Question from a novice sausage maker
My husband and I have recently begun to experiment with making homemade sausage. My question relates to the cuts of pork used in the process. In our last attempt, we used pork shoulder. The problem was that by the time I removed the sinew and connective tissue (to get a clean grind and avoid the dreaded "smear"), I had lost half of the roast.
Given the time involved and the yield, I thought that using a piece from the loin and adding fat back would be a suitable substitute.
Any thoughts from those more experienced in charcuterie?
TIA!
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mitch cumstein
May 16, 2012 06:12 AM
Start with pork with provenance. I cant tell you how big a difference I find in the quality of fat in pasture raised berkshire pork. The butt not picnic is important, and keep it chilled...
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biondanonima
May 16, 2012 06:09 AM
The grinder will remove anything ungrindable - it gets wrapped around the piece that holds the blade in place (at least it does on my grinder). I don't trim shoulder at all - just cut it into appropriately sized chunks and let the grinder take care of the rest.
IMO loin plus fat is not a good solution - because the fat isn't marbled into the meat, you'll get a sausage that is both greasy and dry/crumbly, no matter how hard you try to emulsify the meat with the fat.
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Uncle Bob
May 16, 2012 06:01 AM
Pork butt (not the picnic) is the cut of choice.....IMO you are way over trimming.
Fun!
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