Pork belly sausage

[awacs1704]

Hi everyone, hoping for a little advice. I picked up 10 lbs of pork belly on the cheap and plan to make sausage with it. I’m wondering if anyone has made all p belly sausage and what were the results? Of course the cut has considerable fat which needs to be trimmed to some degree. However, I’m curious to know if after minimal trimming, is the fat content generally consistent with a 70/30 or 60/40 ratio or is it much higher (generally speaking). Any guidance is appreciated guys!

[vagreys]

Fat content of the belly depends on the cut, since the belly ranges from somewhat lean to very fatty, and the pig, since some breeds are much leaner than others. Personally, I wouldn't make sausage exclusively from belly. For me, the fat is what the cut is about, so I can't see trimming it to death to get it down to a reasonable fat percentage. Instead, I'd blend the belly with other meat to achieve the right fat ratio for the recipe, and use any surplus for dedicated belly dishes or bacon. That's just me.

[wheels]

It's not just you Vagreys, I'd do the same.

Phil

[DPG]

I have tried doing it with a single batch, and the results were tasty but far (far) too fatty, and as a result the sausages lost considerable volume during cooking.

I went back to a mix of belly and shoulder and it's far better, IMO.

10lbs of belly only needs you to buy about 20lbs of shoulder for the right ratio!

Your other option for using it would be recipes with other leaner meats like game, where they need fat adding from additional pork belly in the mix.

[rayjay]

I make mine at a ratio of 25% pork belly and 75% either shoulder or often can buy pork tenderloin on sale cheaper and it doesn't need to be cut off the bone to use.