How much breadcrumbs to add to sausages?

[angusb1]

I'm making sausages tonight for the first time and I have read different things about how much breadcrumbs to put in. How much do you use? Last night I put the venison and pork fat through the mincer and mixed all this up:

1900g venison
450g pork fat
23g salt
7g pepper
half a bottle of port

Cheers for any recommendations on how much I should use.

 

[spannulman]

None. I read that started in ww2 and rationing, trying to make the meat go further.

I only add fatty pork belly to venison. No rusk at all In mine. You’ll end up with something like richmonds: with. 40% meat sausage

 

[Ludders]

This is what I use for my sauages

 

[Coddy]

Stick a couple of raw eggs the mix to help it bind together.

 

[angusb1]

None. I read that started in ww2 and rationing, trying to make the meat go further.

I only add fatty pork belly to venison. No rusk at all In mine. You’ll end up with something like richmonds: with. 40% meat sausage

Cheers, hadn't heard that about rationing before. So the no breadcrumbs option works fine. Thanks

 

[angusb1]

This is what I use for my sauagesView attachment 184087

Thanks for this.

 

[John Gryphon]

NONE! The snags the boys make out of venison/pork here are 'proper' nary a bread crumb filler is ever used.

None. I read that started in ww2 and rationing, trying to make the meat go further.

I only add fatty pork belly to venison.

 

[Bavarianbrit]

My German missus calls English sausages Brotwurst.

 

[TheCornishman]

None. I read that started in ww2 and rationing, trying to make the meat go further.

I only add fatty pork belly to venison. No rusk at all In mine. You’ll end up with something like richmonds: with. 40% meat sausage

Your right to an extent

The addition of rusk was happening before then however became more widely taken up as a result of rationing. The term “Banger” as we all know them affectionately know them actually stems from the poorly made snorkers of the ration era. The mix of low meat, high fat, high water content mixed with the most widely used preservative of the time Salt Peter lead to explosive snorkers!...hence the tag Banger was born

To answer the Q? With my 2p worth though 5-10% of the overall finished batch weight will give you the classic British Butchers texture you are looking for. In cheap sausages rusk does get used as a filler however gets a bad reputation unfairly.

In most cases & used in the right proportions the addition of rusk improves the overall eating qualities of the finished product. It is essential if after that classic British Banger texture. It is part of what makes our sausage unique and helps trap in fat and cooking juices. Flavour!

If you are after a more European style sausage with that classic firm texture and hotdog like snap then leave the rusk out. In this case you need to work the mixture really hard in order to extract as much protein as possible to give you the desired texture.

 

[TheCornishman]

I'm making sausages tonight for the first time and I have read different things about how much breadcrumbs to put in. How much do you use? Last night I put the venison and pork fat through the mincer and mixed all this up:

1900g venison
450g pork fat
23g salt
7g pepper
half a bottle of port

Cheers for any recommendations on how much I should use.

You will also get better results if you don’t mix your product so far in advance of filling.

Ideally you should cut the meat into mincer friendly sized pieces

tumble or coat your meat with the seasoning mix

mince through the desired plate

add in 2/3 your water/cider/whatever you fancy

mix until the particles of fat start to elongate and look slightly stringy (a sign that the protein is suitably extracted)

Add your rusk and remaining water (finer grade=firmer texture , courser grade= open texture)

Mix until it will hold to the bottom of your extended palm....

Fill straight away into casing of your choosing (natural hogs or lamb would be my choice)

Always let them rest at least overnight!... the protein needs time to bond with the inside of the casing + your freshly created little parcel of marinated meaty goodness needs time to develop its flavour

 

[angusb1]

Your right to an extent

The addition of rusk was happening before then however became more widely taken up as a result of rationing. The term “Banger” as we all know them affectionately know them actually stems from the poorly made snorkers of the ration era. The mix of low meat, high fat, high water content mixed with the most widely used preservative of the time Salt Peter lead to explosive snorkers!...hence the tag Banger was born

To answer the Q? With my 2p worth though 5-10% of the overall finished batch weight will give you the classic British Butchers texture you are looking for. In cheap sausages rusk does get used as a filler however gets a bad reputation unfairly.

In most cases & used in the right proportions the addition of rusk improves the overall eating qualities of the finished product. It is essential if after that classic British Banger texture. It is part of what makes our sausage unique and helps trap in fat and cooking juices. Flavour!

If you are after a more European style sausage with that classic firm texture and hotdog like snap then leave the rusk out. In this case you need to work the mixture really hard in order to extract as much protein as possible to give you the desired texture.

I like a British snag with a coarse texture rather than the smooth european style so I'll try 5% breadcrumbs. That's a similar amount to Ludders recipe too.

I mixed it up last night but without the rusk as the butcher I got the pork fat from suggested the meat and fat would benefit from sitting with the port overnight, but I'll mix it well until it sticks to the bottom of my palm and then add the breadcrumbs and stuff it into the hog casings.

Thanks very much for the advice.

 

[griff]

We used 20gms of cooked Quinoa per kg of meat in place of rusk/breadcrumbs. It also makes them ok for people who have an intolerence for Gluten..
Typical recipe would be:

3kg meat
1 kg pork belly fat
20gms quinoa per kg of meat.
18gns of cumberland sausage mix per kg.

 

[TheCornishman]

Quite welcome...something of a specialism of mine

 

[TheCornishman]

We used 20gms of cooked Quinoa per kg of meat in place of rusk/breadcrumbs. It also makes them ok for people who have an intolerence for Gluten..
Typical recipe would be:

3kg meat
1 kg pork belly fat
20gms quinoa per kg of meat.
18gns of cumberland sausage mix per kg.

You will find pea and rice rusk alternatives readily available too. In my experience rice is the best GF alternative as it has absolutely no discernible flavour therefor takes on all other flavours without any clashes. Pea rusk is Fantastic in Beef burgers as it’s packed with umami but is a fist fight with pork

 

[griff]

You will find pea and rice rusk alternatives readily available too. In my experience rice is the best GF alternative as it has absolutely no discernible flavour therefor takes on all other flavours without any clashes. Pea rusk is Fantastic in Beef burgers as it’s packed with umami but is a fist fight with pork

We like the Qiunoa as it gives a slightly nutty flavour..

 

[TheCornishman]

We like the Qiunoa as it gives a slightly nutty flavour..

I can imagine it would...that’s the beauty of food...it’s subject to personal preferences. No right or wrong as such...just what tastes good to you

 

[angusb1]

I had the first one of the 3lbs of sausages I made for lunch today. It was really delicious. I think the port was a real winner and it had a nice texture, coarse like a traditional British sausage rather than the smooth texture of a European sausage. Thanks all of you for your advice, it's much appreciated.

 

[imnotrucknut]

I'm making sausages tonight for the first time and I have read different things about how much breadcrumbs to put in. How much do you use? Last night I put the venison and pork fat through the mincer and mixed all this up:

1900g venison
450g pork fat
23g salt
7g pepper
half a bottle of port

Cheers for any recommendations on how much I should use.

100g per kg of meat

 

[Erik Hamburger]

I work on 7% breadcrumbs and 7% water.

• 5000 Gr. Minced meat (For example a mix of 70% lean venison and 30% fatty pork);
• 350 Gr. Rusk (7%)
• 350 Gr = 350 Ml water (7%)
• 50 Gr salt (1%)

Herbs and spices to taste - experiment with this!

You could upper the water and rusk to 10% each, but I wouldn't go over 10%.

PS. This is like 'bakers percentages' - I realise that it makes 5751 Gr, and 350 Gr isn't 7% of 5751, so the weight of your minced meat is your base line/ starting point from which you work out your quantities.
You have some margin of error to play with, but I would be careful with the salt, certainly no more tan 1.3% salt which is in fact 30% more salt than I would personally use.
Lots of people think a sausage should taste like salty fat -or fatty salt- , that is certainly what most so-called 'Butcher's Sausages' taste like.

 

[Fair Hill]

A spoon of brown sugar for every 2-3lbs of meat adds a nice bit of flavour, also adding a couple of spoons of parsley flakes for every 3 lbs is worth a try.