Guest guest Posted September 24, 2004 Report Share Posted September 24, 2004 Deborah- >1) What pork meat I am to buy to make breakfast sausage ( I don't >want to just buy ground pork) > Ham butt, shank? Pork loin? Other? In general, butt and shoulder are what you should be seeking for sausage. >2) Do I need to buy extra fat and how will I find this in Houston? To answer the first part, yes, I strongly recommend it. Butt and shoulder will have about 20-30% fat content, which is not enough for a good, tasty, fatty sausage. 40-50% is more traditional and, IMO, tastier. As to finding good quality pig fat from pastured pigs in Houston, I have no idea what to suggest other than mail order direct from a farm. >3) I don't have a butcher, can I do all of this at the local grocery >store until we figure it out even if it is not organic meat or Pasteur >raised or anything. I still want to get started. That's a decision you'll have to make, but I would caution you that factory farm pigs get fed the worst garbage of all factory farm animals, so IMO pork is the most important meat to be careful about selecting. Good luck, and enjoy your sausages! - Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted September 24, 2004 Report Share Posted September 24, 2004 >4) I read about lacto-fermenting meat using kefir. Would you mix up >the meat with the spices and then let set in refrigerator 24 hours and >then freeze or would you ferment 24 hours after grinding, add spices and >then freeze? Any ideas? I mix the ground meat with kefir and spices and let it ferment in the fridge. But to make sausage all you need is ground meat and spices ... about half meat and half fat makes a good sausage, and if you don't have enough fat ask the butcher (it depends on the cut you buy). Traditionally, you make sausage out of the cheap, tough, or small pieces of meat, and organ meats. There are good sausage books out though, I'd recommend getting one at the library. It's fun, esp. if you don't stuff 'em. Heidi Jean Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted September 24, 2004 Report Share Posted September 24, 2004 Deborah, We need to talk more often! Use any fatty pork meat. A roast from Sams would be the cheapest. They come in a double pack and you have to cut the meat away from the bones, but it's the right type for sausage...butt I think. Lard is rendered pork fat. If you can find commercial Lard that has no hydrogenated lard in it that's great, and you can add that. I make my own lard whenever we have pigs, so if you find some pork fat somewhere I'll tell you how to make it. I'm looking for pigs right now to raise in the orchard, so hopefully we'll have some pork availible by spring. BTW, when Amy got my kitchenaid she got the sausage stuffer w/ it. If you get good at this, you can borrow it and start suffing! I don't know anything about kefir-ing the meat, but I am anxous to learn as well and waiting patiently for grain-babies!. Tina in Hockley,TX Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted September 25, 2004 Report Share Posted September 25, 2004 ----- Original Message ----- From: " Heidi Schuppenhauer " > I mix the ground meat with kefir and spices and let it ferment > in the fridge. Would one have to use " whole " kefir or would it work using just the whey? --s Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted September 25, 2004 Report Share Posted September 25, 2004 >Would one have to use " whole " kefir or would it work using just the whey? > >--s I'd guess the whey would work .. I haven't experimented, it's more work to separate the whey and I'm congenitally lazy. But I add a LOT of kimchi, so there's no chance anything I don't like will grow in there. I think adding a little salt helps too, to make sure it's a good lactoferment. But " real " pepperoni is made using just a little culture starter, so my method is likely overkill (or over-grow, as the case may be). Heidi Jean Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted September 25, 2004 Report Share Posted September 25, 2004 ----- Original Message ----- From: " Heidi Schuppenhauer " > > >Would one have to use " whole " kefir or would it work using just the whey? > > > >--s > > I'd guess the whey would work .. I haven't experimented, > it's more work to separate the whey and I'm congenitally > lazy. Well, I'm not a fan of more work for its own sake but my little ones cannot tolerate cow milk kefir, but they can tolerate the whey. I'd like to make lacto-fermented sausages and was thinking that this would be a way to negotiate around that frustrating intolerance thing. But I add a LOT of kimchi, so there's no chance anything > I don't like will grow in there. I think adding a little salt helps too, to make sure > it's a good lactoferment. You put kimchi *in* your sausage, you mean? But " real " pepperoni is made using > just a little culture starter, so my method is likely overkill > (or over-grow, as the case may be). What kind of culture? Is it marketed to the public? We had to stop pepperoni because all of them were cultured in corn media. Thanks! --s Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted September 26, 2004 Report Share Posted September 26, 2004 >Well, I'm not a fan of more work for its own sake but my little ones >cannot tolerate cow milk kefir, but they can tolerate the whey. I'd like to >make lacto-fermented sausages and was thinking that this would be a way to >negotiate around that frustrating intolerance thing. That's a good reason! You could also use kimchi juice. Or kefir beer. Kimchi juice is acidic, full of spices and lactobacilli, and I have talked to someone who used it to make good cultured jerky. >But I add a LOT of kimchi, so there's no chance anything >> I don't like will grow in there. I think adding a little salt helps too, >to make sure >> it's a good lactoferment. > >You put kimchi *in* your sausage, you mean? Typo. I meant kefiili. All these k's ya know. >But " real " pepperoni is made using >> just a little culture starter, so my method is likely overkill >> (or over-grow, as the case may be). > >What kind of culture? Is it marketed to the public? We had to stop >pepperoni because all of them were cultured in corn media. I don't know where to buy it, I've just read about it in pepperoni-making writups. It may well be cultured in corn though ... or barley malt. I have that problem with beer yeasts too. I've stayed away from " real " sausage culturing because there seems to be a real danger of food poisoning if you do it wrong. > Heidi Jean Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted September 28, 2004 Report Share Posted September 28, 2004 Well sure there's the dinner and then there's the ninety other things and projects that you do so well. BTW: Where's that cookbook anyway? Hee, hee, jo On Monday, September 27, 2004, at 09:25 AM, wrote: > Hee hee. Not joking at all ... if you are lazy AND get > the job done anyway, people call you " efficient " ... > I go to great creative lengths to do as little > work as possible! My ideal dinner is one that takes > less than 15 minutes to fix. > > -- Heidi Jean Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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