Duck Sausage #4

wyogoob · November 22, 2009, 06:02:47 PM

Made duck sausage with a new recipe I concocted. I ground this thru a 3/16" plate. In the past I used 5/16 or 3/8".

About 2/3rds duck breasts and 1/3rd pork butt. it's not bound as well as I would like; must not have put enough Instacure #1 in it, or too much apricot preserves (frucose) in it.

Cold smoked for 3.5 hours with cherry, damper 3/4 closed.

It's OK, I've done better.

NePaSmoKer · November 22, 2009, 06:08:12 PM

Looks pretty darn good to me ;D

nepas

Habanero Smoker · November 23, 2009, 02:00:09 AM

The meat looks like it bound, and the sausage looks very good. If the texture was "crumbly" then that is a moisture problem. Maybe not enough powdered dry milk or soy protein powder. The amount of instacure #1 should have that much to do with binding the meat, and should not exceed 1 teaspoon per 5 pounds; or for lesser amounts 1/4 teaspoon per pound.

As for myself, I'm a big advocate for making sure you build the primary bind. That is you must have the right amount of salt, and beat the ground meat mixture until the becomes sticky.

wyogoob · November 23, 2009, 09:27:41 AM

Quote from: Habanero Smoker on November 23, 2009, 02:00:09 AM
The meat looks like it bound, and the sausage looks very good. If the texture was "crumbly" then that is a moisture problem. Maybe not enough powdered dry milk or soy protein powder. The amount of instacure #1 should have that much to do with binding the meat, and should not exceed 1 teaspoon per 5 pounds; or for lesser amounts 1/4 teaspoon per pound.

As for myself, I'm a big advocate for making sure you build the primary bind. That is you must have the right amount of salt, and beat the ground meat mixture until the becomes sticky.

Thanks for the tips.

I used 1 level tsp Instacure per 5 lbs, mixing it and the rest of the ingredients with 1 cup of water per 5 lbs. I didn't use any soy or non-fat dry milk. Seems as though if I make my own recipe using Instacure #1 the sausage is not bound. If I use Tenderquick, or just salt sugar and wine, I'm OK.

I used a whole jar of apricot preserves in 15lbs of meat, trying to duplicate some sweet duck sausage I got in San Francisco's Chinatown.

Tenpoint5 · November 23, 2009, 12:17:58 PM

Quote from: NePaSmoKer on November 22, 2009, 06:08:12 PM
Looks pretty darn good to me ;D

nepas

Ditto that.

Habanero Smoker · November 23, 2009, 01:48:58 PM

Quote from: wyogoob on November 23, 2009, 09:27:41 AM
Quote from: Habanero Smoker on November 23, 2009, 02:00:09 AM
The meat looks like it bound, and the sausage looks very good. If the texture was "crumbly" then that is a moisture problem. Maybe not enough powdered dry milk or soy protein powder. The amount of instacure #1 should have that much to do with binding the meat, and should not exceed 1 teaspoon per 5 pounds; or for lesser amounts 1/4 teaspoon per pound.

As for myself, I'm a big advocate for making sure you build the primary bind. That is you must have the right amount of salt, and beat the ground meat mixture until the becomes sticky.

Thanks for the tips.

I used 1 level tsp Instacure per 5 lbs, mixing it and the rest of the ingredients with 1 cup of water per 5 lbs. I didn't use any soy or non-fat dry milk. Seems as though if I make my own recipe using Instacure #1 the sausage is not bound. If I use Tenderquick, or just salt sugar and wine, I'm OK.

I used a whole jar of apricot preserves in 15lbs of meat, trying to duplicate some sweet duck sausage I got in San Francisco's Chinatown.

I just curious. Did you use any extra salt other then the salt that is in instacure? If not that also could be the reason. I've experimented with various amounts of salt, and find the lowest that I can go is 2 tablespoons of Morton's Kosher salt per 5 pounds of meat. If I go lower I have problems with the sausage binding. If you experiment with the amount of salt you may want to start with 3 tablespoons and adjust down from there.

wyogoob · November 23, 2009, 07:19:52 PM

Quote from: Habanero Smoker on November 23, 2009, 01:48:58 PM

I just curious. Did you use any extra salt other then the salt that is in instacure? If not that also could be the reason. I've experimented with various amounts of salt, and find the lowest that I can go is 2 tablespoons of Morton's Kosher salt per 5 pounds of meat. If I go lower I have problems with the sausage binding. If you experiment with the amount of salt you may want to start with 3 tablespoons and adjust down from there.

Good question, here's what I did:
13 pounds of meat
2.5 tsp Prague Powder #1
10 tsp canning salt
about 12 oz of apricot preserves
spices
3 cups water

I think I mixed it OK, always could do better, it has a consistant texture. It's like old world Mettz that's been in the fridge too long.

Tenpoint5 · November 23, 2009, 07:22:26 PM

Goob I wonder if you added some NFDM to the mix if it would bind it up a little more for you.

wyogoob · November 23, 2009, 09:15:20 PM

Quote from: Tenpoint5 on November 23, 2009, 07:22:26 PM
Goob I wonder if you added some NFDM to the mix if it would bind it up a little more for you.

yeah, thanks. This is the second time this has happened to me in 6 months. Had the same thing on some moose salami.....60 lbs of moose salami.

I never have this problem with Tenderquick.

Ya know, my short term memory could be better. I could have miscounted the salt or cure.....???????

Habanero Smoker · November 24, 2009, 01:45:47 AM

The recipe looks good. The amount of salt in your recipe (approximately 4 tablespoons of canning salt for 13 pounds of meat) is almost equivalent to the amount I use to use (about 3 tablespoons Morton's Kosher salt per 5 pounds), so you have enough salt. To get the primary bind, it is not only mixing the ingredient well, but working the meat until it gets sticky. Most don't do this step, but I find it really help bond the meat. I use my 5 quart KitchenAid mixer to do this, but it can be done by hand.

I can't see any reason why the recipe would work for TQ, and not for Prague Powder #1 and the amount of salt you have. I love a good mystery. :) 10.5 is correct; either use powdered dry milk or soy protein powder will help. Besides helping to maintain moisture, they also aid binding.