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homemade roasted jalapeno and cheddar sausage

F

Free Mr. Tony

is Blowin Smoke!
Joined
Jul 30, 2015
Location
Fort Wayne, in
One of the very first sausages I made when I started the hobby was this one. It is still one of my favorites. I normally only grind once in the fine die, as I like a firm bite. Lately, I've been liking the double course grind for a nice mix of texture. That's what I did for these.

Some pork butt


Some fat back


Ground once through the course die




Re-frozen, and sent through again




Mixed in the seasoning and milk powder along with some roasted jalapeno, and mild cheddar



Put in the stuffer and had other things to do, so I left it there overnight



I do very small batches because I like to do it, but don't eat a ton of sausage



Hang them in my garage fridge for several hours


Onto the pellet cooker at 170 for about 2 1/2 hours. Here they are about an hour in


And about ready to come off.


Into water bath


And finally, the finished product. Very tasty.
 
iStrikeBack said:
looks great! I've actually never made sausage but I was planning on making some in the next couple of weeks. What is the milk for / do?
Click to expand...

I'm not a sausage expert and I bet you fatback Joe from above could answer more thoroughly, but I will give you the short answer from my experience.

It is used as a binder. So basically helps hold everything in that may otherwise run out of your sausage mixture when being heated. It makes for a juicy sausage, that is not greasy. It seems to soak up all the melting fat during cooking, then holds it in the product rather than running out into your cooker. It also seems to make a bit of a different in texture. Softer bite, without the mealy feeling that some sausage has.

As with many things, general process and cooking method all come into play as well.

I've also used textured soy protein when making sausage for pizza and sausage rolls. It makes the sausage much less greasy so it doesn't make the dough soggy when being cooked.

I'm sure someone here can answer in a much more scientific fashion if they happen to see this.
 
thirdeye said:
Your sausage looks wonderful. I go exactly the same route except I omit additional fat, just use ground butt. Is your cheese the hi-temp? I get mine from Butcher Packer and they have been adding several new flavors.
Click to expand...

This round was not high temp cheese. I've tried that before and it does hold up better, but I really like the flavor of this particular cheddar from Murray's cheese counter in Kroger. It melts slightly when warmed up, but doesn't ooze out all over the place either.
 
Free Mr. Tony said:
I'm not a sausage expert and I bet you fatback Joe from above could answer more thoroughly, but I will give you the short answer from my experience.

It is used as a binder. So basically helps hold everything in that may otherwise run out of your sausage mixture when being heated. It makes for a juicy sausage, that is not greasy. It seems to soak up all the melting fat during cooking, then holds it in the product rather than running out into your cooker. It also seems to make a bit of a different in texture. Softer bite, without the mealy feeling that some sausage has.

As with many things, general process and cooking method all come into play as well.

I've also used textured soy protein when making sausage for pizza and sausage rolls. It makes the sausage much less greasy so it doesn't make the dough soggy when being cooked.

I'm sure someone here can answer in a much more scientific fashion if they happen to see this.
Click to expand...

I've made several batches now and they have been mealy, somewhat dry, and worst of all the hog casing has been chewy.

Does the fridge time dry out the casing?

Definitely going to try the binder. I've not used any so far.
 
Big N Hot said:
I've made several batches now and they have been mealy, somewhat dry, and worst of all the hog casing has been chewy.

Does the fridge time dry out the casing?

Definitely going to try the binder. I've not used any so far.
Click to expand...

Give it a try. Depending on type, I make some without too. I've not had much problem with texture, but sometimes not enough fat can cause them to dry out. Also, make sure you are mixing and kneading well. I usually make sure it will stick to my downward facing palm without falling off.

I normally let them hang in the fridge for 24 hours or so. Stuff the day before smoking. These only had about 8 hours, but yes I believe the drying almost melds the casing with the meat. Nice and snappy.
 
Big N Hot said:
I've made several batches now and they have been mealy, somewhat dry, and worst of all the hog casing has been chewy.

Does the fridge time dry out the casing?

Definitely going to try the binder. I've not used any so far.
Click to expand...

Mealy sausage is usually caused from the meat, and any additional fat, not being cold enough when ground and when mixed. Even if you grind icy cold meat sometimes the friction from grinding generates too much heat. The fat needs to sort of bind with the meat, otherwise it sort of separates while smoking and the result is a crumbly texture. The liquid you mix in needs to be icy cold, and sometimes adding crushed ice helps too.
 
Free Mr. Tony said:
I'm not a sausage expert and I bet you fatback Joe from above could answer more thoroughly, but I will give you the short answer from my experience.

It is used as a binder. So basically helps hold everything in that may otherwise run out of your sausage mixture when being heated. It makes for a juicy sausage, that is not greasy. It seems to soak up all the melting fat during cooking, then holds it in the product rather than running out into your cooker. It also seems to make a bit of a different in texture. Softer bite, without the mealy feeling that some sausage has.

As with many things, general process and cooking method all come into play as well.

I've also used textured soy protein when making sausage for pizza and sausage rolls. It makes the sausage much less greasy so it doesn't make the dough soggy when being cooked.

I'm sure someone here can answer in a much more scientific fashion if they happen to see this.
Click to expand...

From my understanding and the experience that I've had, you would use NFDM powder as a binder when you are adding more than one kind of meat such as a pork and beef combo. With only one meat it is probably unnecessary, but a lot of commercial packers use it all the time. I believe it does help retain moisture too.

As a side note, one of the most seen problems for newbie sausage makers is that they don't mix the meat well enough to get the primary bind, and that is what causes it to have an off texture (that and cooking too hot, or fatting out). You want to mix until you have a very sticky meat paste, which is very hard to get off of your fingers when mixing.

At any rate, those sausages look fantastic, and jalapeno and cheddar is my favorite! Reminds me that I need to thaw out the meat I have in the freezer and get cracking! :clap:
 
Big N Hot said:
I've made several batches now and they have been mealy, somewhat dry, and worst of all the hog casing has been chewy.

Does the fridge time dry out the casing?

Definitely going to try the binder. I've not used any so far.
Click to expand...

What you are describing is typically the result of cooking too hot. For sausage that is smoked and where you used a cure (i.e.- you end up with like a kielbasa, or fully cooked brat or hot dog that you can then grill), you do not want your meat to see above 170 degrees during cooking. Above this, the fat starts to render out of the meat, will show up as a puddle of grease in your cooker, and will result in a dry crumbly texture. I am assuming this is your problem because you mention that you have not used a binder before. I have seen complaints about mealy texture when you use too much Soy Protein Concentrate or NFDM powder as well. Someone mentioned it above, but in a pork sausage, using boston butt is a good starting point and will result in a sausage with about 25% fat content, which is what you want to have IMHO.......Give it a rip, we like pics! :thumb:
 
Looks awesome, nice job! I think I'll give milk powder a shot next time I make sausage. Thanks for the info.
 
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