Quick Facts

Technical Information

• Fresh sausage is made of approximately 70% lean meat and 30% fat (ideal proportions).
• The content of fat can vary from 25% to 30%. If the fat content is less than 15%, the sausage will be too tough, too high in protein, and not juicy enough. On the other hand, if the fat content is higher than 30%, there will be an excessive loss of fat during the cooking process and the quality of the product will suffer. If there is less than 15% fat content,  you must use a proper binder.
• As a result of the possible presence of harmful bacteria or abscesses, jowls are not usually used in the processing of fresh sausages (it is best to use jowls in cooked products like cretons).
• You can put poultry skin in fresh sausage as long as it does not amount to more than 8% of the total poultry meat used in the sausage.
• To maintain a nice colour, watch out for beef that has a different pH level; it will blacken faster than pork., The colour of sausages made with pure pork (from the sow) is more even.
• As a rule, fresh sausage maintains its colour for about three days. By using the sodium erythorbate, you can MAINTAIN the original colour for an extra day or two. The quantity to use is 350 to 500 parts per million, equivalent to approximately 25-50g per 100kg of product (0.5b/kg).
• Sodium erythorbate and ascorbic acid are the only additives allowed under the regulation for maintaining the colour of fresh sausage. However, the label must say "preserved sausage" (e.g. preserved tomato and basil sausage).
• There is only one government regulation for fresh sausage: the meat protein value must be at least 7.5% and the total protein value at least 9% when the sausage is sold as a fresh meat product.
• You can always replace a certain volume of water with another liquid (e.g. tomato juice). It's important, however, that you consider the acidity of the tomato juice since it can cause the binder in the sausage to break down during cooking (acidity of liquid => coagulation of meat proteins => breakdown of binder.

Processing fresh sausage

• Weigh the meat, the ice water, and the seasoning binder (if any);
• Chop the meat into the desired size;
• Mix the meat and the ice water until the water is completely absorbed;
• Add the season binder and mix until the meat and the binder are well combined;
• Although optional, it is recommended that you run the mix through the chopper again in order to end up with smooth sausage meat that is not crunchy;
• Pack the mix carefully into the stuffer to avoid air pockets;
• Stuff the meat into the casing of your choice.

Cooking Fresh Sausage

    Oven method:
        Put the sausage in a saucepan and cover with water.
        Poach until the water begins to boil.
        Finish cooking in the oven (about 10 minutes).

    BBQ method:
        Put the sausage in a saucepan and cover with water.
        Poach until completely cooked.
        Finish on the BBQ (cut in halves or not).

    Pan method:

        Melt some butter in oil on medium heat.
        Sear the sausage on all sides and cook until done.
        You can finish cooking in the oven to give the sausage a nicer appearance (about 5 minutes).