten in the casing and a good bind provides the smooth, meaty Texture. In comparison, Mex Chorizo is typically un-cased and Crumbled to make most recipes. Over mixing Chorizo makes it difficult to break up into uniform crumbles when cooked. This video is very misleading, giving the directions for mixing Orange Chorizo, when he is making Apple Brats...JJ

 

[Bigpappa1]

Bigpoppa, glad you're back and found this thread. Not only did the Walton's guy not mix well enough, he didn't add any icy water. I wonder if the video just showed how to mix the hi-temp cheese in, and they did not film the actual hand mixing, because his meat looks too dry to even stuff.

And back to your other question about the KA grinder, here is mine in use, when the meat is cold the grinder does not strain at all. Just making you were not going with a full speed grind. VIDEO

TE, thanks for the welcome! I just watched your video, and it looks like you do it in a way that might save me some time. I do use the 4 setting, but I thought I had to cut the pork into 1" chunks. It looks like you are using strips which seems like it would be a little less time consuming. Also I totally agree: keeping that meat semi-frozen really helps the grinder. I need to get some cotton liners...

I'm also glad you weighed in on that video. These guys seem really knowledgeable so I wonder what went wrong there. Not that it really matters, just my curious mind...

 

[Bigpappa1]

Thank you all again for the replies. It sounds like I need to get my hands up into it. I have another butt in the freezer right now that's waiting to be turnt up. I wonder if I take it on again this weekend and shoot for a brat recipe, something a bit more familiar.

 

[thirdeye]

TE, thanks for the welcome! I just watched your video, and it looks like you do it in a way that might save me some time. I do use the 4 setting, but I thought I had to cut the pork into 1" chunks. It looks like you are using strips which seems like it would be a little less time consuming. Also I totally agree: keeping that meat semi-frozen really helps the grinder. I need to get some cotton liners...

I'm also glad you weighed in on that video. These guys seem really knowledgeable so I wonder what went wrong there. Not that it really matters, just my curious mind...

Once the auger grabs the end of a strip of meat, it does most of the work so you aren't really using much force on the plunger.

There are some great videos out there, on all subjects, but one of my pet peeves on cooking videos is watching people cross contaminate during the video. Like handling chicken, then grabbing a bottle or two of rub, maybe adjusting the camera, then touching the handle on the refrigerator, and then wiping their hands on a dish towel.

 

[Bigpappa1]

Okay, I've got another question...maybe two...

I'm a little concerned that I won't have enough fat for my liking. Any tips on how to add fat to the whole mix? Would olive oil be a good option? I don't have much for a full-on butcher around here, though I suppose the meat counter at my grocer might have some, they do a lot of sausage making and stuff there on their own. I'm concerned just because when TE and I were talking he mentioned that Johnsonville and another brand I like are probably running higher on the fat end. I'm using that as a guideline for what I like, so I wonder if my pork butt will be a bit lean. Granted, I've probably never had lean sausage that was done properly, so maybe I'd like it. Also, I have a bunch of beef fat I saved from a brisket I smoked last weekend, but I have been told to avoid beef fat. Any thoughts?

Second question: how big of a batch would you recommend making? My issue is that I have a 6.5 or so lbs. butt thawing right now. Once it is thawed I don't really want to freeze it again, so I feel kind of stuck making it all and rolling along. That said, since I am not cold smoking, I am concerned about making it all and THEN freezing it still. I will have way more than I'll know what to do with. I don't suppose you guys have any thoughts on that? I'm just trying to figure out an efficient way to make it all without ruining anything or creating waste.

Thanks again everyone, you guys are the best!

Zach

 

[thirdeye]

Zach, I think if you add lard to sausage, you'll have a big mess on your hands. Call the markets that do make sausage and ask about "pork trim for sausage". If you are lucky, because they use it too, they might set some aside for you, and if you are really lucky they might grind it for you. If we assume a pork butt is 25% to 30% fat you can experiment with adding more. If there is processor in town that butchers locally raised hogs, call them and ask about "fatback", which is the hard fat from the back of a hog. It's in solid pieces and easy to work with.

If I'm making bulk sausage, I'll make as little as a pound. When stuffing I make 5# minimum because I have a 5# barrel on my stuffer. However.... with almost every pork butt I buy for sausage, I have a technique you may find interesting. On full sized butts (7 to 10 pounds), there is a muscle group called the "money muscle". Right next door is another group of muscles called the "tubes". They are the best muscles on the entire butt. So, I remove that end of the pork butt, (it's about as big around as your wrist) and trim it up and smoke it until it's very tender but still sliceable, this is about 190° internal. The rest of the butt gets ground for sausage.
Here is where the money muscle is found, it has stripes of fat running through it. It is on the end opposite the blade bone.

Money muscle group trimmed up and shaped for even cooking. Notice the stripes of fat?

These were smoked for 4 or 5 hours, then wrapped for 1.5 or 2 hours.

And rested in a hot box for an hour or more, the slices are fork tender.

 

[chef jimmyj]

Talk to the Butcher. If they make sausage, they are likely using meat, trim and fat from other processes. They should be able to sell you some fat. Veg Oil is not a good choice. You can always buy another Butt, steal the Fat Cap, then freeze the remainder for Pulled Pork or other dishes where you would trim the fat off anyway.
Don't use Brisket Fat. There are folks here that won't use Brisket fat in BEEF sausage. Claims that it makes a greasy sausage.

There is nothing wrong with freezing sausage made from previously frozen meat. Safety and quality issues can arise from multiple thaw and freezing meat. Ex...Thaw 6 lb Butt, make 2Lbs of Sausage, Re-freeze and repeat 2 more times to make small batches of sausage.
Make the whole batch and freeze portions. It's A LOT of work to setup, grind, stuff and clean-up, after making sausage. No way you want to play with tiny batches...JJ

 

[fullborebbq]

I started out with a small grinder from Amazon . It did a fine job for small batches . As I progressed my business I purchased a LEM Big bite grinder and it made quick work of large quantities of meat. I say all this because recently I purchased an all steel grinder for my KA Professional 5 plus series mixer for small batches for home use. To say the KA grinders meat output quality was WAY below the LEM or the Amazon grinder is an understatement! There is just NO comparison.

 

[Bigpappa1]

Well I ground and stuffed last night. I can’t say it strongly enough: the kitchen aid stuffer is pure garbage. That said, I think did it right this time. I mixed until I could take a good hand full of meat, hold my hand out and it wouldn’t fall off. Nice and tacky. I made a couple varieties: brats, hot links, and an experimental. The brat is just okay on the test patty, but maybe the flavors will be different after a night in the fridge. The hot links test patty seemed really good. As for my little experiment, it actually tasted good, but the 2% salt was too much. Maybe that will mellow, but I doubt it. Smoking the hot links right now.

by the way...I noticed that the Morton’s cure says one Tbsp per pound, yet the hot links recipe, which calls for 7 pounds of meat is much less. Anything to that?

 

[chopsaw]

..I noticed that the Morton’s cure says one Tbsp per pound,

That amount is for whole muscle meat .
The amount for ground meat is 1 1/2 tsp per pound .

 

[DanMcG]

Well we got to know, was it dry and mealy?

 

[thirdeye]

Okay, test frying some samples allows you to adjust seasonings. So you could have jacked up the spices in the brat recipe if you thought it was just OK. As far as the hot link, you cant undo salt (but at least you know what is too salty), but you could add a little sugar. I would have let it ride as salt sometimes will settle down. If you are using Bigwheels Hot Link recipe, the Tender Quick is only in it to give it a pink color.... if you notice his instructions call for grilling the hot links. When I do smoke this recipe I either bump the cure to the correct amount, or hot smoke closer to 200° and keep my time line less than 4 hours, but you risk breaking (fatting out) the fats and proteins. The last option is a hot water finish, but that is a whole different technique. Here is an example of Bigwheels recipe (with the all pork option) that was smoked, so I had added cure, and only took the internal to 155°. I like making rings when I smoke sausage.

 

[Bigpappa1]

Ohhhhhhh the plot thickens...well one thing is certain about this whole adventure: I’m learning things. So I missed the part about the hot links being grilled. I have been slow smoking them for about four hours now (that’s a whole different story) and I JUST pulled them off and put them on the grill. Internal is 125 at the moment, so I guess we will just have to see.

TE, the wait and see approach is kind of what I had in mind for the whole bit. I wasn’t certain about the brats, but I wanted to let them rest a night in the casing and see if that did anything before I changed them. Plus I still have to cook them in beer. Same with the salt, I wondered if it might settle down over night. I suppose I will just have to wait and see. I won’tleave you guys hanging, as soon as I have results you’ll know. In the meantime my therapy is in the top right corner...

 

[thirdeye]

So I missed the part about the hot links being grilled

Well, I actually mis-spoke. Bigwheel's instructions said:
"Smoke or slow grill till they are done. Wrap in a piece of bread and slap on the mustard heavy. Wash it down with ice cold beer."

 

[fullborebbq]

When first making Hot links I did the same patty test. That was uninspiring to say the least, BUT after smoking to IT of 152....OMG what a difference in taste!!!!!! I now know why they are a religion in Texas.

 

[Bigpappa1]

Gentlemen, I give you; Excalibur...

That’s the hot links. I’m just going to tell you like it is: it was amazing. It was EXACLTY what I wanted to make in a smoked sausage to have with my everyday bbq. I might even add cheese next time. Onto the bratwurst...

I was actually surprised with this one. I didn’t think I was going to like it but I really did. It’s not the brat that I would put on a bun, but it was great with mustard and onion. I bet it would be great with Sauerkraut as well.
It only took about six years to land a decent batch, but I finally managed it. Thanks In HUGE part to you all, especially TE. I’m dead serious, I would have just been hacking at it until I screwed up enough to throw my hands in the air again if TE hadn’t been so patient. You have all been a part of the greatest tradition ever: the passing on of knowledge, and I couldn’t be more grateful. If this sounds like a graduation speech, it’s because I can’t tell you how many disappointing batches of sausage I have made without understanding why. Even after you all talked about mixing enough, I went looking at more videos of fresh sausage making and NObody mentions that part. I don’t get why, it’s clearly a lynchpin issue.

In any case thank you all again. I’m so glad it worked!

Zach

Quick edit: the pan with four sausages had two Johnsonville Brats in it. I cooked them as a back up in case mine sucked. Again; I would still prefer the Johnsonville on a bun, but for a fork-and-cut brat with kraut or something, that one was on point.