sausage help


 
j biesinger

j biesinger

TVWBB Platinum Member
I have a couple questions about making sausage.

1) I have a 5 lb stuffer and I notice lots of air comes out along with the sausage. I try to pack it well in the can but even still a bit of air comes out.

2) how critical is it to match the diameter of the tube to the casing. My casings were hard to fit on the largest tube I had so I went one size down and it seemed tough to control the filling.

3) I made and smoked the adouille recipe from ruhlman but a few links stayed in the fridge while the rest went into the freezer. Tonight I sliced some of both up and the stuff that was in the fridge for a few days had a much better consistency than the stuff that was frozen and thawed. I was wondering if its wise to let sausage dry a bit in the fridge before freezing.

4) both the anouille (the freezer stuff) and my chorizo had a mealy texture. I had been mixing my sausage with a kitchen aid but I don't have it anymore. I assume the kitchen aid helped establish the bind better. am I correct?
 
<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-title">quote:</div><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-content">Originally posted by j biesinger:
I have a couple questions about making sausage.

1) I have a 5 lb stuffer and I notice lots of air comes out along with the sausage. I try to pack it well in the can but even still a bit of air comes out.

I was wondering if its wise to let sausage dry a bit in the fridge before freezing. </div></BLOCKQUOTE>
j,
1) You need to add more ice water to your mix to eliminate those air pockets (like a meatloaf mix). Will take a few tries to get it right.
2) Yes hang it up, and let it dry to firm up.
 
<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-title">quote:</div><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-content">1) You need to add more ice water to your mix to eliminate those air pockets (like a meatloaf mix). Will take a few tries to get it right. </div></BLOCKQUOTE>

I don't think any of ruhlman's recipes call for water, but another book I have the recipes do.

I did 3 kinds last sat, 2 were sans water and one was with water. the one with water was the first I ran through the stuffer, so I don't remember if it worked better or not.

do you add a specific amount of water or are you looking for a certain consistency when mixing and add water until you're there?
 
<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-title">quote:</div><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-content">Originally posted by j biesinger:
do you add a specific amount of water or are you looking for a certain consistency when mixing and add water until you're there? </div></BLOCKQUOTE>
j,
Rytek's book lists 1 lb./16oz/1 pint, depending on how you measure, for evey 10 lbs. of sausage. I like to weigh, as most measuring devices aren't that accurate. The water just makes it pack nicer, and eliminate those air pockets.
 
<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-title">quote:</div><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-content"> Rytek's book lists 1 lb./16oz/1 pint, depending on how you measure, for evey 10 lbs. of sausage. </div></BLOCKQUOTE>

hmm, I weigh but am metric
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. I was making batches that we just under 2 kilos and the water which I didn't weigh was about an oz. so I guess even that one was a bit dry.

I have that book. I guess I'll go back and see if I can find some more info on the topic. I can't recall if ruhlman addresses it.

with all that water, I'm going to have to assume drying is essential.
 
<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-title">quote:</div><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-content">Originally posted by j biesinger:
with all that water, I'm going to have to assume drying is essential. </div></BLOCKQUOTE>
Rytek calls for hanging in a cooler to dry. It'll cook out also. Maybe start with half that amount, might be enough for you.
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<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-title">quote:</div><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-content">Rytek calls for hanging in a cooler to dry. It'll cook out also. Maybe start with half that amount, might be enough for you. Wink </div></BLOCKQUOTE>

man, I couldn't find any pertinent information, when I thumbed through my copy. Every time I open that book, I wonder who edited it, its a train wreck.

mind sending me some page number if you have them? not that I don't trust you, but since I have the original source I might as well read it for myself.

I did see that he recommends packing the canister well to remove air, and that you should prick any air bubbles that form when stuffing.

actually the air didn't bother me as much as the drying part as the dried sausages came out much more professionally.

the slight air in the casing was compressible and made it easy to tie them off. My grinder was capable of stuffing to the point where I'd have to leave them in coils of fear bursting them
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<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-title">quote:</div><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-content">Originally posted by j biesinger:
mind sending me some page number if you have them? not that I don't trust you, but since I have the original source I might as well read it for myself. </div></BLOCKQUOTE>
My book is old (1984) and I know the page numbers are different verses the newer books... but here goes.
Page 122-123 Stuffing Sausage:
Read both pages but the Last 3 paragraphs on page 123 has the info. Also in the fresh sausage recipes like the Fresh Polish Sausage (Kielbasa) page 174 under the recipe, Grinding & Mixing ....... Hang on smokesticks spaced properly and let dry in cooler. HTH
 
Thanks a ton Bryan.

your tips got me going in the right direction, and I found some good stuff on the web. Sometimes its hard to solve a problem when you don't totally understand all the variables.

back to the issues...

Water in the mix seems to play an important roll in distributing seasonings and in assisting flow during stuffing. Does it help establish the bind? Since handing back the kitchen aid I was borrowing, I been having trouble mixing the ground meat for more than a minute or two. I'm wondering if it'll be easier to mix and have a better bind if its more fluid.

I guess there's only one way to find out....make more sausage!
 
<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-title">quote:</div><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-content">My book is old (1984) and I know the page numbers are different verses the newer books... but here goes.
Page 122-123 Stuffing Sausage:
Read both pages but the Last 3 paragraphs on page 123 has the info. Also in the fresh sausage recipes like the Fresh Polish Sausage (Kielbasa) page 174 under the recipe, Grinding & Mixing ....... Hang on smokesticks spaced properly and let dry in cooler. HTH </div></BLOCKQUOTE>

this book is unbelievable. pg 122-123 has some pictures of collagen casings and preparing/stuffing procedures for them. In the index "sausage stuffing" is listed as pg 150, but pg 150 is entirely dedicated to the proper handling of frozen meat. Thumbing through the book, I could not find a section on sausage stuffing. I do have a section of nice, glossy, full color pictures of sausage mixing and stuffing but the descriptions are kind of vague. The caption on the mixing picture only mentions that you should mix in a large tub,like in the picture, to prevent meat from ending up on the floor (duh
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).

and the kielbasa recipe was changed as well. now all it states is to leave the sausage in the fridge overnight to "improve flavor."

when we bought this book, we got it from rytek's old company, and the guy there sold it to me at the sausage making bible. The more I read it the more I hate it.
 
<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-title">quote:</div><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-content">Originally posted by j biesinger:
and the kielbasa recipe was changed as well. now all it states is to leave the sausage in the fridge overnight to "improve flavor." </div></BLOCKQUOTE>
Rytek states in my book that when he was running "The Hickory Shop" in Vegas that they first did put it in the fridge overnight as they thought that that would improve the flavor... but they started selling so much of it that they couldn't do that any more and noticed no difference than stuffing it right away and letting it dry in the cooler. He did say that leaving it in the tub overnight, made it very hard to stuff. his quote "sets up like a slab of cement" If you want, I can scan 122-123 and email it to you, letmeknow? B
 
<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-title">quote:</div><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-content">Originally posted by Bryan S: If you want, I can scan 122-123 and email it to you, letmeknow? B </div></BLOCKQUOTE>
Bryan, if you do scan that, would you mind sending it to me too? Thanks
 
<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-title">quote:</div><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-content">Originally posted by Bill Hays:
<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-title">quote:</div><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-content">Originally posted by Bryan S: If you want, I can scan 122-123 and email it to you, letmeknow? B </div></BLOCKQUOTE>
Bryan, if you do scan that, would you mind sending it to me too? Thanks </div></BLOCKQUOTE>
Yeah Bill, I'll scan it for you.
This ticks me off a bit, as it seems they changed the book after Ryteks death. He was pretty clear in my book, that he was very surprised that going from letting it sit over night before stuffing, to stuffing right after mixing, he could tell no difference between the two different methods. But yet in the newer books, this has been deleted
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I've read my book front to back so many times over the years, to me it's a great read.
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<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-title">quote:</div><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-content">Originally posted by Bill Comerford:
Bry, What's the name of your book and age? I will look in our library for it. Thanks. </div></BLOCKQUOTE>
Bill, "Great Sausage Recipes And Meat Curing" by Rytek Kutas, my book is copywright 1984
 
Bryan, it seems to make sense now. The sausage is capable of binding itself given some time, and it doesn't matter whether its in the casing or not.

So Rytek suggests keeping the bind loose and wet, by stuffing immediately and mixing in water, to facilitate stuffing and letting the mix set up after its in the casing.

I'm going to have to try this for my next batch. One thing that concerns me is that the recipes in charcuterie omit the binders (dry milk, soy protein) that Rytek has in most of his recipes. I'm thinking it may be more critical to establish an initial bind for Ruhlman's recipes.

That was good info, I can't figure out why they'd cut it out of the text in later editions.
 
Made a batch of champagne sausage, which is basically a simple pork sausage lightly seasoned, and mixed with egg and champagne. For this batch I liberally added white wine (I had a split on hand which is easier than running to a wine store for champagne) until I had a nice mix. I packed it well into the stuffer and it seemed to stuff better, less air, better consistency. I then left the sausages uncovered in the fridge for about a day and half before I froze and sealed them up. We just roasted the final product for breakfast this morning, and I have to say the consistency was much improved. I'm going to keep doing sausages this way, and maybe find a way to improve my fridge drying arrangement.
 
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