Soy Protein Concentrate -vs- Nonfat Dried Milk Powder


 

Don Cash

TVWBB Gold Member
I'm thinking about making the bratwursts from Charcuterie this weekend. The recipe calls for soy protein concentrate but says it is optional. In another section of the book it says that nonfat dried milk powder can be substituted for the SPC. I don't have the SPC and don't think I can find it in stores here. Should I use the NDMP or, since it appears either is optional, just leave it out?
 
I believe both are binders and are there for textural reasons.

I have made lots of sausage but have yet to use anything other than pork, salt, seasonings, and water. So, I can't really say what either will do for you. However, I can say that I really like the way my sausage comes out as I make it now.

I suggest leaving them out, and if it doesn't come out exactly like you hoped, you can go back to the drawing board.
 
Thanks, Jeff. That's pretty much what I thought since it's an "optional" ingredient. Sometimes those optional ingredients make the difference between a great dish and a good one, though. You're right, I can always go "back to the drawing board" if it turns out not as expected.
 
Well, hopefully somebody who knows more about this will help us out and let us know what we're missing.
 
Jeff, the sauteed test piece was awesome. Didn't seem to be missing the binder. We'll see how they grill up at halftime.

BTW, I bought the Blade scale you recommended. Picked it up for $7 off Amazon...Score! Holy cow does it make life easy, especially when scaling back the recipes from Charcuterie. I had slightly less meat than the recipe called for. Since the recipes include measurements in grams, I just did a little quick math and got the precise amounts needed, then weighed them out on the scale. Perfectly seasoned, IMO.
 
<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-title">quote:</div><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-content">BTW, I bought the Blade scale you recommended. Picked it up for $7 off Amazon...Score! Holy cow does it make life easy, especially when scaling back the recipes from Charcuterie. I had slightly less meat than the recipe called for. Since the recipes include measurements in grams, I just did a little quick math and got the precise amounts needed, then weighed them out on the scale. Perfectly seasoned, IMO. </div></BLOCKQUOTE>

I bought on a recommendation from Bryan, so I suppose you should thank him when he pops his head back in.

The gram scale is pretty much required for making sausage. Like you said it makes scaling batches so much easier. I have an excel file with my favorite recipes that requires an input of my quantity of ground meat and it figures out the rest of the measurements from that. Since the weigh blade reads to the tenths, I can handle any quantity and my batches are very consistent.
 

 

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