by Adam Marianski
Well, stop looking, it does not exist. The good news is
that you can make the perfect sausage yourself every time as long
as you obey the basic rules of sausage making. There are millions
of sausage recipes floating for free on the Internet and your own
creation will be as good or better. How do you know which ones are
good? Do you think the professional sausage makers have time to
play with recipes on the Internet? Many of these recipes are
compiled by people who make a living off the Internet and they are
college students, housewives, journalists and others.
The easiest sausage to make is a fresh sausage which will be
cooked on a frying pan, barbecued or grilled. Basically you are
making a hamburger which will become a sausage once it is stuffed
inside of the hog casing. Making smoked sausages requires more
knowledge and here you have to observe your smoking and cooking
temperatures. Fermented (air-dried) types are harder still and you
have to worry about relative humidity.
1. First ask yourself what would you like to have inside of your
sausage: pork, beef, chicken, garlic, oregano, paprika etc. If you
make a sausage for yourself or your family you don't need any
recipes; think of preparing a family meal that everybody will
like.
2. Keep it simple. Meat has its own beautiful flavor so don't
kill it with unnecessary spices. Many people add only salt when
making a ham, saying that even pepper distorts the flavor. Polish
Smoked Sausage is made of pork, salt, pepper and garlic (optional
marjoram) yet most recipes include dozens of unnecessary
ingredients and spices.
3. You can use any type of meat or meat combinations. Just
remember that meats containing sinews, gristle and tendons will
have to be ground twice with a small grinder plate otherwise they
will get stuck in your teeth. For a home based sausage maker
nothing beats pork butt; it has the right fat to lean meat
proportion, it is inexpensive and its little bone is very easy to
remove. A sausage needs about 30% fat so don't use only lean meats.
Our commercially made fresh sausages contain up to 50% fat and our
low calorie hot dogs can have up to 40% water and fat combined.
Yes, we are paying dearly for water though it can not be seen. This
magic is performed by a chemical called phosphate which traps and
holds water inside.
4. Salt in most modern recipes remains at about 1.5% - 2%.
Original sausages were made with preservation in mind and the salt
content was higher, up to 3%. Air dried products like countryside
ham contained even more salt which was needed to prevent the growth
of bacteria. Anything over 3% will taste too salty. Weigh in your
meat, multiply by 0.018 (1.8%) and you will get the perfect amount
of salt (1.8%) that will be acceptable to everybody. Salt plays the
most important role in your recipe as this is where you can ruin
your sausage. Once it is too salty, the only remedy that remains is
to soak it overnight in cold water (in a refrigerator).
5. Grinders. For thousands of years we have made sausages
without grinders and certain classical sausages are still made by
chopping meat with a knife (Polish Krakowska or Ham Sausage,
Spanish Longaniza, Chorizo or Sobrasada). Don't pre-occupy
yourself too much with grinder plates. 3/8" size will take care of
most tasks, unless you want to make emulsified sausages like hot
dogs or bologna which will require grinding meats at least twice
through a 1/8" plate. Commercial processors use a meat cutter which
is more effective.
6. Cold smoking was a method of meat drying for preservation and
is seldom practiced today. Keep your hot smoke temperature at about
140º F (60º C) as you don't want to cook your
meat. Remember that meats smoked at this temperature are not safe
to eat and must be cooked.
7. Cook fresh sausages to 160º F (72º C)
internal meat temperature. Smoked meats are normally cured with
salt and sodium nitrite what provides additional safety and can be
cooked to a slightly lower internal meat temperature of about
154º F - 160º F (68 - 72º C). They
may may be poached in water at 176º F (80º C)
or baked in an oven at the lowest temperature setting (below
190º F, 88º C) until desired internal meat
temperature is obtained. Smoking or cooking sausages at too high
temperatures will melt the fat inside, they will taste like bread
crumbs and will be greasy on the outside. Remember, smoking meats
is an art that is different from barbecuing or grilling.
Adam Marianski has co-authored two books on meat smoking and
making sausages. He runs the web site Wedliny Domowe where you can
find more about making quality meats at home.
Article Source: http://www.articlesphere.com/Article/The-Perfect-Sausage-Recipe/105600
