making sausage. What cuts of meat?

etherdome

So my grandfather was a butcher is rural SC and used to make some killer bulk sausage. Never put it in casings, purely bulk to make your own patties with.  I was recently given the recipe which was ingredients per 100 pounds of meat. He used to just use "a pig".  I have adjusted the recipe to 5 pounds of meat and recently gave it a whirl.   I used 5 pounds of ground pork butt and mixed ingredients by hand a little at a time.   When I cooked it, the flavor was there but the patties were rubbery and didn't even produce grease or moisture in  the pan when cooking. Visually it appeared to have plenty of fat in it.   I felt as if I were eating turkey sausage.  What cuts of meat do you typically use for sausage and any opinions on why this happened?  Do I need to mix in maybe 20% pork belly or something?  Thanks in advance.

SciAggie

I'm just chiming in for the conversation; my guess is you needed more fat. Someone that makes far more sausage than I have will chime in shortly and give you some solid advice. 

GrillSgt

Did you trim that butt? It sounds like you were just shot of fat. 

DoubleEgger

Add some fatback 

etherdome

GrillSgt said:

Did you trim that butt? It sounds like you were just shot of fat. 

To be honest, my local butcher at publix ground the butt for me. I thought about that but just assumed he wasn't dumb enough to trim the fat off since I was making sausage. Haven't been back to ask.  I also feel like it was short of fat. The question is how much?   How do you know how much is enough? Thanks for reply. 

DoubleEgger

I use 4lbs of pork butt and one pound of fatback. 

bgebrent

DoubleEgger said:

I use 4lbs of pork butt and one pound of fatback. 

This is good advice.

NPHuskerFL

+1 on fatback

etherdome

fatback is something I have never messed with. Just grind it up? or are there other things  I need to do with it? Completely ignorant regarding fatback.  Does it typically have skin on it?
Thanks for advice. 

Sea2Ski

Interesting that you add more fat. I suppose that might be the ticket for you in this case.

I use boneless butts from Costco unless we slaughter and butcher a pig. I have never needed to add fat. But then again I always put the sausage in a casing.  My recipes also have some sort of liquid ingredient whether water, wine or beer.  Perhaps when not in casing, you need a bit more fat due to nothing "sealing" the moisture in. 
I do make a fairly large quantities when I make it though and it is a blast to do. I think this was a 30-40'ish lb batch. 

etherdome

Sea2Ski said:

Interesting that you add more fat. I suppose that might be the ticket for you in this case.

I use boneless butts from Costco unless we slaughter and butcher a pig. I have never needed to add fat. But then again I always put the sausage in a casing.  My recipes also have some sort of liquid ingredient whether water, wine or beer.  Perhaps when not in casing, you need a bit more fat due to nothing "sealing" the moisture in. 
I do make a fairly large quantities when I make it though and it is a blast to do. I think this was a 30-40'ish lb batch. 

That is awesome looking!   Thanks for your input.

lkapigian

It may have not been the fat content, but lack of primary bind ( myosin) like the glutin in bread it forms a web, binding the protein and keeps the fat " trapped"...you may have also got " smear" from grinding or mixing when to warm.. I use almost any protein to make sausage ... 2 percent salt is key..liquid is key (  1 cup per 5 pounds) cold cold cold

Sea2Ski

Keep meticulous notes when making sausage. The second you make it exactly the way you like it best, is the time you switched something up but did not write it down. Then you can not remeber exactly what you did. If you always measure and take notes of what you did, when you find that magic mix you will know what you did.

FYI the only time I do this when cooking is with making sausage and any charcuterie. Everything else is gustimates and add splashes, shakes, pinches and dashes of stuff. But I can tell you what was in every batch of sausage I have made.

Just my opinion and thoughts on the matter. Take it for whatever you think that is worth.

GrillSgt

Sea2Ski said:

Keep meticulous notes when making sausage. The second you make it exactly the way you like it best, is the time you switched something up but did not write it down. Then you can not remeber exactly what you did. If you always measure and take notes of what you did, when you find that magic mix you will know what you did.

FYI the only time I do this when cooking is with making sausage and any charcuterie. Everything else is gustimates and add splashes, shakes, pinches and dashes of stuff. But I can tell you what was in every batch of sausage I have made.

Just my opinion and thoughts on the matter. Take it for whatever you think that is worth.

The very best advice. Period. I can't tell you how many times I've kicked myself for not writing the ingredients or the process down. 

theyolksonyou

Go to the butcher, ask for the pork fat trimmings. I couldn't find fatback(it was seasonal of all things). The local butcher hooked me up. You need that fat at about 20% even with a butt. 

OhioEgger

DoubleEgger said:

I use 4lbs of pork butt and one pound of fatback. 

I use 5 lbs pork shoulder and one lb fatback. Always been very happy with that ratio.

etherdome

Nice. Thanks

Focker

Sausage was created from the scraps off the animals after processing.

Although absolutely crazy to pay $10 for ONE banger at the counter, Aaron Franklin's episode Sausage, was on yesterday.  This little how to segment was towards the end, and Dale Watson playing during chicken sh!t bingo....great episode.

https://youtu.be/sCI116xVVv8

fishlessman

i have not made sausage in a long while but what i found grinding my own was i like a larger plate for grinding the fat. hated the grind from the ka til finding the bigger plates on ebay

northGAcock

Sea2Ski said:

Interesting that you add more fat. I suppose that might be the ticket for you in this case.

I use boneless butts from Costco unless we slaughter and butcher a pig. I have never needed to add fat. But then again I always put the sausage in a casing.  My recipes also have some sort of liquid ingredient whether water, wine or beer.  Perhaps when not in casing, you need a bit more fat due to nothing "sealing" the moisture in. 
I do make a fairly large quantities when I make it though and it is a blast to do. I think this was a 30-40'ish lb batch. 

That's it.....I am on my way up. 

Raymont

Recipes vary on adding fat or not. I don't buy store sausage anymore; Homemade is absolutely the way to go. I use a kitchenaid grinder attachment and with practice it works perfectly. Fine looking Sausages @northGAcock! I actually mostly just grind then freeze. (e.g. ground up) I found I was using more ground up sausage than when in links. 

DoubleEgger

@Raymont those are @Sea2Ski 's sausages. Robin would just mail order some... 

northGAcock

DoubleEgger said:

@Raymont those are @Sea2Ski 's sausages. Robin would just mail order some... 

Actually, I am ready to go up to Pennselvania to learn from @Sea2Ski. I have not only seen these pictures...but have had some of his sausage. There will be no mail order here.....hand delivery only...

DoubleEgger

Unfortunately I missed out on the sausage. 

thetrim

Looks awesome 

Retired RailRoader

lkapigian said:

It may have not been the fat content, but lack of primary bind ( myosin) like the glutin in bread it forms a web, binding the protein and keeps the fat " trapped"...you may have also got " smear" from grinding or mixing when to warm.. I use almost any protein to make sausage ... 2 percent salt is key..liquid is key (  1 cup per 5 pounds) cold cold cold

Two important things when making sausage are
1) keep everything ice cold. Make sure when you grind your meat the meat is ice cold. Put your grinder head along with the grinder plate, plate knife and auger in the refrigerator about an hour or two prior to grinding. If you are not going to mix the ground meat immediately after grinding make sure you put it in the refrigerator. 
2) like lkapigian says you need to develope myosin. When you mix the meat you develope myosin. A good rule of thumb to see if the meat is mixed enough is you make a small patty and slap it onto your palm. When you turn your palm over so the patty is facing the floor if the patty sticks to your palm and does not fall off then the sausage is mixed enough.
Are you adding any liquid to the mix? Adding a liquid such as water, wine or beer is important. Pork butts usually have enough fat and it's usually not necessary to add additional. When I cutup my butts I separate the fat and fatty pieces from the lean. I then weigh the lean and fat to make sure I have a minimum 80/20 lean to fat ratio. I also grind the lean and fat separately and then mix them together, It's just how I was taught. Here are Italian, breakfast and smoked Kielbasa sausage I recently made. Good luck in your sausage quest. 

etherdome

Some great responses. Thanks to all!

Eoin

I have been close to buying a grinder for a while now. This is pushing me over the edge.

Focker

Eoin said:

I have been close to buying a grinder for a while now. This is pushing me over the edge.

That, and an LEM stuffer, are the last serious pieces of kitchen equipment needed.

Luckily, in Milan, IL, the guys have the grinder and deer processing mastered, freezers full of many different awesome flavors.....gets me by.

Making sausage, although rewarding, is a full blown project.

Ozzie_Isaac

Focker said:

Eoin said:

I have been close to buying a grinder for a while now. This is pushing me over the edge.

That, and an LEM stuffer, are the last serious pieces of kitchen equipment needed.

Luckily, in Milan, IL, the guys have the grinder and deer processing mastered, freezers full of many different awesome flavors.....gets me by.

Making sausage, although rewarding, is a full blown project.

Nothing like corn fed deer!  Out here deer taste like sage and are tiny.

lkapigian

Eoin said:

I have been close to buying a grinder for a while now. This is pushing me over the edge.

FWIW I have a #12 LEM and an LEM Stuffer BUT, I started ( and loved) my Less Than $50.00 Harbor Freight Grinder...worked like a champ and got me started...the stuffing attachment ( on any grinder ) is ok for a few pounds, anything more than that get a dedicated..but if you have a Harbor Freight near by, go buy one