sausage seasonings

[oden010]

Hi everyone. I have a problem with homemade sausage seasonings. When they are mixed they smell so good. The problem is that after they are cooked they have no taste or are so bland. I have tried increasing my fat and salt a little but no difference except they become to salty. Any help would be great. Thanks

 

[pandemonium]

Do you fry a test patty? and if so does it taste good? Sounds like you just need to add more seasonings maybe? I read somewhere to let them stay in fridge for a day after making them before freezing to help flavors blend.

 

[DanMcG]

maybe you could share an example of one of the recipes that didn't work for you, and maybe it will be obvious what the problem is.

 

[coffee_junkie]

The answer is MSG! Do your recipes call for this? If so do you use it? There is also a citric acid or fermento that commercial sausage makers use to give it that twangey flavor. I have personally not used the citric acid yet but want to try it, I do however use MSG as a flavor enhancer.

 

[keng]

msg= accent, the spice, it does make a difference

 

[rbranstner]

I love Accent. I put it on everything.

 

[pandemonium]

so you guys are saying msg is good? tell me about it like accent i havent used that in 30 years.

 

[oden010]

hot dogs

• 3 lbs pork butt (shoulder) 80% lean
• 2 lbs beef chuck, 80% lean
• 3 tablespoons paprika
• 3 tablespoons corn syrup
• 2 teaspoons garlic powder or granules
• 1 tablespoon ground dried mustard
• 1 tablespoon kosher salt
• 2 teaspoons fine ground black pepper
• 2 teaspoons ground coriander
• 1 teaspoon ground mace
• 1 teaspoon ground cardamom
• 1 cup non-fat dried milk powder
• 1 teaspoon #1 cure (prague powder or Instacure)
• ice water (up to 2 cups)

 

[DanMcG]

Nothing in that recipe stands out to me as being a cause of bland tasting sausage. If anything you have more spice then the average hot dog. How old are your spices? If you had them awhile maybe they lost their zip?
Hopefully someone else will have some ideas.

 

[rstr hunter]

I would think you my need some more salt in it. The recipe I tried this fall had 5 T for an 11# batch and my next mod will be to add a sugar to help magnify the salt and seasoning falvor, but with your corn syrup that shouldn't be the issue with it. My take on a redo would be to 2x the salt and make sure you are using fairly new spice. We get new just before buthering each year due to this. My recipe was a modification of http://www.wedlinydomowe.com/sausage...rankfurter.htm
With a substitution of 2 t of black pepper for 2 of the t of white pepper and add 1 T of paprika. I also only smoked to 135 then parbroiled to temps listed. This is not a recommendation as I am still working on a recipe as well, but an idea of salt to meat ratio I tried and am looking to amplify the taste. Accent wouldn't hurt either.
If you find a great recipe let me know. Good Luck.

 

[tjohnson]

Try "MSG", it can't hurt.

We only use good quality "Fresh" spices. ElCheapo or old spices just don't provide the same flavors.

Let the whole mix rest overnight in the fridge and see if the flavors intensify.


Good Luck!


TJ

 

[oden010]

I through out this recipe and tinkered and altered a few. My all beef grass fed wieners are identical to the old fashion skin on except that they are leaner. I will try tinkering with accent but I am going to be making and selling " all natural homemade sausages and was trying to get away from it. I will have to see what the people want.

 

[ringodad]

Yes - The onlt thing that jumps out to me is more salt. I've read somewhere that a 1.8% percentage of salt to meat makes a "taste pleasing to all palates" and I would heartily agree! What I had to do to figure this out is to find what 1.8% of my recipes salt weighs! I always use Morton's Kosher Salt, so if you use that, here goes! 1 Tsp of Morton's Kosher =.2OZ. If you're making 5 Lbs of sausage (include the fat in the total!) that means 5X16 (ounces) = 80 OZ. 80 X.018 =1.44 OZ (I actually use 1.85%, big deal). So, with a little wriggle room you basically need enough Teaspoons to make 1.5 OZ. Let's see, 1.5 divided by .2 = 7.5. There you go- 7.5 Tsp, which is the equivalent of 2 Tbsp and 1.5 Tsp. See how much salt you're not using?

 

[nickelmore]

My thought process would be to use fresh garlic, and almost double the spices. You can start off by adding an extra teaspoon or so of each.

Are you letting the meat set up in the fridge for a day or so? Do a taste test if you add too much spice, add more meat to even it out.

The big advice "write it down" you will never remember what you did that worked next time.

 

[jeffesonm]

You definitely need more salt.

 

[mballi3011]

Now Dan sure does have something there in how old are your spices??? They do have a shelf life so I wouldn't keep any spices for more then a year I hear.

 

[oden010]

Thanks everyone, I will increase my salt on the next batch. I have tried to sample taste but to me it never tastes anything like the final smoked product.

 

[venture]

This is just my anecdotal experience. When I started making sausages I went for lower fat and lower salt. Didn't work worth a dam! Also noticed that my tasters were much better than fresh or frozen product used later. I don't skimp on fat, salt, and spices any more. Also, there are a ton of recipes out there, and not all of them are good.