Dry & Crumbly Sausage

[diggingdogfarm]

...I disagree...

That's perfectly fine with me I'm not necessarily looking for agreement. :biggrin:
Dan asked how to improve his sausage and I gave my answer, he and anyone else can take it or leave it, dry wieners ain't worth fighting over.
Why not just do it the right way and not have to buy expensive NFDM? This ain't rocket surgery! :icon_wink:

 

[diggingdogfarm]

If that's what you like, more power too you.
We're all different. We all have different preferences and quality standards.
I don't recommend short-cuts like NFDM in sausage making the same way I don't recommend short-cuts like a crock-pot and a bottle of sauce when making pulled pork.
To each his own!



~Martin

 

[s24smoove]

agree, 100%, but like you said, you are not looking for agreement and this is not rocket science,agree again. also, i think another posted stated that the problem may lie in grinding and mixing,i agree, also, i gave him a proven recipe, if he doesn;t grind the hell out of it, mixes it thoroughly and cooks the sausage properly, it will solve his prblem and be delicious., but like you said to each their own and mopar to ya',it's all good. personally, i think sausage should be meat, spices, caseing, no fillers, binders, maltodextrine, soy whatever, when one adds that stuff, you just made the stuff you buy at the store, i want better.

 

[mdboatbum]

That's perfectly fine with me I'm not necessarily looking for agreement.

Dan asked how to improve his sausage and I gave my answer, he and anyone else can take it or leave it, dry wieners ain't worth fighting over.
Why not just do it the right way and not have to buy expensive NFDM? This ain't rocket surgery!

Wasn't trying to be argumentative. You gave him your answer and I gave him a solution that worked for me. If we all agreed on everything life would be pretty boring :)

 

[venture]

Seems like we are on the verge of becoming argumentative here.  Don't like that.

Nearly every post above has some merit, based on what I have learned.

Some of those posts come from people I consider to be among our "sausage gurus". I have great respect for their input!

The fat content, grind and mixing are crucial and will solve problems in most sausages.

Addition of soy protein or NFDM are common.  Not always necessary, but nice tools to have in the box?

The smoking temp and time are also in the mix big time?

Great time to experiment.  I have learned a lot more from my failures than from my victories.

Good luck and good smoking.

 

[boykjo]

Some causes of grainy sausages.

1. Over mixed meat

2. Over cooked meat

3. Not enough fat content

4. Smear

5. Using binders

6. Using old frozen meat (older than 2 months)

7. Meat that is near its expiration date.

8. Sausage will turn grainy when cooked in stews, soups and sauces.

9. Over worked meat. (too many grinds)

10. Boil or par boiling

11. Too much water

Try to keep it simple. Find a fresh butt with a good thick fat cap. Grind once, season, no binders, stuff then grill

 

[palladini]

 
Some causes of grainy sausages.

1. Over mixed meat

2. Over cooked meat

3. Not enough fat content

4. Smear

5. Using binders

6. Using old frozen meat (older than 2 months)

7. Meat that is near its expiration date.

8. Sausage will turn grainy when cooked in stews, soups and sauces.

9. Over worked meat. (too many grinds)

10. Boil or par boiling

Try to keep it simple. Find a fresh butt with a good thick fat cap. Grind once, season, no binders, stuff then grill

   

 

[szynka]

I think what the OP has to do is to try to cook the sausage slower and not exceed 152 IT.  I have been to barbecues and events where folks would cook the $hit out out sausage or keep poking it with a fork draining it of juices.  And I must confess, at one time I was one of those folks until I learned better.

 

[danbono]

Hi All Wow soo many replies and information.Sooo it could be many things causing my sausage to come out dry & crumbly?.

Looks like I have to change some things in my next try.I just don't what to change.

I would have loved to make Italian sausage just using salt/pepper/fennel, but it is not working out for me.

If it means anything the meat was grinded using a 3/8 plate. When I ate the sausage. it was more or less much smaller pieces. 

Next time I'm going to use the sausage, I will uncase a link and post a pic.

Thanks Dan

 

[boykjo]

Are you using a grinder to stuff your sausage. If you are I would look at smear as the culprit while stuffing. A vertical stuffer would fix it

Joe

 

[danbono]

Hi I'm using a Grizzly 5 lb stuffer.Tried one using grinder the was a major pain!!!

Thanks Dan

 

[nozzleman]

I think you should concentrate on 2 main themes repeated here.

1. weigh the lean and fat separately and try and hit the 30-35% range on the fat, you will be surprised how much that really is.

2. by all means use the dry milk product, it absolutely will make a difference.

Like others said you still need to cook it right and have your seasonings right but those 2 things will carry you a long way.

 

[DanMcG]

If you think you need to add NFDM then by all means try it, but it will be just a crutch and you might never get what fresh sausage is all about.

If that frozen link has thawed out and you could post a pic of it as is, and sliced, it could help.
Also I'd like to see what you're using for a recipe and how you're cooking it.
One more thing that came to mind is that the pic you posted looked to have ice crystals on it. If its in the freezer and not vac sealed it will dry out...period.

 

[danbono]

If you think you need to add NFDM then by all means try it, but it will be just a crutch and you might never get what fresh sausage is all about.

If that frozen link has thawed out and you could post a pic of it as is, and sliced, it could help.
Also I'd like to see what you're using for a recipe and how you're cooking it.
One more thing that came to mind is that the pic you posted looked to have ice crystals on it. If its in the freezer and not vac sealed it will dry out...period.

Hi When I'm going to cook the sausage again, I will uncase and take a pic.I would love to make fresh Italian sausage with just the meat and spices, but so far things are not going well.

The sausage was cooked in the oven at 350* for about 1 hr and then put into tomato sauce.

Recipe=5 lbs

1 1/2 TBS salt

1 1/2 TBS Ground black pepper

2 TBS Fennel

1 TBS Anise

 

[szynka]

If I may add my two cents worth to the milk and soy discussion.  Nothing wrong with adding it to sausage so that it retains moisture.  I use it in small quantities in some smoked sausages, as a lot of the water in the meat tends to evaporate during a long smoking session.  But, many recipes call for way too much of that stuff, Rytek is one example.  Also, if you have a large amount of NFDM in the mix and are smoking to the finish, (that is, rather than poaching) the casing will be hard to peel.  But, I don't add either into fresh sausage, because if you add the appropriate amount of water and mix well, don't overcook or keep poking the sausage, there is no reason why even a leaner sausage will not be moist.

 

[danbono]

 
If I may add my two cents worth to the milk and soy discussion.  Nothing wrong with adding it to sausage so that it retains moisture.  I use it in small quantities in some smoked sausages, as a lot of the water in the meat tends to evaporate during a long smoking session.  But, many recipes call for way too much of that stuff, Rytek is one example.  Also, if you have a large amount of NFDM in the mix and are smoking to the finish, (that is, rather than poaching) the casing will be hard to peel.  But, I don't add either into fresh sausage, because if you add the appropriate amount of water and mix well, don't overcook or keep poking the sausage, there is no reason why even a leaner sausage will not be moist.

Hi I think I have been doing ALL the right things. Still can't get moist sausage. Only happened one time of 6-7 tries. That is why I was thinking about using NFDM next time.

These are fresh Italian sausage, that will cooked on a grill, or a fry pan and put into pasta sauce.

Thanks Dan

 

[DanMcG]

try pan frying them with low heat and see if they are better. 350 in the oven might be drying them out.

 

[diggingdogfarm]

What DanMcG said...the sausage does look over-cooked...and the areas of separation from the casing are an indication of inadequate mixing or fat-out......the sausage should easily cling to the casing.

Dry Crumbly Sausage.png

• diggingdogfarm
• Jun 29, 2014

~Martin

 

[danbono]

Hi All Here are some pics of the sausage.Fat to meat ratio looks pretty good to me. Let me know what you think. 

Thanks Dan

DSC02560.JPG

• danbono
• Jun 30, 2014

DSC02561.JPG

• danbono
• Jun 30, 2014

DSC02563.JPG

• danbono
• Jun 30, 2014

 

[DanMcG]

It looks good from here! I'm thinking it has to be the cooking process.