Stuff immediately or rest meat overnight?

[oil99]

Hello all,

I have seen many recipes where people add the spices (and cure if applicable) to the meat (cubed or ground) and then rest overnight before stuffing. I usually grind, add spices/cure, mix with Kitchenaid and then stuff. The finished sausage goes into the fridge overnight for a smoke the next day.

I believe the other process is to let the flavors blend and the cure do it's thing before stuffing. I understand the mixture can set up a bit so more liquid and a mix is needed before stuffing. Is one way preferred or better than the other?

The only problem I've had in the past was a batch of Kielbasa and snacksticks were a tad watery after being defrosted. I assume that was a result of not enough bloom time and being put into the fridge too soon? Usually I finish in a water bath, let sit on racks to cool for a few hours and into the fridge overnight. Vac packed and freeze within a day or 2. I've never tried binders, ECA, etc.

Thank you for any advice. Cheers!

 

[SmokinAl]

I stuff mine after mixing, then refrigerate overnight uncovered & smoke the next day.
Then another night in the fridge uncovered, and then vac pack the next day.
Al

 

[DanMcG]

I do it the same way as Al.
Except for kielbasa, I cube the meat coat it with the salts and spices then refrig overnight, then stuff and and rest again. Why do I do it this way, I have no clue, :confused: but it does come out good.

 

[jimmyinsd]

I like to stuff it right away, get the mess cleaned up and that way I have less to do prior to smoking which can at times be a long day in itself.

 

[jp61]

I believe the other process is to let the flavors blend and the cure do it's thing before stuffing. I understand the mixture can set up a bit so more liquid and a mix is needed before stuffing. Is one way preferred or better than the other?

I also stuff after mixing for this reason.

 

[indaswamp]

The reason for salting, adding cure, and letting the meat rest is to extract the salt soluble proteins from the meat. These long chain proteins are the natural binder in the meat which when mixed, denature the proteins and form a tacky, sticky mass of meat paste. These proteins also grab and hold onto water. Using this method butchers can use less binders added into the meat paste and still get a great product that sticks together.

Secondary reason is to allow the cure to evenly distribute throughout the meat paste. Best practice is to dissolve both the cure and salt in water, then mix to get a jump on even distribution.

 

[forvols]

I usually cube, grind, season/mix, stuff and into the fridge over night, smoke the next day, after smoke bloom for a few hours open air, into the fridge overnight, vac seal the next day. I have left SS in the fridge 2days before smoke and for 2days after smoke, then vac seal. Both ways sausages came out great.

 

[jimmyinsd]

The reason for salting, adding cure, and letting the meat rest is to extract the salt soluble proteins from the meat. These long chain proteins are the natural binder in the meat which when mixed, denature the proteins and form a tacky, sticky mass of meat paste. These proteins also grab and hold onto water. Using this method butchers can use less binders added into the meat paste and still get a great product that sticks together.

Secondary reason is to allow the cure to evenly distribute throughout the meat paste. Best practice is to dissolve both the cure and salt in water, then mix to get a jump on even distribution.

but cant this all happen in a casing in the fridge just as easy as it could in a tub in the fridge? I am not seeing the difference in resting it before smoking in the casing vs in a tub or even seasoned unground as long as the meat has been mixed with the cure and has adequate time to do its job right... or am I not understanding something on how cure works?

 

[indaswamp]

Sure, the salt will extract the proteins after the sausage is cased, but you will not be able to mix the meat to denature the proteins that get extracted after stuffing. Butchers allow for the proteins to extract in order to reduce the amount of binders needed. You will get a firmer product if the meat paste is allowed to extract proteins before final grinding and mixing.

 

[Rings Я Us]

All sounds good
Good luck.

 

[myownidaho]

I pretty much always let the meat sit overnight for the reasons Indaswamp indicated. I’ve done it with the meat just cubed, after the first grind and sometimes both if I’m adding in duck breast that doesn't handle two grinds very well.

 

[oil99]

Awesome stuff thank you everyone.

 

[indaswamp]

Awesome stuff thank you everyone.

Letting the meat paste sit over night is way more important for smoked sausage than it is for fresh or breakfast. But all will be better if allowed to sit.

 

[jimmyinsd]

I just made a batch of country style and let it set for 3 hours and it got so thick it damn near broke my stuffer even after adding an extra 1/2 cup of water. My arm was actually getting sore when I was mixing it again before loading the stuffer. How much worse would it get if it sat overnight? I typically have 2 cups of water in a ten pound batch and it's about perfect if I stuff it right after mixing. This was a total of 2.5 and it felt like it could have used another cup.

 

[indaswamp]

Jimmy, I normally coarse grind, salt, season, and add cure if I making smoke sausage, then let it sit. I second grind when I pull it our of the fridge, adding a couple TBSPS of ice cold water to the grinder tray with each load to help it slide into the throat of the grinder tube. After the second grind I mix in the binder, typically NFDM and a little more water....then I stuff.
Stuffers like a moist mix. But second grinding after letting it sit really helps.

 

[jimmyinsd]

Jimmy, I normally coarse grind, salt, season, and add cure if I making smoke sausage, then let it sit. I second grind when I pull it our of the fridge, adding a couple TBSPS of ice cold water to the grinder tray with each load to help it slide into the throat of the grinder tube. After the second grind I mix in the binder, typically NFDM and a little more water....then I stuff.
Stuffers like a moist mix. But second grinding after letting it sit really helps.

I will keep that in mind in the future... all I know is that if I had added enough water to make that stuff easy to mix i would have needed a swimming pool, and if i did that very often I would have the arms of popeye! :p

 

[indaswamp]

When I finish mixing second grind doing it this way, I literally have 1~2# of meat sticking to my hands...

Little more water in smoke sausage won't hurt anything. You will loose water while smoking due to evaporation so over shooting is never a problem.

 

[indaswamp]

Great video!

 

[SmokyMose]

Apparently it doesn't make a difference, but I usually mix and let it rest overnight before stuffing, mainly because I need a break. If it needs some liquid for easier stuffing that's fine. I use cure even in fresh sausage, so I can let it hang dry a bit before smoking (or packaging).

 

[HalfSmoked]

As with so many things on here again it seems it's what ever your personal preference is. There appears to be no wrong way or a right way but what works best for you.

Warren

danmcg Thanks for the like.