Question about sausage seasoning

[Gonna Smoke]

Now that the holidays are mostly behind us, I'm finally going to put my new LEM #8 Big Bite to work. My first sausage is going to be a basic breakfast sausage and I've been reading a ton and looking at A LOT of recipes. I'm going to mix up my own spice blend and almost all the recipes have sage as an ingredient, but many don't specify rubbed or ground. I'm curious if it makes a difference and why?

 

[Steve H]

Now that the holidays are mostly behind us, I'm finally going to put my new LEM #8 Big Bite to work. My first sausage is going to be a basic breakfast sausage and I've been reading a ton and looking at A LOT of recipes. I'm going to mix up my own spice blend and almost all the recipes have sage as an ingredient, but many don't specify rubbed or ground. I'm curious if it makes a difference and why?

I use rubbed. If you use ground use about 1/2 as much. For it is stronger.

 

[SmokinEdge]

I agree with Steve, rubbed seems more mild than ground and rubbed can be a bit bulkier but not always. We like the sage flavor in our breakfast sausage so I most always use fresh minced sage.

 

[chopsaw]

been reading a ton and looking at A LOT of recipes. I'm going to mix up my own spice blend

Charles , if you've been looking at Pop's formula and have thoughts of using it , be aware that the original amount is salt heavy for most people . I think he has a reduced salt version that he put out later . Just FYI .

Also , do you have any dextrose ? It's a good add in my opinion on any sausage that will be pan fried . Helps with the browning and it's not as sweet as regular sugar .

 

[crankybuzzard]

All great answers above.

The dextrose suggestion is solid

 

[Gonna Smoke]

We like the sage flavor in our breakfast sausage so I most always use fresh minced sage.

Fresh sage is hit or miss around me, mostly miss, but I will try it given the chance. How much should I use compared to rubbed or ground?

 

[Gonna Smoke]

Charles , if you've been looking at Pop's formula and have thoughts of using it , be aware that the original amount is salt heavy for most people . I think he has a reduced salt version that he put out later . Just FYI .

Also , do you have any dextrose ? It's a good add in my opinion on any sausage that will be pan fried . Helps with the browning and it's not as sweet as regular sugar .

I have been looking at Pop's, thanks for the heads up, Rich. I don't have dextrose so it is a 1 for 1 substitute? Replace all sugar with dextrose?

 

[SmokinEdge]

Fresh sage is hit or miss around me, mostly miss, but I will try it given the chance. How much should I use compared to rubbed or ground?

We like it at 2.5-3.0 g/Kg but if you aren’t a big fan delete it or start at about 1 g/Kg
To me fresh sage has a different and better taste than dried that’s ground or rubbed. What kind of recipe are you looking at?

 

[Gonna Smoke]

What kind of recipe are you looking at?

To start, I'm looking at bulk breakfast sausage. Both hot and mild...

 

[chopsaw]

I don't have dextrose so it is a 1 for 1 substitute? Replace all sugar with dextrose?

Charles if you have a formula that shows a sugar amount you can do that . The dextrose gives a browning effect with less sweetness . Not a one to one replacement .
I don't do all the percentages anymore . I add what it needs for what works for me .
If I was making 2 1/2 pounds of breakfast sausage , and it didn't call for sugar , I would add around 1/4 tsp of dextrose . Maybe a half .
Just starting out , try following formulas , then decide what you like or think it needs .
I go by " feel " these days . It works for me .

 

[DougE]

The recipe I have posted based off of JC in GB 's Nuremberg brat recipe uses rubbed sage.

 

[Gonna Smoke]

Charles if you have a formula that shows a sugar amount you can do that . The dextrose gives a browning effect with less sweetness . Not a one to one replacement .
I don't do all the percentages anymore . I add what it needs for what works for me .
If I was making 2 1/2 pounds of breakfast sausage , and it didn't call for sugar , I would add around 1/4 tsp of dextrose . Maybe a half .
Just starting out , try following formulas , then decide what you like or think it needs .
I go by " feel " these days . It works for me .
View attachment 684795

Doing a quick search locally, dextrose isn't available. Where do you or others get it?

 

[DougE]

Doing a quick search locally, dextrose isn't available. Where do you or thers get it?

Amazon or any of the sausage supply outfits (The Sausage Maker, Walton's, etc.) will have it.

 

[flatbroke]

Doing a quick search locally, dextrose isn't available. Where do you or thers get it?

I got mine from the sausage maker. It comes in a good sized container

 

[Gonna Smoke]

The recipe I have posted based off of JC in GB 's Nuremberg brat recipe uses rubbed sage.

I have looked at your recipe and I have most all of the ingredients. It brings up another question. You stated non-iodized salt, is that always the case for sausage?

 

[cptnding]

The recipe I have posted based off of JC in GB 's Nuremberg brat recipe uses rubbed sage.

I can attest that DougE 's recipe is a very good place to start. I started making my own about 6 months ago with store bought ground pork. Wound up altering his a bit and adding a couple of things but it was good exactly as is.
I started by making one pound each of 2 different batches and trying side by side until we arrived at the flavor we liked best.
Santa has brought me a LEM #8 grinder and 5# stuffer so store bought ground pork will soon be a thing of the past.

 

[cptnding]

I have looked at your recipe and I have most all of the ingredients. It brings up another question. You stated non-iodized salt, is that always the case for sausage?

Everything that I have read about curing and sausage says non iodized. Canning salt or kosher is all I have used for bacon so it is always on hand. And it's cheap at WalMart ect.

 

[DougE]

I have looked at your recipe and I have most all of the ingredients. It brings up another question. You stated non-iodized salt, is that always the case for sausage?

Yes, non-iodized salt is what you want to use. Grind size only matters by volume, but if you're weighing everything, you will end up with the same amount regardless of grind size.

 

[Gonna Smoke]

Santa has brought me a LEM #8 grinder and 5# stuffer

Me too, sorta. I bought the same grinder for myself during LEM's sale after Thanksgiving and bought the stuffer just before Christmas. Haven't ordered any casings yet, but soon...

 

[SmokinEdge]

To start, I'm looking at bulk breakfast sausage. Both hot and mild...

I’ll give you a simple recipe that we really enjoy. Sausage recipes with a lot of ingredients taste just like that, busy. Remember most all ingredients in sausage is subjective to personal taste and dialing it in for you is important. Here is what I do, but you may need to adjust some things up or down.

1 Kg course ground pork 80/20 or 70/30.
1.5% salt
1-3g fresh sage finely minced(2-5g rubbed sage)
.5-1.0g mace
.5-1.0g white pepper
.5-1.0g course black pepper.

This is a Cumberland style breakfast sausage (English)
For hot add 3-5g of cayenne or my favorite arbol Chile.