Mixture wet for Beef or Lamb

[spudie]

Hi
Not sure what to use in the Subject .... have searched for "Wet - Loose" mixtures in forum, cant see answer for my issue as yet.
Most of the recipes I have tried are 80 /20.
Mostly I dont use crumbs or rusk at all.

Problem I have found is when using Beef or Lamb in fresh sausage I inadvertently get a very wet mixture that doesn't look the best either uncooked or cooked.
Sausage never gets firm even after a good 12 hr rest in fridge.

Have tried adding dry ingredients like SPC, Dry Milk Pdr, adding corn flour.
Less hand mixing, more mixing, adding eggs, more fat, less fat.
Have tried emulsifying & product seems to gets worse.

Should I be trying some of the Gums that we see, maybe the much talked about B & P special binder or the Sausage Makers stuff. maybe phosphates ???

I know you Guys will have experienced this before & cant wait for any helpful comments

Spudie
OZ

[polka]

Hey spudie

Could you post the recipe you used? Someone will notice any potential errors in formula so as to help you a bit.

Sorry for your mess.

Rex

[NCPaul]

Are you using meat that's been frozen? Have you tried salting the meat the night before?

[polka]

Are you grinding your own beef, or buying it already ground / minced? pre-packaged ground beef in a "chub" might have up to 10% water added already.

The salt remark is because it helps to develop your myosin when mixing, which is the natural binder present. 5 pounds / 2.2 kg of beef could handle about 8 to 12 oz. water without much trouble. Beyond that it could get a bet wet.

Just thinking thru my typing.

R

[spudie]

Firstly I'm terribly sorry that I didn't follow up on my post here and add information required by the team.
Since posting this I'm now a retired old sausage maker and looking through the forum I spotted to my embarrassment this forgotten post.
I still dont make beef sausages for the reasons in the post.
In response to posters.
- I didn't salt the meat over night, do now though.
- Mostly the beef was shop bought minced and I was buying in bulk so would have been frozen.
- I resorted to buying a "Cambridge Beef Meal" butchers mix to try and fix issue. This worked to a fashion
but didn't really achieve total firming up.

Sorry I dont remember the exact recipe that I was using at that time but I'd love to see the experts versions to try and then report back. That way a recipe failure would be something that I'm doing wrong.
Any of recommended greatly accepted.
One I would really love to get right would be this one from a fellow Ozzie as seen on Len Poli site.
Not a fresh mixture but would have to be correct firmness to achieve same result.
http://lpoli.50webs.com/index_files/Kransky.pdf

Spudie

[NCPaul]

I'm glad you did return to this post as it is frustrating to never hear the end of a thread. Looking at the recipe you posted I had three thoughts. First I would add 0.5 % sodium bicarbonate to bring the pH up. I would add the wine only after I had a good bind and would be sure to have it ice cold. Third I would finish the snags by poaching in a water bath. Do keep us posted on how you get on as that is how we can all learn from each other.

[spudie]

Thanks for the reply.
Sodium bicarbonate is known as bicarbonate of soda down our way but is the same stuff.
Will try this in next time I try "Beef" making sausages.
I have been poaching for some time and find its the best way to end up in the freezer.

rgds Spudie

[onewheeler]

First post here for a long time, I just visited to find a recipe that I remembered seeing.

I suspect your problem is with the meat. I seldom add liquid to pork or beef. Pork is usually (but not always) minced at home, but sometimes I buy supermarket mince. Beef and lamb are always supermarket mince and good quality (not much help to you, but I buy them from Waitrose in the UK, as far as I know there's no added water). Typically 20% fat. Lamb I find needs a little water added to go through the stuffer smoothly, but no more than about 5%.

[spudie]

Now its a really long time between report backs - sorry.
Over time I have made quite a few batches that I have used bicarbonate of soda to adjust PH
When I see something I like, I do start with exactly the recipes as listed testing in 1000g batches using best products that are available to me.
We all have similar products by name but there are always differences in product consistency. I have learnt by trial and error that a perfect recipe from the rest of the world can and usually does end up different in Oz.
I now add min 1.0g bicarbonate of soda/kg meat to testing recipes that have Beef or Tomato as ingredients, not so much lamb (dont ask)

As always with this fantastic hobby - Keep notes on every batch you make, if nothing else that advice is paramount.

rgds from Perth WA
42C outside today, even the snakes are looking for shade.