Sausages still too dry...

[Monkey Spanker]

when i make them i use tesco/asda bacon bits, £1 a packet.
i don't weigh it out proportionally but normally i use two three packets per roe.
i freeze em first as it makes them easier to mince.

try a small batch and add more or less to your desired tastes.
meat is so lean some fat will do it no harm what so ever.

It's a fine idea to chill the bacon before mincing, but if it has been previously frozen you can't then re-freeze the batch of sausages you've made!! Pork is especially dodgy when it comes to food poisoning!!
Wouldn't want anyone getting the trotter trots eh?!
MS

 

[doghound]

Some things that have worked for me;

20lb venison 10lb belly pork - cut in 1 inch chunks
Spice then mince - you get an even mix
Add rusk about 3lb and about 4/5lb water - let it stand to absorb all water, then to make it a good texture let the mincer do the work.
mince again with smaller plate, I use 6mm second time. Put them in hog casings, sheep are a bit small for a decent banger.
Lastly, let them hang when you have linked them for at least a couple of hours before bagging.

Then on a shoot day, fry a couple slowly and chuck them in a food flask with home made french onion soup, makes me hungry just to think about it.

 

[bewsher500]

i had the same problem.
very hard consistency and dry.
I was using 50% pork belly at one point!

they also seemed to "bleed" a bit when thawed out or left in the fridge fresh.

would bread crumbs be a good enough substitute for rusk?

 

[Dan Gliballs]

i had the same problem.
very hard consistency and dry.
I was using 50% pork belly at one point!

they also seemed to "bleed" a bit when thawed out or left in the fridge fresh.

would bread crumbs be a good enough substitute for rusk?

Here is what Ive found.

"Bleeding" happens when too much liquid is used for the amount of rusk you put in.

It doesnt matter how much fat you put in, if you dont have enough rusk within the banger to absorb/retain the fat during cooking the fat serves no purpose, it just melts out in to the pan/grill.

I have never used breadcrumb so I cant help you there.

What I have realised is, its all about the rusk!

This is myy last recipe for reference.

21lbs Venison
7lbs Pork fat
1.5k seasoned rusk
100grms Salt
30grms Pepper
Wine/water to lubricate

 

[Adamant]

I used MS's recipe as a jumping off point, adapting over time to suit my own palate and from feedback for friends etc. My current recipe is as follows:

12kg venison
4kg cooking bacon
1kg pinhead oatmeal
1 litre water (or 1/2 litre water and 1/2 litre red wine)
4 tbsp dried parsley
2 tbsp dried sage
2 tbsp coarse black pepper
2 tbsp sea salt

For chilli BBQ sausages, I follow the same recipe but add 1 tbsp of dried red chilli flakes / seeds per batch - you'll need to experiment to find the level of heat that suits you. Teenage sons are useful guinea pigs for this sort of thing...

I use natural narrow (28mm) hog casings and get approx' 8 sausages per pound. To avoid leaching in the packaging and on defrosting, it's best to hang the strings of made sausages for at least 24 hrs in the chiller before packing and freezing them - you'll be amazed at how much liquid drips out and how much better the sausages are for this period of maturing.

Adam.

 

[JC275]

I find my venison sausages a bit dry but everyone else seems to like them so i've stuck with the same mix. One trick is to make them into chipolatas instead of big bangers, the mix is the same but they are a bit more manageable in the mouth! I know that its interesting to experiment with ingredients but you can't go far wrong just using Lucas mixes. JC

 

[270Buck]

I find my venison sausages a bit dry but everyone else seems to like them so i've stuck with the same mix. One trick is to make them into chipolatas instead of big bangers, the mix is the same but they are a bit more manageable in the mouth! I know that its interesting to experiment with ingredients but you can't go far wrong just using Lucas mixes. JC

Sounds a bit wrong there JC.

Cheers

Ross

 

[Bernie]

MS,

Your recipes use about 6 percent rusk but others like Doghound's seem to follow the Weschenfelder advice of 10 percent rusk content. You've mentioned the texture in some of your other sausage recipe threads. To be honest, I'm about to make my fist batch, probably using one of your templates as a jumping off point but I was wondering if you had tried increasing the rusk before and had settled on 6 as the optimum?

All this typing is making me hungry. I have finally got all of my components together and will be going for it in the next few days!

best

Bernie

 

[Monkey Spanker]

MS,

Your recipes use about 6 percent rusk but others like Doghound's seem to follow the Weschenfelder advice of 10 percent rusk content. You've mentioned the texture in some of your other sausage recipe threads. To be honest, I'm about to make my fist batch, probably using one of your templates as a jumping off point but I was wondering if you had tried increasing the rusk before and had settled on 6 as the optimum?

All this typing is making me hungry. I have finally got all of my components together and will be going for it in the next few days!

best

Bernie

I have used more rusk, but it makes the sausages 'Fluffy' and the mix is harder to mince. I much prefer a more 'meaty' sausage myself!
Commercially produced sausages will have as much rusk as they can get away with as it is a licence to print money!!
Here's why:
A bag of best pinhead rusk from Scobies currently retails at £21.95 for 25kg.
When hydrated with water (which costs virtually nothing) the weight goes up to 75kg!
75kg x 2.2 = 165lb in weight.
Let's say you sell your sausages for £3 per lb,
165lb x £3 = £495!

£495 - £21.95 = £473.05 PROFIT just for adding water to a bag of rusk!!!!!

Pork fat is virtually a 'waste product' as well so they will get a load of that in as well. That's why cheap supermarket sausages catch fire on the BBQ!

I found that the Rusk to Fat ratio is fairly important as you need a certain amount of rusk to hold the fat and bind the mix.
I use cooking bacon and work on the fact that it is roughly 50% fat content. This gives my sausages roughly an overall fat content of 10%.
You will struggle to buy sausages these days with less than 30% fat and they will then have probably 10-15% rusk with it.
The remaining 55% being a mixture of spices, lips and arseholes maybe? Who knows?
I only put good meat in mine, sometimes I'll just bone out a whole animal.
If you put 'crap in', you can expect 'crap out'!!
I've experimented with various ratios with the aim of producing the tastiest and healthiest snorkers possible. I still tweak the other ingredients though and have just produced a very tasty 40lb batch of Venison with Red Wine and Cranberries.
You'll never please everyone in the taste department, but if you enjoy them yourself that's what really matters.
MS

 

[Bernie]

Thanks for that. Looking forward to it.

Bernie

 

[bogtrotter]

I have a recipe which recommends 40% belly Pork, I have never tried it so can't really comment.

 

[Monkey Spanker]

I have a recipe which recommends 40% belly Pork, I have never tried it so can't really comment.

Ahh, but belly pork isn't 100% fat. Depending on breed and individual animal it will be very fatty - the same as streaky bacon as this is the same. 40% belly pork in your sausage mix would probably result in about 25-30% total fat in your finished sausage which is about right for most recipes. I prefer them a little 'leaner' myself.
MS

 

[bewsher500]

I have a recipe which recommends 40% belly Pork, I have never tried it so can't really comment.

I was using a similar proportion but think I was light on rusk/breadcrumbs. standard pork belly is pretty fatty and could easily be over 50% fat. much cheaper than buying streaky bacon (dont ask me why as it is the same!).
I ordered a half belly with the ribs from the butcher, came with the ribs which I kept for spare ribs, probably gave me 5kg of belly left for the grand total of £16.50!! bargain!

never added any liquid to my sausages either but I notice some people adding quite a lot, is that just to counteract the absorption qualities of the rusk?

need to crack on an get some rusk from somewhere

 

[mj robson]

I do 2 batches of 300 sausages each year, one lot in June the other in October, stocks up the chest freezer.

I've found that 50% venison - 30% belly pork - 20% lamb breast is the best combination, the perfect texture, moisuture and taste.

Mark.

 

[bewsher500]

no rusk or breadcrumbs?

 

[mj robson]

I use ready made sausage mixes with seasoning/rusk,

http://www.lucas-ingredients.co.uk/