sausage not sticking together

[guthook]

im sure this topic has been touched. maybe it will help others too.

i have attempted to make sausage several times. each time i do the meat seems to be crumbly. the last batch i made i added more fat hoping this would help. it did to an extent, but still is kinda crumbly when it is cooked and i try to slice it.

i used 7lbs of wild pig with 3lbs of fat back. i didnt use any of the pink cure. could this be an issue?

any help would be appreciated.

[Harry Nutczak]

You could have one of a few different things happening,

You may not be mixing the meat enough
You may be letting the meat get too warm and smearing the fat

Lets start with the most common first, Smearing the fat by letting it get too warm when grinding and/or mixing.

separate the fat from the meat
get your meat and fat ice-cold, almost frozen. Keep your grinder head in the freezer to keep it cold. Grind the fat first, get it back in the fridge to keep it cold. Grind your meat separately.
Mix the seasonings and the meat until it gets sticky, this is from the protein starting to act like a binding agent. Once it is well mixed and sticky, get it nice and cold again, when everything is cold, fold in the fat you ground earlier without letting the meat get too warm.

This should make a world of difference in texture. I would also lower the fat content to 20%, 30% seems a little high.

When you get faster at the process, you might not need to get things back in the fridge to get it chilled again. Just remember to add your ground fat as the last process before stuffing.

Are you mixing this by hand, or in an electric mixer? Get all your tools cold to help this process.
Is this a manual grinder or a kitchenaid attachment? if it is the kitchenaid grinder, I suggest upgrading to something better suited for grinding meat that has a sharp blade.
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[guthook]

the grinder is a 1hp thunderbird grinder. didnt skimp there. the meat and fat are cold. i mix it by hand. 10lbs at a time as i previously posted. the sausage taste outdamnstanding its just a little crumbly and not as firm as i like.

i increased the fat content cause when i cook a test patty it renders no fat, and the fellas at the fire station say its dry.

[Harry Nutczak]

Ok, that is easily fixable by following my suggestion of grinding the cold fat first, then setting it aside in the fridge until the lean meat is well mixed with the seasonings until it is very sticky.
What this technique does is using substance in meat that is called Myosin to bind the sausage together and it will have a firmer texture and hold it's moisture better during cooking.

By keeping that ground fat could, you are not allowing it to melt and blend with the meat during initial mixing.

You cannot over mix lean meat, but make sure it is nice and cold before gently folding in the ground fat or it will melt the fat.

You sated you are using back fat, so that is good, it has a great firm texture that will keep its shape and stay in defined specks while cooking.

So get everything cold, almost frozen, stiff is best. freeze the grinder head and parts, even freeze your bowls.
Measure out your seasonings, have them ready to use as soon as you are done grinding
Grind the fat, get it back in the fridge, grind your meat, add seasoning, mix it very very well, add cold fat into the meat, mix gently, only enough to evenly distribute the small pieces of fat through the meat.

What are you using to stuff the casings? I advocate using a separate piston-style stuffer instead of a grinder with a stuffing horn. If you are stuffing by using the grinder here is a different technique to try

Cube the meat and fat, mix to disperse everything evenly,add seasoning to the cubed meat, assemble the grinder head with the disk you like and the stuffing horn also attached. Feed the cubed meat into the grinder and stuff at the same time. Running meat that is already mixed with fat through the grinder a 2nd time with a fine disk is probably what is overheating the fat and melting it which is causing the crappy texture and perceived dryness.

If you still want to stuff with a grinder by running it through a 2nd time, at least get a proper "Stuffing Disk" that only has 2 or 3 large kidney shaped holes, the stuffing disk is only there to center the auger correctly during the stuffing operation.

Are you seeing where your texture problem may be caused yet?
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[butch0672]

problem may be your ingredients...
you need to use a "binder" Italian bread crumbs make a great binder, and water is a key ingredient also.
3% - 5% binder (10kg should use 300 - 500 grams)
20% (ice cold) water to your meat (10kg should use 2kg water)
after you have done this a few times you should get a feel to how the product reacts when you are done mixing, you should be able to take a hand full and hold it upside down in you hand, have it stick to your hand and it slowly fall off
and add more water if needed.

[butch0672]

oh, and your fat content should be about 30%, I make thousands of pounds of sausage during the hunting season, I have a shop at home and process deer, moose, bear etc and cut meat for hunters in the area, I`ve been a butcher sausage maker for over 17 years now
I find that the best thing to use is Pork shoulder Butts, Now with that in mind, pork shoulder butts are not 100% fat, so I use a 50/50 blend of the meat and pork, and this gives a much nicer flavor then just straight fat, Beef fat does not work. And if you want to make pork sausage, then just straight up pork shoulder butt.

[BBQonICE]

this wild pig....when this is ground...what is the fat ratio in that? Add that to your extra 30per cent back fat. What is the grind...chunky? or medium. medium is good...I do not like course and hate fine....too many commercial sausages are fine ground and almost a slurry pumped into the casings...yuck.

are you stuffing this or just patties?

what binder are you using....if your just putting pork with fat with spices whats holding it all together? We use only a cup or two of boiled then cooled water then whisk in spices and such then pour that over 25 to 30lb recipie. No more water.

are you smoking it or is this raw and your cooking on the bbq or frying?
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[guthook]

i havent used anything as a binder. in my research on sausage making nothing says to use a binder.

i am stuffing the sausage with the grinder, and using a 3 hole stuffing plate. i grind the seasoned meat with a 3/8" plate, mix in the fat the stuff it. the fat may be melting some when im mixing it.

also, i am smoking the meat.

[guthook]

by the way, i appreciate all the advice. it is very helpful

[joelocalguy]

I use a product called flavor binder 86 from Eldons.
OK, I'm not a sausage purist as it can be only meat and spices, but I had that problem when I first started making sausage. Sausage kind of fell apart. This solved the problem. It has worked every time for me.
http://www.eldonsausage.com/search_results.asp?txtsearchParamTxt=&txtsearchParamCat=67&txtsearchParamType=ALL&txtsearchParamMan=ALL&txtsearchParamVen=ALL&txtFromSearch=fromSearch
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[patruns]

I usually get my products from Eldons as well.......
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Char-Griller Outlaw with SFB
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LIAR#49

[Mr.T]

Does milk powder help with binding? Or does it only help with moisture retention?

[Crooked Letter BBQ]

[Harry Nutczak]

Binders do serve a purpose, but they are not needed to get a nice firm sausage.

I never ever add water to sausage, I never use binders, powdered milk, rusk, breadcrumbs nothing but meat, fat and seasonings and the only time I had a poor texture was when I let the meat/fat combo get too warm when I was mixing it.

mixing is the most important part of making sausage that will have a firm texture.
As I stated earlier, lean meat cannot be over-mixed, the more you mix it, the firmer your finished product will be. The reason is a substance called "Myosin" that is present in the meat, working the meat really well gets this substance to come out of the meat and act like a glue to hold everything together.

Ok, anyone ever see how they make those large boneless turkey breasts for deli use? they tumble multiple boneless breast chunks in a monstrous vacuum tumbler to extract the myosin so everything binds together so well that when the product is sliced, it looks like a solid piece of meat.

Sausage not firm enough? Use less or no water, or mix it longer.

Rusk and breadcrumbs in many English Sausage recipes, this came out of the producers trying to extend meat in poorer times, the softer texture it created is now most associated with English Sausage, but it would never fly in an American-Style bratwurst or Italian.
Think of adding breadcrumbs or rusk as using soy beans as an extender in other meat products. Same thing really.

Now if you're doing an emulsified sausage like Bologna, binders will be needed so the fat & meat do not separate during cooking. Bologna in it's raw state is a slurry of meat, fat & water which is the consistency of mayonnaise, almost a liquid that is ready to separate just to be difficult.
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[guthook]

what i think the problem im having is that im using my grinder to stuff. i use a sausage plate, but i think it gets ground so fine that it wont hold together. ive used my friends a guine pigs and some love it, and some think its to crumbly.

i will keep pkugging along until i perfect this

paul

[Harry Nutczak]

[SoEzzy]

A 10# horizontal water stuffer can be had for $120.00.

http://www.thesmokering.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=49866
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[RIBOB]

You stated your not using pink cure [ insta cure #1] That won't make a difference in the texture of the meat. But it could make a difference in your health. When smoking sausage you need to add the cure. Your running the risk of botulism.