Most of my sausages have a minimum of 30% fat. Should I still give potato starch a shot or stick with milk powder (high temp) for added moisture retention?
Just to be clear. No “binder” is absolutely necessary in a sausage that is, ground right, processed right and handled right, no matter the fat percentage from 10% to 30%.
”Binder” has some confusion around it in sausage. I think that’s because of the English language and it’s ability to have multiple meanings for some words.
When we “bind“ a sausage, we are gluing it together or making it bind together (not crumbling) this is the batter or the mince as a whole.
However, ”binding” in sausage does also mean to bind water or moisture so the sausage is juicy.
”Binding” moisture is not a big deal so long as the fat content is there and of a quality fat. (Hard fat, not soft fat)
””Binding” the batter, mince, or the sausage mass is done through proper protein extraction.
What most generally causes a sausage to be crumbly or have a bad texture, is poor technique or process. And it most always stems from the fat being the culprit.
If the fat is not good hard fat it will melt at a lower temp and cause fat-out, if the fat is ground through a knife and plate that are dull the fat will smear, if the grinding process has the meat to warm it most certainly will smear even with a sharp knife and plate. If we do everything correct through the grinding phase and then allow the meat to warm above about 35*F while mixing the fat will melt just a little, this melting creates oil. In the mixing process we are trying to make a good protein extraction, this process creates a web of protein strings that “bind“ our mixture together, meat and fat, but if the fat is coated with a thin layer of oil from being a tad to warm then the bind is weak and the end result is a sausage with poor texture and mouth feel.
Now is when “binders” come in. When used they will save a sausage that was processed in a sub standard way, well, up to a point. They will add extra protein or a gel to help hold everything together even if the fat was just a little warm. These proteins or gel help to bind the fat to the meat, increasing the texture of the sausage, kind of a crutch if you will. Follow proper procedure and no kind of “binder” is strictly necessary. All that said, in some sausages I find the gel from potato starch a nice texture addition, it’s subtle but it’s nice just the same, I have almost no use for milk powder.