SS fail
- Thread starter jkc64
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I know of at least one Jewish dude who makes bacon and ham from hogs he raises (he eats it, too). Also heard tell of some muslims really digging pork BBQ. I reckon it all depends on how strictly they follow dietary laws.
I was not suggesting you change your recipe, only pointing out the difference of melting points between pork and beef fat. If you use all beef, pasteurize them to 136*F INT and hold that temp. for 1.5 hours and you will have achieved a Log7 reduction in pathogens...safe to eat and much less fat will grease out.
No worries, I love me some pork. I like to share and not everyone eats pork. Their loss. I usually go to about 150 with a little fat out but never had a total loss like this. Should have just stayed with the way I usually do with the 80/20.
I think I got a log of poorly ground beef. I stay away from Sam's logs because they state fine grind. I buy my SS meat from GFS and usually don't have any issues. Guess I need to stick to the 80/20. I should just grind my own but the prices are crazy.
A couple things I don't skimp on with sausage making. Quality of the meat I start with. If you want a product better than just buying pre made sausage, you need good meat to work with. Second, proper grinding and handling of the meat during mixing. Grind cold meat (30-32°F) to avoid smearing fat, and mix at similar temps. Also just mix until you have good protein extraction and stop. Over mixing is as bad as not mixing enough.
I had some fat out with my last summer sausage attempt in sousvide also. Not quite this bad, but basically the same.
I was also targeting 152F. I have about decided my issue was that I brought the water up to temp prior to putting the sausages in rather than starting them in cooler water. Going back through my process, that’s the only change I really see.
(This was a mix of venison and pork.)
Is 152F really too hot? I’ve used it before successfully. But if it’s a temp that’s flirting with failure, I could back down. Though I do prefer the texture of my SS a little more “done”.
Jbo
I was also targeting 152F. I have about decided my issue was that I brought the water up to temp prior to putting the sausages in rather than starting them in cooler water. Going back through my process, that’s the only change I really see.
(This was a mix of venison and pork.)
Is 152F really too hot? I’ve used it before successfully. But if it’s a temp that’s flirting with failure, I could back down. Though I do prefer the texture of my SS a little more “done”.
Jbo
More so with beef and the fact you used store bought ground meat. Really no need to cook to 152 as far as safety is concerned-especially in sous vide. Some like cooking longer in a smokehouse, but this further dries out the sausage to lose more moisture for a firmer product which some people want. But that is not happening with sous vide. You just risk more fat out IMO if you cook to that high a temp.
I SV finish nearly all my sausages at 151*. I’m coming out of the smokehouse anywhere from 120 to 130 IT so I’m not in the water bath long at all. 1/2 hour to 45 minutes on 30-40mm and a bit longer on larger sausage, but I finish my 5” bologna and Krakowska in SV too. I’ve had some problems along the way but for the most part it works very well for my process.
Marianski recommends 170* poach. I tried that in SV and was a disaster of a dumpster fire. Collagen casing get water in them, but natural casings and fibrous casings I’ve done real well with. Might be more of a time issue.
Marianski recommends 170* poach. I tried that in SV and was a disaster of a dumpster fire. Collagen casing get water in them, but natural casings and fibrous casings I’ve done real well with. Might be more of a time issue.
JKC, Just smoke the next batch for 2-3 hours ,no temps need to be taken. Vac seal and SV for 4 hours at 140*,it will be perfect. You don't need a temp of 152 from the SV, cooks the fat out.
I had a similar problem to this when I attempted some chicken sausages in cellulose casings.
Complete fat out. I think my issue was too hot for too long even though I too did not set my SV to go much higher than yours.
I also went out to get lunch and run some errands and thought "since it wont raise too high in heat I should never have an issue with fat melting. Also it will hold at that temp forever with no issue." I learned that is now how SV works with sausage hahaha :D
I am a complete novice with SV but next time I attempt something like that I will do much lower temp and pasteurize.
Not attempting any chicken sausages in the near future until chicken prices come down a good bit lol.
IDK, bone in skin on thighs are almost always on sale for $1.49/lb around here. Not as cheap as in the past, but still doable. I use all thigh meat in chicken sausages and want the skin on ones for the fat content. I grind skin and all.
I also attempted it with boneless skinless chicken breast that was on sale and used trimmed pork back fat.
I did so many things that were not ideal but the breast was like $0.79/lb I think. At least $0.99/lb and I wanted to see how doing sausage out of it would turn out.
I am still curious how doable chicken sausage is with breast meat and pork fat only but those experiments will have to wait for the future and better prices. I'm just glad I have always been able to find good pork and beef sales from the time the pandemic started until now. I can live without cheap chicken prices as long as there are other good price options :D
All I can say is that chicken sausage is quite doable using thigh with the skin on. Grind skin and all to get decent fat content. No additional fat is needed.
Do you have photos of them coming out of the smoker or any InSite on what they looked like before putting them in the sous vide? what did the ground meat look like when you started? was it mushy? Some distributers inject cheap ground beef with brine or water to make it fuller, not a good recipe for sausage making.
I have the same setup as you for my smaller batches and last week made a small batch of summer sausage. I pulled mine at 140* and into my sous vide at 155* and finished at 152* with great success. It only took about 20 min to get them to 152* with the water bath.
That was the first time using an sous vide for me but, I have finished sausages in too hot of water before, with results similar to yours. When this happens in a water bath, In my experience, the fat congregates on one side of the sausage casings (the bottom side in the water or in large pockets ) and is noticed after the sausage cools. Maybe a sous vide gone bad?? Did you check your water temps with another device? I use a meat thermometer to double check temps. Hope this helps :)
I have the same setup as you for my smaller batches and last week made a small batch of summer sausage. I pulled mine at 140* and into my sous vide at 155* and finished at 152* with great success. It only took about 20 min to get them to 152* with the water bath.
That was the first time using an sous vide for me but, I have finished sausages in too hot of water before, with results similar to yours. When this happens in a water bath, In my experience, the fat congregates on one side of the sausage casings (the bottom side in the water or in large pockets ) and is noticed after the sausage cools. Maybe a sous vide gone bad?? Did you check your water temps with another device? I use a meat thermometer to double check temps. Hope this helps :)
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I know a commercial producer that sets his water vats at 170* and poaches his sausages in them to finish. His products are very popular. I'm not sure why it wouldn't work in a sv, maybe the length of time in the bath??? I know the product isn't in the water long.
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