PDA

View Full Version : "Would You Critique My Sausage" was the question...


thirdeye
03-13-2010, 09:15 PM
...asked of me at happy hour last night. "We want a brutally honest opinion, and we trust you", was the next sentence spoken. It was kind of flattering. One of my buddies from the saloon gets together a group of guys once a year for a mega stuffing party. This year they did 600 pounds of German. They did make some changes in the recipe, and were satisfied...... but wanted a 3rd party opinion.:mrgreen:

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v377/thirdeye2/Barbecue%2012/DSC00012aa.jpg

I don't have their recipe..... yet :rolleyes: ... but the ingredients were the standard ground pork butt (no additional fat added), salt, pepper and garlic. The non standard adder was Tenderquick, a rare adder for a fresh sausage intended to be grilled, fried or baked.

Now in this batch these boys went with sea salt and used white pepper. I particularly like white pepper with pork so I was anxious to try this. I used a medium hot fire, no flavor smoke and allowed it to swell until plump, then I closed down the lower vent a little and kept it rotating until it was 165*. During the rest it rose another 8 or 9 degrees.

Conclusion: The flavor was very nice. Not overly salty which I appreciated. The white pepper was balanced with the garlic and salt, so no single one stood out above the others.

The texture was a tick too fine for me (they use a local processor to grind and season the meat, I suspect it was double ground). Because of the grind the texture was denser than I like it. Not as dense or tight as a beef wiener, but tighter than I prefer. (BTW, double grinding is often called out in recipes)

The outside color was easy for me to control, because I do take care to avoid high heat that would cause spitting and splitting, and the internal color was the typical pink from the Tenderquick. The internal temp was 175* and you can see how clear the juices were.... The amount of retained moisture was really amazing. Tenderquick will help with this, but I need to see what amount of ice water they added to the meat.

Overall I give it a solid 7 on a scale of 0 to 9.


http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v377/thirdeye2/Barbecue%2012/DSC00022aa.jpg

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v377/thirdeye2/Barbecue%2012/DSC00027aa.jpg

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v377/thirdeye2/Barbecue%2012/DSC00030aabb.jpg

Harmening
03-13-2010, 09:19 PM
Man, I'd love to be able to find a sausage like that which isn't so salty. That's the one thing that keeps me from buying it often.

That stuff makes me quite hungry.

jagardn
03-13-2010, 09:22 PM
I was afraid to click on this thread just by the title!:scared::pound:

They look great to me Thirdeye!:clap2:
Great review!

landarc
03-13-2010, 09:29 PM
Not a lot of shrink, good internal color, even cooked with open ends, it looks juicy and the amount of pepper showing through skin looks good.

thirdeye
03-13-2010, 09:54 PM
Not a lot of shrink, good internal color, even cooked with open ends, it looks juicy and the amount of pepper showing through skin looks good.

You have a keen eye for detail. I had visited so much about white pepper with my buddy, I didn't notice the dark flecks until now.

HeSmellsLikeSmoke
03-13-2010, 10:01 PM
You did a great job of cooking the sausage whereas most cooks don't have your skill. I wonder how it would taste cooked with less skill?

bigabyte
03-13-2010, 10:10 PM
That looks like some fine sausage right there!:hungry:

Midnight Smoke
03-13-2010, 10:12 PM
I don't know, I would have given a 9 out of 10 only because it leave's room for improvement. They just look really fine to me!

leanza
03-13-2010, 10:52 PM
My impression is the links look nicely filled and of a good size. What caught my eye is the sliced presentation appears rare. If that is what tenderquick does to the process then thats fine. Serve it up.

Meat Burner
03-13-2010, 11:02 PM
My impression is the links look nicely filled and of a good size. What caught my eye is the sliced presentation appears rare. If that is what tenderquick does to the process then thats fine. Serve it up.
My thoughts exactly. Looks too rare at first impression. Looks like some very fine links from here.

BobBrisket
03-13-2010, 11:05 PM
600 lbs? I'd hit a couple pounds myself!!

looks great.

Bob

Ross in Ventura
03-13-2010, 11:34 PM
Excellent cook on the sausage Wayne and excellent post:thumb:

Ross

Paulmark
03-14-2010, 01:12 AM
Excellent looking sausage, nice job on the cooking end also.

CajunSmoker
03-14-2010, 08:35 AM
I'd get a little nervous if I was at a bar and someone asked me to "critique their sausage":boxing:

I thought you did a great job cooking the sausage. I didn't care for the rare look the tenderquick gave it, but that's a personal thing. I also like a coarser texture in sausage. Chopping half the meat and grinding the other half is a good way to keep the texture from getting to fine.

thirdeye
03-14-2010, 10:09 AM
My impression is the links look nicely filled and of a good size. What caught my eye is the sliced presentation appears rare. If that is what tenderquick does to the process then thats fine. Serve it up.

My thoughts exactly. Looks too rare at first impression. Looks like some very fine links from here.

Yes, the TQ has that color effect on sausage, and the fact that this batch was extremely moist makes it look underdone. TQ can also help on the moisture retention as well, but I need to see just how much ice water they added to the ground meat.

The two pictures below are both or my fresh sausages cooked to the same internal temp as the German.... the first has no TQ, and second one does have TQ (it's one of Bigwheels hot links) These also show the grind I prefer.


http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v377/thirdeye2/Barbecue%209/DSC07294a.jpg

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v377/thirdeye2/Barbeque/c9b39a95.jpg


Last night, I took the German off about 165* and it rose to almost 175* on the cutting board. When I made the first cut the color made me second guess it too, but the juices were clear. If you look close, you can see pooled juices in that plate shot, the dark drops are just grease. I temped it again in several places and it had fallen back to 165*. Because I had a pot of boiling angel hair pasta on the stove I even checked my Thermoworks to make sure it was right on.


I'd get a little nervous if I was at a bar and someone asked me to "critique their sausage":boxing:

I thought you did a great job cooking the sausage. I didn't care for the rare look the tenderquick gave it, but that's a personal thing. I also like a coarser texture in sausage. Chopping half the meat and grinding the other half is a good way to keep the texture from getting to fine.

Heheee. I guess that question could raise an eyebrow :shocked:...but this is a neighborhood bar, and the folks near the corner I like to sit at are very well behaved.


http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v377/thirdeye2/Events/july2009007a.jpg

Phesant
03-14-2010, 12:34 PM
That all looks great, I'd sure hit any and all of that.

I always double grind my fresh sausage, I use a coarse grind twice to make sure I get a even spice blend . Do get an even mix by hand, or do you use a mixer?

nolaman
03-14-2010, 12:39 PM
Like the look of your sausage Thirdeye! I agree with the corse grind. It looks a lot like andoulle. As Rodger said about the chop and grind mix is typical for Louisiana style andoulle.
Hey, I get the drift on last pic! The lockback is not just for cutting limes!

bigabyte
03-14-2010, 12:42 PM
I usually find with my Kitchen-Aid grinder that one pass on the coarse blade does not provide a very good product. Of course, a big part of this is it being a KA Grinder, but just saying. Two grinds on coarse makes it fairly fine, but not too fine in my opinion. When i do it once on coarse and once on fine, it makes for a very fine and dense grind in my opinion. I like a medium grind on most sausages, I'm not too big on big hunks of fat in my sausages usually.

vr6Cop
03-14-2010, 12:45 PM
One of my buddies from the saloon gets together a group of guys once a year for a mega stuffing party. This year they did 600 pounds of German... and were satisfied...... but wanted a 3rd party opinion.:mrgreen:Between the thread title and this first part, there is Wood Pile all over this topic. :tape:

Good looking sausage Wayne. :mod:

sdb25
03-14-2010, 12:54 PM
Oh sorry, you caught me staring at your sausage.

thirdeye
03-14-2010, 01:19 PM
That all looks great, I'd sure hit any and all of that.

I always double grind my fresh sausage, I use a coarse grind twice to make sure I get a even spice blend . Do get an even mix by hand, or do you use a mixer?

I sprinkle half or more of my seasonings onto the cubed meat I chill out in the freezer before grinding. It gets a fair amount of mixing when I grind it. The remainder gets mixed in with the ice water, then poured into the ground meat. My last mix step is with rubber gloves on, I give the sausage one more mix by hand. This gets the water mixed in and one more chance for the seasonings.

I usually find with my Kitchen-Aid grinder that one pass on the coarse blade does not provide a very good product. Of course, a big part of this is it being a KA Grinder, but just saying. Two grinds on coarse makes it fairly fine, but not too fine in my opinion. When i do it once on coarse and once on fine, it makes for a very fine and dense grind in my opinion. I like a medium grind on most sausages, I'm not too big on big hunks of fat in my sausages usually.


http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v377/thirdeye2/Barbecue%209/DSC07255a.jpg

When I make anything less than 50#, you will find me using the Kitchen Aid with grinder attachment. My mixer is 20+ years old, and is a very low watt one (I think 300), so I have the baby of their line-up. Here is a close up of the grind it gives me on the coarse plate both in a test pattie and a stuffed link. Oftentimes when folks aren't happy with their grind, they are grinding at too high of a speed, and not letting the cutter do it's job. I plan on 1 minute per pound when grinding.


http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v377/thirdeye2/Cooking/IMG_0107.jpg


http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v377/thirdeye2/Cooking/IMG_0121a.jpg

Phesant
03-14-2010, 01:41 PM
Never thought of doing half of my spice mix before the grind..... will have to think on this....
I'm like you, for fresh sausage I like your type of finished product.... What do you think of using a 3/8 plate twice?

thirdeye
03-14-2010, 01:58 PM
Never thought of doing half of my spice mix before the grind..... will have to think on this....
I'm like you, for fresh sausage I like your type of finished product.... What do you think of using a 3/8 plate twice?

I couldn't say. My coarse plate is 1/4". It's a big jump to a 3/8" hole.

Rick's Tropical Delight
03-14-2010, 04:33 PM
down at my bar all i get asked is "how do you like my biscuit?" :becky:

CajunSmoker
03-14-2010, 06:22 PM
down at my bar all i get asked is "how do you like my biscuit?" :becky:


hey, At least you got a bar to hang out at:rolleyes:


I sprinkle half or more of my seasonings onto the cubed meat I chill out in the freezer before grinding. It gets a fair amount of mixing when I grind it. The remainder gets mixed in with the ice water, then poured into the ground meat. My last mix step is with rubber gloves on, I give the sausage one more mix by hand. This gets the water mixed in and one more chance for the seasonings.




http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v377/thirdeye2/Barbecue%209/DSC07255a.jpg

When I make anything less than 50#, you will find me using the Kitchen Aid with grinder attachment. My mixer is 20+ years old, and is a very low watt one (I think 300), so I have the baby of their line-up. Here is a close up of the grind it gives me on the coarse plate both in a test pattie and a stuffed link. Oftentimes when folks aren't happy with their grind, they are grinding at too high of a speed, and not letting the cutter do it's job. I plan on 1 minute per pound when grinding.


http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v377/thirdeye2/Cooking/IMG_0107.jpg



http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v377/thirdeye2/Cooking/IMG_0121a.jpg



Ohhh yeaaaa:cool: Now that looks like the real deal:clap2: