Squirting sausages

[legowalker]

Hi everyone.

I'm pretty new to sausage making and while looking around and not finding an explanation for my squirting sausages I discovered this forum and thought I'd sign up.

While cooking the sausages I made recently, and inadvertently pricking them with tongs, they often squirt a steady stream of liquid for 5-15 seconds. I've made sausages four times at friends places and never had this happen before. Recently I got myself a grinder and vertical stuffer and have made two batches of pork sausage. While cooking them, more often than not this happens.

What I am doing differently is not mixing the ground meat with a KitchenAid (because I don't have one, yet), and I am also adding extra fat which I didn't do at my friends places.

As usual I have the sausages sealed in FoodSaver bags and I cook them in boiling water in the bag before putting them in a frying pan for a couple of minutes to brown them.

I don't know if this is common or even anything to worry about but I thought I'd post here and see if there is an explanation.

Thanks.

 

[bakedbean1970]

This is common with good sausage. Some purists say You should never poke a sausage when grilling it. Just as you should not mash all the juices out of a good burger on the grill.

 

[venture]

Not to worry unless the sausage ends up dry.

I frequently cook over mediumish heat without any steaming or simmering.  Just turning carefully.

The more fatty goodness that stays in, the more flavor.  An occasional squirt shouldn't be a problem unless the sausage is cooked too hot or ends up being dry.

Good luck and good smoking.

 

[diggingdogfarm]

Welcome to SMF!

You shouldn't see a lot of expelled fat with good sausage.
Grind and mix the meat without smearing the fat.
Keep everything real cold.
Mix the meat until it becomes sticky to obtain a good bind, this encircles the fat with protein and ensures juicy sausages and good texture.
Be very gentle with the heat.


HTH

~Martin

 

[venture]

Martin is one of our sausage guru's here.

His point about the proper bind is very important. 

I once read to mix the sausage until you thought it was done or your fingers froze.  Then mix it for that much more time and until your fingers freeze again.

Your pretty, freshly ground meat needs to turn into a less pretty, sticky blend.

Good luck and good smoking. 

 

[legowalker]

Wow, thanks everyone for the fast replies, this sure looks like the place to come for advice.

Martin, when you say "[color= rgb(24, 24, 24)]Grind and mix the meat without smearing the fat[/color][color= rgb(24, 24, 24)]"? Do you mean keep the meat/fat right at freezing temperature so the fat doesn't melt? This would make sense, because the other batch I made by myself was a turkey sausage with a load of pork fat which doesn't have the squirting issue. I think I kept that batch of meat much colder because I remember the pain from mixing it by hand.[/color]

[font=arial, helvetica, sans-serif]Merv, I think I am too soft to take the pain of mixing by hand, so perhaps I should buy a KitchenAid mixer.[/font]

 

[smoking b]

Wow, thanks everyone for the fast replies, this sure looks like the place to come for advice.

Martin, when you say "Grind and mix the meat without smearing the fat"? Do you mean keep the meat/fat right at freezing temperature so the fat doesn't melt? This would make sense, because the other batch I made by myself was a turkey sausage with a load of pork fat which doesn't have the squirting issue. I think I kept that batch of meat much colder because I remember the pain from mixing it by hand.

[font=arial, helvetica, sans-serif]Merv,[/font][font=arial, helvetica, sans-serif] I think I am too soft to take the pain of mixing by hand[/font][font=arial, helvetica, sans-serif], so perhaps I should buy a KitchenAid mixer.[/font]

Try using cotton gloves under your plastic gloves if the cold gets to you too much or you could get a pair of insulated rubber gloves. If you already have a KitchenAid you could try the dough hook out but if you don't already have one I'd make/get a Kirby bucket mixer before spending the money on a KA to mix meat. Just my thoughts...