Need Help Troubleshooting Mealy Sausage
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There you go, it's a good feeling when everything comes together. The color, texture and moistness look absolutely great.
I just ran my first batch of sausage, kielbasa. I'm an accomplished cook and jumped in with great confidence... My product is mealy as heck, not suitable for a plate but tolerable for chili. I'm using 100% beef at 70/30 ratio. I built my own recipe which is light on salt for health reasons and does not have cure. My best guess is my batch was too big (25#) and got too warm. Is there a way to salvage the portion that is not yet stuffed? Once the proteins have "broken" from the fat can that be reversed?
I been doing this for a long long time.
When the mix gets warm either from grinding or mixing and the fat smears you can end up with mealy mix. It just about impossible to save it even by adding more fat.
BUT
Dont use lard.
Lard is the end product of heating the back fat so is a purer form of fat, so has less physical integrity than fat. Using lard may not affect the taste of the sausage but would probably affect the texture.
When the mix gets warm either from grinding or mixing and the fat smears you can end up with mealy mix. It just about impossible to save it even by adding more fat.
BUT
Dont use lard.
Lard is the end product of heating the back fat so is a purer form of fat, so has less physical integrity than fat. Using lard may not affect the taste of the sausage but would probably affect the texture.
During grinding did you keep everything as cold as possible, even to the extreme of moving amounts of 5# of ground meat back into the refrigerator? Smearing can happen during grinding, during mixing or when stuffing. Basically the fat does not emulsify with protein, and the end result is exactly what you have... crumbly and dry sausage.
So you have tried some of your cased sausage, but still have some un-stuffed sausage? Have you done a test cook on a pattie of that? You might be able to skip stuffing and package it in patties, in bulk or even make meatballs.
So you have tried some of your cased sausage, but still have some un-stuffed sausage? Have you done a test cook on a pattie of that? You might be able to skip stuffing and package it in patties, in bulk or even make meatballs.
I used the trim off of a brisket and an inside sirloin, both from Costco. I was wondering about the different types of fat which is something I haven't given much thought to before this. Kind of common sense that you would want fat that has more tissue for integrity. Which cuts of meat would give me this? Where do I find the best kind of fat for sausage making?
Sometime beef fat trim can get rancid >>> (sometimes)
A fat cut in is normally pork butt and even pork back fat (the hard white fat) But if you cant use pork for personal reasons then use a good beef fat. Hard white fat from grass few beef is about the best. Dont use silverskin or any fatty membrane.
Whats your start temp when you make kielbasa.
Why i ask its a good practice to use cure 1.
Here is some cure info. (
Modern cure will not kill you UNLESS You OVER CURE which can lead to nitrate poisoning)
CURES - Cures are used in sausage products for color and flavor development as well as retarding the development of bacteria in the low temperature environment of smoked meats. Salt and sugar both cure meat by osmosis. In addition to drawing the water from the food, they dehydrate and kill the bacteria that make food spoil. In general, though, use of the word "cure" refers to processing the meat with either sodium nitrite or sodium nitrate.
The primary and most important reason to use cures is to prevent BOTULISM POISONING (Food poisoning). It is very important that any kind of meat or sausage that will be cooked and smoked at low temperature be cured. To trigger botulism poisoning, the requirements are quite simple - lack of oxygen, the presence of moisture, and temperatures in range of 40-140° F. When smoking meats, the heat and smoke eliminates the oxygen. The meats have moisture and are traditionally smoked and cooked in the low ranges of 90 to 185° F. As you can see, these are ideal conditions for food poisoning if you don't use cures. There are two types of commercially used cures.
Prague Powder #1
Also called Insta-Cure and Modern Cure. Cures are used to prevent meats from spoiling when being cooked or smoked at low temperatures (under 200 degrees F). This cure is 1 part sodium nitrite (6.25%) and 16 parts salt (93.75%) and are combined and crystallized to assure even distribution. As the meat temperate rises during processing, the sodium nitrite changes to nitric oxide and starts to ‘gas out’ at about 130 degrees F. After the smoking /cooking process is complete only about 10-20% of the original nitrite remains. As the product is stored and later reheated for consumption, the decline of nitrite continues. 4 ounces of Prague powder #1 is required to cure 100 lbs of meat. A more typical measurement for home use is 1 level tsp per 5 lbs of meat. Mix with cold water, then mix into meat like you would mix seasonings into meat.
Prague Powder #2
Used to dry-cure products. Prague powder #2 is a mixture of 1 part sodium nitrite, .64 parts sodium nitrate and 16 parts salt. (1 oz. of sodium nitrite with .64 oz. of sodium nitrate to each lb. of salt.) It is primarily used in dry-curing Use with products that do not require cooking, smoking, or refrigeration. This cure, which is sodium nitrate, acts like a time release, slowly breaking down into sodium nitrite, then into nitric oxide. This allows you to dry cure products that take much longer to cure. A cure with sodium nitrite would dissipate too quickly. Use 1 oz. of cure for 25 lbs. of meat or 1 level teaspoon of cure for 5 lbs. of meat when mixing with meat. When using a cure in a brine solution, follow a recipe
A fat cut in is normally pork butt and even pork back fat (the hard white fat) But if you cant use pork for personal reasons then use a good beef fat. Hard white fat from grass few beef is about the best. Dont use silverskin or any fatty membrane.
Whats your start temp when you make kielbasa.
Why i ask its a good practice to use cure 1.
Here is some cure info. (
Modern cure will not kill you UNLESS You OVER CURE which can lead to nitrate poisoning)
CURES - Cures are used in sausage products for color and flavor development as well as retarding the development of bacteria in the low temperature environment of smoked meats. Salt and sugar both cure meat by osmosis. In addition to drawing the water from the food, they dehydrate and kill the bacteria that make food spoil. In general, though, use of the word "cure" refers to processing the meat with either sodium nitrite or sodium nitrate.
The primary and most important reason to use cures is to prevent BOTULISM POISONING (Food poisoning). It is very important that any kind of meat or sausage that will be cooked and smoked at low temperature be cured. To trigger botulism poisoning, the requirements are quite simple - lack of oxygen, the presence of moisture, and temperatures in range of 40-140° F. When smoking meats, the heat and smoke eliminates the oxygen. The meats have moisture and are traditionally smoked and cooked in the low ranges of 90 to 185° F. As you can see, these are ideal conditions for food poisoning if you don't use cures. There are two types of commercially used cures.
Prague Powder #1
Also called Insta-Cure and Modern Cure. Cures are used to prevent meats from spoiling when being cooked or smoked at low temperatures (under 200 degrees F). This cure is 1 part sodium nitrite (6.25%) and 16 parts salt (93.75%) and are combined and crystallized to assure even distribution. As the meat temperate rises during processing, the sodium nitrite changes to nitric oxide and starts to ‘gas out’ at about 130 degrees F. After the smoking /cooking process is complete only about 10-20% of the original nitrite remains. As the product is stored and later reheated for consumption, the decline of nitrite continues. 4 ounces of Prague powder #1 is required to cure 100 lbs of meat. A more typical measurement for home use is 1 level tsp per 5 lbs of meat. Mix with cold water, then mix into meat like you would mix seasonings into meat.
Prague Powder #2
Used to dry-cure products. Prague powder #2 is a mixture of 1 part sodium nitrite, .64 parts sodium nitrate and 16 parts salt. (1 oz. of sodium nitrite with .64 oz. of sodium nitrate to each lb. of salt.) It is primarily used in dry-curing Use with products that do not require cooking, smoking, or refrigeration. This cure, which is sodium nitrate, acts like a time release, slowly breaking down into sodium nitrite, then into nitric oxide. This allows you to dry cure products that take much longer to cure. A cure with sodium nitrite would dissipate too quickly. Use 1 oz. of cure for 25 lbs. of meat or 1 level teaspoon of cure for 5 lbs. of meat when mixing with meat. When using a cure in a brine solution, follow a recipe
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