Fish Sausage Question

[spudie]

Hi all.
Know this is n old post to drag back into focus but its the only one that I cant see that has some relevance to my problem.
I'm unsure as to if I'm allowed to quote a recipe from a public site that says the recipes are copy write.
But its found on Len Poli site called "seafood saus". (lots of butter , no binder, even has mushrooms included.)

I made this to the letter today, only substituting white fish type as to what was available here today.
The issue was that the texture was mushy, didn't hold together and was extremely uninviting. But this recipe was one of the best tasting Saus that I have tried in years.

I know from reading the above / below post those involved haven't been around for a while, so I'd ask anyone that has made or tried to make a Fish Sausage to look at the recipe and comment as to what I can try next time, happy to experiment and comment all the way through as I'd really love to nail this fantastic tasting sausage if I could.
Thanks in advance.
What would Wheels & NCPaul do next?
Rgds Spudie - Perth

[NCPaul]

I don't eat seafood and have never made a seafood sausage but to adjust the texture I would make a quick stock from the fish trimmings. Strain the stock and use it to cook some rice. I would try for the rice and stock to be 20 % of the total formulation. Another avenue to adjust the texture would be to add some soy protein. If you want to go this route, let us know and we'll try to give a starting point.

[spudie]

Hi & thanks for the reply.
Fish both white and salmon were fillets only, prawns came green and in shell, could use these as stock but might be over powering as resultant liquid I find can be quite pungent.

Do like the idea of adding cooked rice as well as soy protein.
Happy to follow both avenues to get achieve my perceived best result.

edited - can you see anything glaringly that needs to be changed in the recipe.
Know I need to get the texture right first before worrying about taste.

rgds Spudie

[spudie]

Wow and I mean wow !
I have just received an email reply from Mr Len Poli in answer to the question.
He advises that in item 2 of instructions is really important.
The ground fish is mixed with the salt and left for 4 hrs refrigerated. I didn't do that, just added the salt along with spices as I do when making meat fresh sausages. Idiot......
Will try this as 1st adjustment for next batch and move on from there.
Note to all those beginner sausage makers out there, ask for help and there will be someone to assist from somewhere.
Spudie

[NCPaul]

Len Poli is a class act. Salting the meat early helps with myosin extraction and moisture retention. I salt pork overnight before grinding. Please keep us updated so others can learn.

[spudie]

Thanks NCPaul for your comment.
As an update, made the recipe yesterday exactly as instructed by by Mr Poli and there was a marked increase in texture. By this I mean the mass held together better and was less mushy but sadly not as inviting enough for me to present to family as an alternate sausage to ones that I make.
I poached the batch at 82C per instructions and allowed a couple to dry then browned in pan. Sadly I didn't take a photo, next time.
So back to the drawing board for me, happy to try rice, soy protein, rusk, NFDM, tapioca, potato starch but not sure what % to use as starting points for each. Have seen the references to them all as to what is normal % to be used, are these proven enough to be relievable ?
Have one more test with time now available as we are just been allowed to travel out of State and return without Covid restriction. We are flying to Melbourne for Family funeral that has been on hold since Jan.
rdgs Spudie