# Sausage Fat Question.



## justpassingthru (Apr 16, 2011)

I thought I would throw this out to all of the sausage experts.

It's impossible to buy pork fat here and all of our beef is imported with the fat already removed,

so..., can I use lard in place of the fat called for in so many recipes, it was fat once wasn't it?

If I can, is it to be used in the same proportions as called for in the recipes?

Thanks for your help,

Gene


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## eman (Apr 16, 2011)

I am not a sausage maker yet but i do fool w/ lard. i would have to say NO as lard turns to a liquid when heated. pork fat still retains its solid propertys even when cooked.


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## BGKYSmoker (Apr 16, 2011)

No dont use lard. It will make your sausage really mushy.

I dont know if Sausage Maker ships over seas. They have fat replacer.

http://www.sausagemaker.com/17600fatreplacer1lb.aspx


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## boykjo (Apr 16, 2011)

If your interested I'll ship you some pork fat............ Pm me..............


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## DanMcG (Apr 16, 2011)

Gene , can't you get pork bellies or shoulders there? They are a good source of fat, but I don't think lard wouldn't work in my opinion. But then again I never tried it.

Seems to me whoever is importing the pork for you could probably order a case of backfat that you could freeze and use as needed. Might be worth asking.


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## Bearcarver (Apr 16, 2011)

I agree with Dan about the Pork bellies, if you can get them.

If not, I told you before to bulldog one of those water buffaloes, and carve it up quick!

Bear


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## DanMcG (Apr 16, 2011)

Sorry Gene but I have to ask........Why would they call Tahiti a paradise if you can't get pork fat?


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## justpassingthru (Apr 17, 2011)

Foiled again!!!

Thanks everyone for your replies.

eman, I was brainstorming, ...forgot about the hot side of sausage making.  
	

	
	
		
		



		
			






Nepas, the fat sub, does it work?

Joe, thanks bro, but it would never make it through customs.

Dan, no problem,  it is illegal to import pork and pork products (hence the reason I have to use collagen casings) because all of our pork is raised locally, the_ boars_ are fed garbage, so that should tell you about the taste.  As for Paradise,  umm, ...only the people that have never visited here call it that.

Bear, we ain't got no bufflo's!  
	

	
	
		
		



		
		
	


	





Gene


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## DanMcG (Apr 17, 2011)

I've used the fat replacer that Nepas mentioned but it was probably 20 years ago when I was on a low fat kick. From what I remember it worked good.

I forgot about this....... tapioca starch at a rate of 3% of meat weight is said to work well as a fat replacer, although I have yet to try it.


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## justpassingthru (Apr 17, 2011)

THANK YOU DAN!!!!!!!!!!!!

There are tons of tapioca starch here (maybe it's _close_ to Paradise here), I have a 1 pound bag we use for heat rash and the Tahitians use it to make their poi.

I'm a happy camper, err smoker!!!

Gene


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## DanMcG (Apr 17, 2011)

Let us know if it works out for ya Gene,

I've also heard of using gelatin to add to the succulence/mouth appeal.... but have never tried that either.


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## boykjo (Apr 17, 2011)

well they have drug lord cartel flying planes and dropping drug shipments........ Maybe we can find someone with a plane and drop some pork fat to ya and well call us the pork fat cartel


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## venture (Apr 20, 2011)

I would check out your local pork and cook it carefully.  Pork was fed raw garbage in the U.S.  until a few years ago.  Actually pork is still being fed garbage here, except it has to be cooked first.  Cook it well done and see how it tastes.  The way we breed and feed pork here is ruining it in my opinion.

Good luck and good smoking.


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## nogoer (May 3, 2011)

Venture said:


> I would check out your local pork and cook it carefully.  Pork was fed raw garbage in the U.S.  until a few years ago.  Actually pork is still being fed garbage here, except it has to be cooked first.  Cook it well done and see how it tastes.  The way we breed and feed pork here is ruining it in my opinion.
> 
> Good luck and good smoking.


I whole heartedly agree! Theres a reason pork bellies became a commodity and a coined termed! Now your lucky to even find the dam things these days. Let alone find nice big thick fatty ones. It's all these health nuts going around telling everyone how they should eat that turned pork into the lean tasteless meat it is today.

JustPassingThru - Have you thought about using chicken skin for fat? Alot of chicken sausage recipes call for the skin to be used as the fat rather than pork fat. I tried it once and the sausage had a soft texture but i already know my stuffing techniques are horrible and that was probably why. Also about the lard. You would probably find that most store lard is actually mostly hydrogenated vegetable oil, but even if you have true honest lard it would probably render out at very low temps anyway.

Is the pork your using super lean? Usually pork butt is right about the proper ratio as is and you could always chop it up and seperate some of the fatty parts out and use that as the majority of a recipe.


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## scarbelly (May 3, 2011)

Hey Gene you should have let me know and I would have thrown some in the box I sent.  Did it get there yet?


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## thom davis (Jul 12, 2014)

I read this thread and bought some fat replacement stuff-thanks for the link.  But, I decided to also try the lard since I had been thinking of giving it a try in some swedish sausage.  So I used half the amount of fat replacement per pound of meat that was recommended on the fat replacement jar and used about a quarter pound of lard.  I had 2.5 pounds of pork that I was making into breakfast sausage and the recipe I follow calls for 1/2 pound of fatback.  After grinding the meat, it was nearly impossible to get the lard to mix in with the meat--lard is very sticky especially when cold.  If I did it over, I'd put a tablespoon here and there with the meat chunks and let the grinder do the mixing for me.  I cooked the sausage after making it for convenience in making breakfast (I keep it frozen).  Virtually NO FAT was rendered out when cooking.  The taste of the sausage was what was expected.  The texture of the cooked sausage was a little different.  I don't know whether it was the lard or the fat substitute (glycerine) or the combination, but it left what feels like a 'slick coating' on the tongue.  Nothing objectionable, but definitely different than when making sausage with fatback.


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## bigbob73 (Jul 15, 2014)

Can you at least get bacon ends?


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## s24smoove (Jul 16, 2014)

how about duck skin or chicken skin


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## metrakay (Jul 16, 2014)

Glycerin is a primary ingredient in many hand lotions because it is slick. It is also sweet.

Maybe freeze the lard in ice cube trays and put it in the grinder frozen??? Also possibly work some of your tapioca starch into the lard first?  You could also try adding in some Ultra-gel but that might only be good for something like breakfast sausage that's eaten fresh.


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