How is store bought chicken sausage so lean, yet juicy?

worktogthr · Jan 9, 2015

Unfortunately, the downside to my cooking and smoking addiction is that many of the standards: ribs, butts, briskets, pork sausage, etc. are not the healthiest. Im always watching what I eat, especially during the week as I was once 340 pounds and changed my whole life style in order to lose 120 pounds. Now that I have the sausage making bug, here is my question. Every sausage recipe out there, including chicken or turkey sausage recommends 20-30% fat in the grind which is high relative to the meats I eat during the week. Usually the skin is added to achieve this. For years I have been eating store bought chicken and turkey sausage as part of my healthy diet and it is less juicy as compared to its pork counterpart but by no means is it dry. These store bought links contain anywhere from 2 -10 grams of fat per 4oz. serving and the majority of them when cooked right are damn good. So my question is how? Can I get away with grinding straight thigh or leg meat without adding the skin or additional fat? I would love to keep each link to about 6-10 grams of fat. Anyone have experience with healthier sausage recipes or known how the commercial stuff pulls off that much juiciness with such little fat?

Thanks!
-Chris

dirtsailor2003 · Jan 9, 2015

Yes you can use straight thigh meat in your chicken sausages. There are certain fillers you can use to help keep the moisture in. Poaching them instead of smoking them will help also.

dirtsailor2003 · Jan 9, 2015

I too will be doing quite a bit of chicken sausage as my wife won't eat pork. So I hope some others chime in with their experiences

pc farmer · Jan 9, 2015

I am watching as I am a newb to sausage making.

worktogthr · Jan 9, 2015

I really would like to make primarily italian sausages or maybe chicken chorizo so I get the flavors I crave during the week without all the fat and calories. What kind of fillers do you think they use? Vegetables, liquids? Or something artificial? Most of the store bought italian sausage I eat uses all natural ingredients and is raw, not poached. As cheap as thighs are, maybe I will just give it a whirl and use the ingredients from a highly rated recipe. Maybe cheese and parsley Italian sausage. The pork version of those has always been my favorite from the local Italian markets.

crazymoon · Jan 10, 2015

I know some commercial chicken sausages list soy protein concentrate as an ingredient,maybe the SPC would do the trick. I have added it to lean pork sausage with good results .

dirtsailor2003 · Jan 10, 2015

Powdered milk is added to sausages as a filler to retain moisture also. When I have made chicken sausage for filling peppers, or meatloaf I've had good luck using quinoa. I plan on experimenting with that. I don't plan on smoking the chicken sausages as my wife isn't big on the smoke. So these will primarily be used fresh and either grilled or water bath poached and then grilled.

chopsaw · Jan 10, 2015

I'm no expert , but I do my research . When you see ground chicken or turkey in store , unless it says " 100 % white meat " ( breast meat ) the fat content can be higher than a lean ground beef .

Keeping a long story short ,

I saved all my chicken trim , white meat plus some fat .

Peeled skin off some thighs and saved it .

Used boneless chicken breast .

I have a pork recipe for Italian sausage , that came out " ok "

Used the recipe with all white meat chicken , some skin , went heavy on the spice , but backed off the salt .

I did not use any powder binders , but did add a good Olive oil .

It was so good , the texture , taste , color ,,, I got lucky I guess .

worktogthr · Jan 10, 2015

chopsaw said:
I'm no expert , but I do my research . When you see ground chicken or turkey in store , unless it says " 100 % white meat " ( breast meat ) the fat content can be higher than a lean ground beef .

Keeping a long story short ,

I saved all my chicken trim , white meat plus some fat .
Peeled skin off some thighs and saved it .
Used boneless chicken breast .

I have a pork recipe for Italian sausage , that came out " ok "
Used the recipe with all white meat chicken , some skin , went heavy on the spice , but backed off the salt .
I did not use any powder binders , but did add a good Olive oil .

It was so good , the texture , taste , color ,,, I got lucky I guess .

I definitely agree that some brands advertise themselves as healthy yet when you look at the nutrition they have just as much fat as their pork counterparts. The ones I am mentioning have low fat contents listed. I am hesitant to add olive oil because then the fat content will probably get close to that 20-30% anyway.

darwin101 · Jan 12, 2015

Many of the UK sausages contain ground up rusk (A rusk is a hard, dry biscuit or a twice-baked bread.) to help improve moisture, soften the texture and to reduce cost. They also add a good bit of water/liquid to the mix. I would prefer something like that to chemical additives.

sprintdammit · Dec 18, 2017

Has anyone tried, or considered brining the chicken before grinding? I have tremendous luck equilibrium brining whole chickens before smoking them. Since smoking inherently dries out lean meats and my chicken comes out moist and juicy, I was wondering if bringing might be a way to keep the sausage moist. I don't know if the water content would get squeezed out during the grinding process though.

DanMcG · Dec 19, 2017

worktogthr said:
Anyone have experience with healthier sausage recipes or known how the commercial stuff pulls off that much juiciness with such little fat?

I make my chicken sausages with skinless thighs and no added fat, and I think a 3 oz. link only contains around 10 grams of fat.
When you add skin to the grind you're adding some fat but what your really getting it the gelatin which gives a sausage a great mouthfeel, and succulence. you could simmer the skin and bones till its reduced to about half, chill it, then remove the fat layer on top. what's left is the gelatin.
Phosphates, Soy protein, NFDM and starches all work to to help bind the liquids, but most times just a good long mix of the meat to develope the bind with work.

Polka · Dec 31, 2017

Chris, here is what I do for each 5# batch of chicken sausage. I include about 60 grams Tapioca Starch, about 0.6 to 0.8 grams Amesphos, and about 1/2 cup NFDM. Me, and my friends have been impressed with the mouthfeel, and tastes of my chicken sausages. I substitute 5# ground chicken thighs for any 5# of meat in any sausage recipe here, or elsewhere.

Hope this helps. Enjoy.

Rex, aka Polka

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How is store bought chicken sausage so lean, yet juicy?

worktogthr

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pc farmer

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worktogthr

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crazymoon

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dirtsailor2003

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chopsaw

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worktogthr

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Polka

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