What the heck is bloom??

[rohfan2112]

And why do I need to do it??  :)

I'll be smoking a kielbasa tomorrow and a lot of the recipes call for poaching it in a heated water bath after smoking and then letting it "bloom." What does that do, and what does it look like. What happens if I don't bloom it?

 

[junkcollector]

letting it bloom lets all the seasonings/smoke kinda meld together and even out throughout the meat. I've never done it so I can't tell ya the best way to do it, but memory serves ive seen reference on here in the sausage section more than several times to putting it in a paper bag in the fridge. What happens??, well, the overall flavor profile is liable to change. search up **bloom** and read up a bit, you'll probably get a better understanding than my ignorant ol mind can give ya.

Here's ya a good example, i just made a new recipe of brats 4 days ago, did a pan taste with the clean out from the stuffer ((((freshly mixed, did a fry taste then put directly into stuffer))))). tasted a bit bland for our preference. (me and boo, my 10yo)  Well, few hours later momma decided she was hungry and was going to  try the new brats and give us her opinion. She whined, ***ched and complained that it was too salty. Me and boo tasted them and the flavor had intensified greatly after sitting for a few hours. First we've experienced this with. I have been making my own sausages for over 20 years off and on. I've seen more than 1 guru on this forum say that a ((fresh mixed)) pan taste is not a accurate flavor test, UNTIL this batch, I would have never agreed with them. HOWEVER, now after mixing up this new recipe, we will be throwing it in the fridge for a few hours before we taste and stuff them for sure.

 

[jarjarchef]

IMHO you only need to let it "bloom" if you make it fresh yourself. For the reasons junkcollector stated. If it is store bought or commercially processed, it has already bloomed.

What was described as allowing the flavors to blend, mix, bloom or even settle by letting the mix sit for several hours or even a day is what you are wanting to accomplish. I however would do this step before stuffing, so you can adjust as needed.

We do the same thing with cold salads, dressings, dips and anything else served cold. At work we refer to it as allowing the flavors to develop and marry with each other. Even some hot products flavors will change once cooled and reheated.