Potato sausage

[smokininthegarden]

Has anyone here ever used potato flour in place of the fresh potatoes in a sausage recipe?
I recently came across a recipe that calls for just potato flour. After some research on potato
flour it seems to do a few things very well. It can absorb a lot of liquid, serve as a thickener for soups or stews and as a binder in meatloaf etc. so it should work very well in a sausage recipe. It also reportedly works well in bread recipes if there any bread makers out there.
My only concern would be, will it have the same flavor that a fresh potato would have in the same recipe?
Just wondering if anyone has tried it before. I just ordered some that should be here next week.
I will try a small batch when it gets here and report back.

Cal

 

[Braz]

I haven't tried it but have been tempted by this recipe, or a variation on it.
https://www.meatsandsausages.com/sausage-recipes/potato-sausage

 

[smokininthegarden]

Hi Braz
That is the recipe I was looking at. I plan on using my own potato sausage recipe and substuting the potato
flour for the fresh potatoes. I guess we’ll see how it goes.

Cal

 

[fished]

I've never heard of a potato sausage before. The recipe looks good. Is it meant as a fresh then grilled sausage or a cured and smoked sausage? When you make it could you post a cut picture, I would like to see what the inside looks like.

Thanks

 

[smokininthegarden]

Hi fished
Traditionally potato sausage is poached then placed on the grill to mark it. I have never smoked
any but there is no reason you couldn’t do it that way. When I get some made I will post some
Pics of the finished product.

Cal

 

[chef jimmyj]

I have used Potato Starch before and it is flavorless. Potato Flour must be similar to Instant Potato Flakes but finely ground. Should be interesting to see how these taste...JJ

 

[TomKnollRFV]

I'm going to follow this one; I'm the only person in my family who likes potato sausage and the only time I ever get it is when I go up north from a small road side butcher. I just remember it as peppery rough grind/chopped meat <think it was pork..or beef..or what ever he had left over I think!> And potatoes! I was unaware of the poaching bit, I just pan fried it and it sort of broke up but that was fine with me...Hash in a casing!

 

[JC in GB]

I have made Swedish potato sausage for years. Pork, potatoes, onion, salt, and pepper. Stuff in a casing and boil till cooked. They don't look very appetizing but they are some of the tastiest breakfast sausages ever! Never heard of substituting flour for potatoes though....

 

[tropics]

I am saving this,will try putting potato buds in a blender to make a powder.Thanks for the link
Richie

 

[smokininthegarden]

Hi guys
I haven’t given up on this yet, I had to order the potato flour since I couldn’t find any in my town.
The powder should be here in the next day or so. I plan on doing a double batch of sausage, in half
I will use the potato flour the other half I will do it the traditional way with real potatoes. This will
allow me to do a side by side comparison for flavor, texture and presentation. I will post photos
and my impressions of the two types this weekend. Stay tuned.

P.S. Richie
I’m not positive about this but I think potato buds and other instant potatoes have added
ingredients other than just dehydrated potatoes. That is why I decided to wait for the
Powder.

Cal

 

[tropics]

Hi guys
I haven’t given up on this yet, I had to order the potato flour since I couldn’t find any in my town.
The powder should be here in the next day or so. I plan on doing a double batch of sausage, in half
I will use the potato flour the other half I will do it the traditional way with real potatoes. This will
allow me to do a side by side comparison for flavor, texture and presentation. I will post photos
and my impressions of the two types this weekend. Stay tuned.

P.S. Richie
I’m not positive about this but I think potato buds and other instant potatoes have added
ingredients other than just dehydrated potatoes. That is why I decided to wait for the
Powder.

Cal

My brand only shows 100% real Idaho Potatoes,I can always get Potato Starch were I live lots of Polish stores
Richie
I won't be doing this for a month or more moving to Ma.

 

[smokininthegarden]

Well here we go, I will post photos as I progress through this. Two types of potato sausage
one using potato flour the other using fresh potatoes. Here is a photo of the uncooked potato flour Version ready for the water bath.

Cal

 

[smokininthegarden]

And here is a photo of the uncooked fresh potato version. They look identical but in all fairness
I thought I would post both pics.

Cal

 

[fajitapot]

The uncooked fresh version looks slightly more emulsified to me, but that could just be a trick of the camera. If so it could have been a result of the temperature during stuffing (higher than the flour version?) and not necessarily due to differences in the version of potato you used. I'm curious if the flour version comes out more moist, as it might with milk powder. Did you also add water to both batches?

 

[smokininthegarden]

And here is the finished product for the potato flour version.

Cal

 

[smokininthegarden]

And the finished product for the fresh potato version, you can see little flecks of
Grated potato in it.

 

[smokininthegarden]

Fajitapot,
Both versions used the same batch of meat paste, the only difference is one used fresh potatoes
and the other used potato flour. So it may just be the lighting for the photos, my kitchen isn’t
the best light room in the house. Anyways I added water to both mixes with the NFDM and
especially the potato flour in one mix it just got to sticky to mix. I will do a side by side taste test and
report back soon.

Cal

 

[fajitapot]

What temperature were the fresh potatoes when added? Just curious, thanks.

 

[smokininthegarden]

The fresh potatoes were cold when added, I cooked them the day before, refrigerated them overnight,
then grated and mixed them into the paste. Then everything was refrigerated again overnight before stuffing.

Cal

 

[smokininthegarden]

Here are my final impressions of the two sausages. They are both very good,
very moist and melt in your mouth tender. I must say I am very impressed with
how much potato flavor the potato flour brought to the finished product. If I had to choose
one for flavor it would be the potato flour version just for the fact it had a more distinct
Potato flavor. My guess for that would be the flour mixes into the meat paste better so gives
it a more uniform potato flavor.

Pros and cons: the potato flour is much more expensive to buy, whereas fresh potatoes are
very cheap to buy. Potato flour is much less labor intensive, just mix it in and you are done.
Peeling, cooking and grating fresh potatoes is, well you get the picture.

I can post more information if anyone is interested.

Cal