I need sausage help

(Todd Chester) #1

My sausage comes out okay, but seems to be missing something:

1 lb org ground beef
1 lb ground pork (crate free)
black pepper
white pepper
onion powder
garlic powder
more garlic powder
salt
more salt

What am I missing?

#2

There are zillion different sausages and we have different tastes too… Maybe the meat was too lean, that easily can ruin a sausage for me. (I am a Hungarian so my sausages are red with paprika but you obviously want to make a different type of sausage ;))
All the sausage recipes I have read used lots of extra fat tissue but I don’t do that with my own as I don’t need that level of fattiness. But I do use fatty pork.

(Todd Chester) #3

That would explain the dryness!

(KCKO, KCFO) #4

Crushed dry sage and some thyme makes a tasty sausage.

(Bob M) #5

Using extra fat could help, including fat back (though this is salty). This uses fat back, but it’s a breakfast sausage:

It also uses pork butt, which is already fatty. Interesting.

I like this recipe, and even include the brown sugar, as it’s not that much sugar. You could not include it or try a fake brown sugar.

(Todd Chester) #6

Wife is allergic to sage. What would be a good substitute? Oregano?

(Bacon is a many-splendoured thing) #7

Oregano, or possibly rosemary.

(Jane) #8

This is my go-to recipe. Mostly just grind it and freeze it, but sometimes stuff casings. I leave out the sugar and anise seed (don’t like anise), cut the pepper flakes in half. It is still a bit spicy, wich I like but not overpowering.

If you are making it with pre-ground meat the spices in this recipe would still work.

(Todd Chester) #9

I think I will try both ! Thank you!

#10

Spices are very individual. I never would use herbs, for example :slight_smile: I like certain herbs (oregano :D) but not in my sausage. But as I wrote before, there are zillion types of sausages. I am sure I even ate white sausage with herbs and it was tasty… But I still just use my own sausage mix I like.

Rosemary is common in sausages. Not my fav but it works in some dishes I made but there are some big favs of it as I got some otherwise good sausages once (good home-raised pork and everything) with insanely much rosemary so I barely could taste the meat below the rosemary flavor…

(Todd Chester) #11

Thank you!

I wiul have to leave out the coriander and the tiniest amount sends my wife to the emergency room (coriander is a poisonous herb and she react violently to it), And yes, drop the sugar and anise and marjoram. which we both find gross.

For pepper, I like to use California pepper power:

I am thinking of mixing in some bacon greese to add fat, but am thinking is might alter the flavor too much.

(Jane) #12

Yes, make any alterations for your personal tastes and health. When I toast the fennel seeds it makes the whole kitchen and family room smell wonderful.

I did not know that about coriander. The seeds are from the cilantro herb, which I grow in my garden in the spring before it gets too hot. To some people it tastes like soap, but I love it.

(Todd Chester) #13

Beware with cats and rabbits. It will kill them. Though the smell, I think would drive them away. Coriander tastes like gasoline to me. But some folks do love it.

What I do not get is marjoram. YUK!

#14

Coriander is amazing, some nice lil taste but what’s more important, the whole seeds are CRUNCHY :smiley:
I tried it out maybe 2 years ago, we only use it for one dish but it shines in it :slight_smile:

Marjoram is very meh.

And my sausages needs neither though coriander sounds interesting… I will put some on my sausage patties tomorrow…

(Ohio ) #15

:point_up:

Rosemary & Oregano like mentioned too. Lots of salt.

#16

if you have a real good store brand you used to eat before ya make your own now I would check ingredients and see what they put in it and then you might know what might be missing in your taste you prefer?

but I agree with @Shinita that for ‘great sausage’ more fat content could easily be a huge factor in that taste. More fat added, can we ever go wrong, lol. probably not.

but sage is the key thing but if you wife is not good with sage I googled this info which is what is best sub herb for sage:

  • Marjoram What to know: The closest herb to sage is marjoram. …
    1. Thyme What to know: If you don’t have marjoram, thyme is your next best bet. …

hope some of this helps ya!! Sausage on!!

(Jane) #17

The seeds or the cilantro plant? My garden is fenced but the cats gets in from time to time when I leave the gate open and they come in. I always shoo them out before I close the gate. I am not worried about the bunnies - they might be able to burrow in under my fence but we have so many wild bunnies that a few who got into my garden would only be a problem when they found my lettuce!

Can you provide a reference? All the links I pulled up said cilantro/coriander was not toxic to cats.

(Todd Chester) #18

I double checked on cat and rabbits. The references are all over the map, so it depends on which site you read. Most trend to say it is nontoxic. None defined what part of the plant. But that being said, cats are pure carnivorous and it is highly unlikely they would eat it on their own. You’d have to sick it in the food to trick them.

On the human side, they are over the map too, but this is one site to look at:


And it is all about quantity. Those that are sensitive react at much lower levels.

Pubmed has a lot of papers on it too. It comes down to if you are one of the unlucky ones.

(Bob M) #19

Interesting. A lot of plants negatively affect me, but I find cilantro does not. Actually, I don’t know of any commonly used herbs or spices that do, but I could be wrong. For instance, I made some keto chocolate vodka, and my wife and I drank the whole bottle over time. The last few shots, though, caused some type of reaction for me. There was some residue at the end, and I think I may have to filter multiple times to get rid of that.

So, it could be that I have an issue with herbs/spices, but not at the levels I’m getting.

#20

What liquid are you using to bind it all together? I preferer not to use organic meats as they tend to have less fat. I like my fat to be in the 30% range for sausages. Salt is very important as well. Sage works well in pork sausages. Red Pepper flakes work in both. I trick my mother taught me was to have the ingredients super cold and put your equipment in the freezer before you begin. Good Luck!