DRY

[kc5tpy]

Hello.  Folks I need some advice.  I LOVE sausage.  Sausage is how I found SMF.  I don't "care for" British sausage so my only choice was to try to learn how to make my own.  I never had to worry about it when I lived in Texas as I could get good sausage in MANY places.  My Great Grandfather made some AWESOME sausage.  I still have memories of walking in to the smokehouse on the farm with sausages, hams, turkeys and such hanging being smoked by corn cobs.  Unfortunately when he died the recipes died also.  So my search started as to a recipe for sausage.  I have cobbled together recipes and have come up with one that I like and from memory is pretty close to what I could get back in Texas.

Now the problem:  My recipe is VERY "touchy".  IF the sausage is smoked "SLIGHTLY" too long or "SLIGHTLY" at too hot a temp it comes out dry.  I'm not talking much here; 10-15 minutes too long or 40-50 degrees ( for a short time ) and the sausage is dry.  Would adding NFDM to the recipe make the sausage more forgiving or is sausage smoking  just that critical?

Thanks.  Keep Smokin!

Danny

 

[pc farmer]

Yes, nfdm will help. How much fat is in the sausage? I usually don't use nfdm.

 

[kc5tpy]

Hello my friend.  Well that may also be a problem.  I have the sausage made for me.  I specify 25-30 percent pork fat ( I figure 25% is good enough ).  It may be that the butcher is not following the directions.  WOULD the NFDM make that big a difference?  Maybe I just need to get my butcher on side and make him understand about the fat content.  English sausage is only about 60% meat.  My recipe is 100%meat.

Danny

 

[pc farmer]

To be honest? I don't think that nfdm makes that much of a difference. I have tried it with and without using the same recipe.

Maybe some instances it does thou

 

[chef willie]

Well, I use the NFDM in most all formulas now. I also tried the soy protein addition but decided I like the NFDM better. My ratio is 1 cup of NFDM for each 5 pounds of meat, my standard batch size. And I use 1 cup of beer or wine per 5 pounds to make the slurry with all dry spices & cure mixed in well. Seems to work for me....my stuff isn't crumbly or dry anymore as it was the first few test runs. Perhaps the butcher IS doing something in the back with the meat grind....I grind most of my own except for some beef sticks and then I use 80/20 ground chuck, not just regular old ground beef. That really seemed to help out my game...I'd imagine the first possibility would be another butcher shop with the same instructions and see how that goes.....Willie

 

[kc5tpy]

Thanks Chef.  I have left a couple things out of my recipe thinking he is a butcher, he knows how to make sausage.  British sausage is a different animal so I guess I need to specify certain things like an amount of liquid to be added and an amount of fat to be added.  I have been vague on these two ingredients.  "25-30% fat and enough liquid as needed for stuffing the sausage".

So as I understand it from you and c farmer; the cooking process is not "totally critical".  There is some give in temp and time.  Obviously if you smoke total time at high temp the fat will leach out through the skin.  The problem is probably the recipe and how the sausage is being made?  Am I correct here?  Keep Smokin!

Danny

 

[crazymoon]

KC5TPY, I use Soy protein sometimes and I notice it makes a much juicier product. it is worth trying the NFDM IMHO.

 

[worktogthr]

In my limited experience because I am usually trying to make leaner sausages I always use NFDM and even with low fat content I get a juicy end product.