Sticky Post for Beginners and Inquiring Minds?

nasels · February 12, 2012, 10:08:30 AM

Anyone ever think of starting an information sticky of common repeated items or just a place to go and look first for common information? The search functions on forums can be a little hit and miss.

I am a beginner and the info on her is awesome but at times a little mind boggling. Without trying to bookmark every post I find info I want to refer back too and then filter thought pages of post looking for the information I don't know what to do?

Ex- Why use non-fat milk why, when, why not?
When to use Fermento, when not, why?
What to substitute for what--- whey powder, soy powder, karo syrup, soy flour etc.
Prague cure, #1 pink, # 2 cure ???
Encapsulated Citric Acid-- when, why?
What basic seasoning, cure, etc would you suggest a beginner buy as a firm starter basis to
be able to make a variety of different items?
What basic starter projects do you suggest for beginners?
Rate projects on a level of difficulty, different sausages, salami, pepperoni etc.

The list could go own and own, my mind spins round and round :o I am sure I am making this harder than it is, just want to grow in my sausage making experience! Sure would be nice to have this kind of info in one spot for pea brain rookies like myself :-[

Am I alone beginners and rookies please speak up ???

viper125 · February 12, 2012, 10:41:55 AM

Wow! it may be a good idea! But.. there is so much info here you'd have to put some one in charge and create a index too! A ton of work. Also a lot of info is experience and not exact science. So where do you draw the line? Learning to use the search feature and the advance search does a lot of good for me. Plus then what i cant find or need a better exclamation of i ask. There is always some one who will help.
Other wise a good idea! Just my opinion though see what ever one says.

Sailor · February 12, 2012, 10:57:56 AM

We love to help so ask any questions. It may have been answered a hundred times but you need help when you need it ;D The search engine don't work so pretty good on the site so just ask and someone will be around to help you out.

Kevin A · February 12, 2012, 12:18:14 PM

Online forums like this one are great in getting particular sausage-making questions answered (such as "Which ___ should i use?"). But I would recommend doing a little offline reading as well. Some really helpful, informative books out there for beginners with content that should cover quite a bit of the important stuff. Books by Rytek Kutas and Stanley Marianski are quite well-regarded. There are others as well.

Online, plenty of good info to be found here: http://www.wedlinydomowe.com/

-Kevin

Tater · February 12, 2012, 12:18:44 PM

I was like you in my interest to learn all I could and improve my sausage/curing. The one thing that helped me more than anything was purchasing the book "Great Sausage Recipes and Meat Curing" by Rytek Kutas. He covers virturally everything in this book. I think I payed $20.00 for it on Amazon. It is well worth the price to my thinking!

Habanero Smoker · February 12, 2012, 01:28:00 PM

Here is a link to sausage ingredients that I posted on the recipe site a couple of years ago, but removed the link from public view, because the embedded links no longer worked.

I'll post the link to it, but don't use any of the embedded links, because they will only take you to the home page. So just scroll up and down to locate the information you are looking for.

When I get around to it, I'll try to figure out another way to format it, and make the link public again.

Sausage Ingredients

pmmpete · February 12, 2012, 03:38:16 PM

Another excellent book is Mastering the Craft of Making Sausage, by Warren R. Anderson.

nasels · February 12, 2012, 10:00:45 PM

Quote from: Habanero Smoker on February 12, 2012, 01:28:00 PM
Here is a link to sausage ingredients that I posted on the recipe site a couple of years ago, but removed the link from public view, because the embedded links no longer worked.

I'll post the link to it, but don't use any of the embedded links, because they will only take you to the home page. So just scroll up and down to locate the information you are looking for.

When I get around to it, I'll try to figure out another way to format it, and make the link public again.

Sausage Ingredients

Thanks :)

Habanero Smoker · February 13, 2012, 01:45:58 AM

A couple of other books you may want to take a look at are:

"Bruce Aidell's Complete Sausage Book"; by Aidell, Bruce and Kelly, Denis

"Charcuterie: The Craft of Salting, Smoking and Curing"; by by Ruhlman, Michael and Polcyn, Brian

viper125 · February 13, 2012, 08:49:00 AM

Just ordered Charcuterie! Hoping to under stand dried meats better. Couldn't resist all the good reviews you all give it.

ratherbboating · February 16, 2012, 07:21:18 AM

I guess this is a good as place as any to ask a question. I have a question about AmesPho. I think that it is a blend of salts. I search the web and several places state that Sodium Phosphate is a sub for it.
Is there something else that be a sub for it (that i might have on hand)? Looking to make sonoran chorizo (from lpolis site). Or can I just leave it out?
Thanks.

viper125 · February 16, 2012, 07:47:57 AM

Maybe this will help. I seen it described as a mix of Phosphates and this is what it's suppose to do. Phosphates are used in a wide range of processed meat, poultry and seafood in which they perform several functions. Phosphates improve the retention of natural fluids in the animal muscle that would otherwise be lost in the aging, cooking or freezing process. They also act as protein solubilizers to aid in binding processed meats. Their presence results in improved texture, flavor and color

Habanero Smoker · February 16, 2012, 01:36:22 PM

It you click on the link in my other post, it is the first ingredient listed:

"This ingredient is a combination of three phosphorus derivatives; Sodium Tripolyphosphate (commonly use in processed cheese and cheese powder), Sodium Pyrophosphate (commonly used in baked goods, baking powder also used in processing cheese), and Sodium Hexametaphosphate (emulsifier and stabilizer; commonly use in sauces, egg whites, canned vegetable and fruits). Phosphates are vital to human, animal, and plant life. It is one of the most common substances in our environment, naturally occurring in our food, our water and our bodies.'

If you are having trouble finding it try this place:
The Ingredient Store

It carries ingredients most sausage/meat curing retail store don't carry.

Kevin A · February 17, 2012, 06:30:59 AM

FYI: some info on using phosphates.
http://www.phosadd.com/diet/diet.htm

Because of potential side-effects, I'm hesitant about using this item in my home-made products.

-Kevin

viper125 · February 17, 2012, 08:20:53 AM

I can understand that. But its a natural compound so you can't really avoid it. I have heard a lot worse said about cure 1 and 2. Nitrates and nitrites are also natural compounds and cant be avoided. But if we did try..you'd have to quit curing meat. And if you eat store bought you'd still get it and in probably higher does. I have seen all three listed on labels.