pork loin for sausage

[darrm1]

I bought a couple loins that were on sale, I was hoping I could make sausage with.  They are obviously lean, if I add 20% fat, will I be alright using this cut of pork.  I know most use butts/shoulder.  I am looking to make fresh breakfast sausage and garlic sausage.  I was thinking I would do 50% beef, 50% pork.  

 

[416bigbore]

 
I bought a couple loins that were on sale, I was hoping I could make sausage with.  They are obviously lean, if I add 20% fat, will I be alright using this cut of pork.  I know most use butts/shoulder.  I am looking to make fresh breakfast sausage and garlic sausage.  I was thinking I would do 50% beef, 50% pork.  

 To the SMF darrm1, 

25-30 % fat is about average fat percentage for breakfast sausage, It boils down to personal preference also. I like a leaner Pork breakfast sausage because of eating it cold out of the fridge later for a snack. So then the extra fat cold I don't care for.

When I go to cook my leaner ring breakfast sausage, I try not to damage the casing so all the juice runs out. I will then let the Hot Sausage cool off considerably before cutting right into it and loosing all the juices and spices on the plate. IMO making it much more juicy and flavorful over lean and DRY! 

Everyone is different, keep us posted as to your progress. Mike

 

[DanMcG]

There's no reason you can't use it. It's not as flavorful as butt, but add your fat, spice and/or mix it with beef and you'll have a great sausage. Good luck with them.

 

[416bigbore]

There's no reason you can't use it. It's not as flavorful as butt, but add your fat, spice and/or mix it with beef and you'll have a great sausage. Good luck with them.

When I butcher

, I am not so quick to render down all my lard until I am finished making Sausage just for this very same reason. 

 

[worktogthr]

You can make sausage with loin only. It will be drier because of the lack of fat. But the whole loin has the fattier rib end as well. I have made it with good results by adding about a cup of non fat dry milk powder to a 5 lb batch. Just make sure not to overcook and be prepared for a drier mouth feel. Not bad, just different and a bit better for you

 

[416bigbore]

You can make sausage with loin only. It will be drier because of the lack of fat. But the whole loin has the fattier rib end as well. I have made it with good results by adding about a cup of non fat dry milk powder to a 5 lb batch. Just make sure not to overcook and be prepared for a drier mouth feel. Not bad, just different and a bit better for you

I think you're spot on with leaner being better for you, and the mention of Pork Sausage and instantly everyone assumes  Hog meat is all fat meat and not healthy for you. I don't understand? but then again, I don't understand a lot of other things either !

 

 

[crazymoon]

You can make sausage with loin only. It will be drier because of the lack of fat. But the whole loin has the fattier rib end as well. I have made it with good results by adding about a cup of non fat dry milk powder to a 5 lb batch. Just make sure not to overcook and be prepared for a drier mouth feel. Not bad, just different and a bit better for you

 My thoughts exactly. I don't even use NFDM or SPC .

Next time you make sausage from a pork butt (untrimmed ) take a pound of pork fat back off the top and freeze for you next loin is another idea.

 

[tallbm]

 
I bought a couple loins that were on sale, I was hoping I could make sausage with.  They are obviously lean, if I add 20% fat, will I be alright using this cut of pork.  I know most use butts/shoulder.  I am looking to make fresh breakfast sausage and garlic sausage.  I was thinking I would do 50% beef, 50% pork.  

Hi there and welcome!

I process 5-7 animals (deer/feral hogs) a year after my big hunting vacation.  Most of the time there is a feral hog or 2 among those animals.  The wild game meat most often has almost no fat to use, even the hogs are like this.  I always do my sausages 80/20 meat to fat which falls right in line with the recommended sausage ratios.  I buy trimmed Pork back fat from the butchers shop before I do my processing.  I use the 80/20 ratio because it makes the math easy and produces consistently excellent sausages (hot/regular breakfast, hot/sweet italian, Franks, and Brats)!

If I can, I always separate the meat from the fat and then weigh them out to get my numbers for adding fat to hit my 80/20 ratio (8 pounds meat 2 pounds fat = 10 pounds sausage, or 4 pounds meat 1 pound fat = 5 pounds of sausage... you can do the math for any increment of 5pounds of sausage with those numbers).  I don't think it will matter if you go 50/50 on beef/pork, just figure out how you want to do the 50/50 with the beef/pork meat  and beef/pork fat.  I always go with pork fat only because I have to buy it 10 pounds at a time and the butcher keeps his beef fat for his own sausage making.   I believe I prefer the pork fat to the beef fat in sausage anyhow, pork fat is sooooo rich and tastey!

So in short I am 100% sure you will be perfectly fine adding fat and producing excellent sausage as long as you keep a good sausage fat/meat ratio.  Just do yourself a favor and remove the fat from the top of the loin and weigh everything out to know how much extra fat to add.  As long as your meat and fat portions are well known you can't mess up that part of the sausage making process.  Now seasoning and cooking would be the areas you then have to perform correctly :D

I hope this info helps!

 

[416bigbore]

TallBM, I am with you on the whole Pork fat

 being rich and tasty!  For me, I like knowing the good stuff I feed my Hogs, because you get back out of them what you put into them, Fat included. So I don't rush to render down all my fat for lard first until I know I am done with making sausage until next time. 

 

[tallbm]

 
TallBM, I am with you on the whole Pork fat

 being rich and tasty!  For me, I like knowing the good stuff I feed my Hogs, because you get back out of them what you put into them, Fat included. So I don't rush to render down all my fat for lard first until I know I am done with making sausage until next time. 

I believe that as well!  My cousin's sons raise hogs for FFA.  I always tell them that if one hog just doesn't turn out or there are any good deals at auction to let me know and I'll buy it because I know they take care of their hogs. 

Any pig fat I get goes straight to sausage and any leftover is vac sealed and saved for sausage the following year.  Not being a baker and frying very little of the food I make/eat I personally have little use for rendered fat BUT if I had it, you bet I would find a way to use it lol.  Actually I would just give it to my mother for her tamale making.  There it would be put to the best use :)