Old man newbie

[homesteader57]

I am just getting into sausage making. I have been smoking pork bellies for over a year using a wood fired offset grill/smoker. Last batch I used peach wood that turned out quite nice. I have a #22 grinder, sausage stuffer and 44 lbs mixer so I am ready to experiment. I have goat in the freezer to grind into brats so any advice is welcome. Since we have goats, I have been making cheese also which just seems like it might go good with brats.
Made one 6 lbs batch of breakfast sausage (before getting the mixer) and my question is, should I have added any water? I ground a pork shoulder and seems to have a nice fat cap, but nothing rendered out at cooking. However, it was delicious and browned very nicely! Friends who tried it thought it was perfect.

Thoughts anyone?

[Jonathon]

homesteader57 When making a fresh sausage like breakfast sausage adding water isn’t necessary and you’d only need to do it to help mix in the seasonings and additives. I personally don’t add water to breakfast sausage or bratwursts. Did you stuff this into a casing or did you make loose breakfast sausage and cook it up in a pan? Either way, I’ve never heard of no fat rendering out when cooking a breakfast sausage, can you give me a little more information on how you cooked it? In a pan over high heat I am assuming, was it cooked at the highest heat? Cast Iron or something else?

I am going to be very interested to see what happens when you make Brats out of the goats. I’ve never done it but I am pretty sure goat is low in fat content. For brats you want your fat content to be around 75/25 so you will have to add some pork fat if you can. If you don’t want to add pork fat then you can try what I have been doing with lower fat meats. When I have made Chicken Brats I have been using Cold Phosphate to increase the water holding capacity of the meat. I’d also recommend you use a binder like Sure Gel or Super Bind or a moisture retender like Carrot Fiber. Using both of those seems to be the best bet to get a nice juicy product out of a lower fat meat.

[homesteader57]

Thanks Jonathon. I pan fried the sausage in a cast iron skillet (my “go to” for the stove) on low heat actually. I could not believe there was no moisture in that skillet. The sausage really was great (Holly), beautifully brown. I was very surprised at no rendered fat, but it is very pleasant to experience a sausage patty that is not greasy. I thought I did something wrong lol.

Yeah, goat is lean. I will be going the route of adding pork fat, or mixing in some ground pork. I will have to read up on the other options you have suggested as they are new to me. I like to keep my food as “natural” as possible. I do appreciate the assist here.

[Jonathon]

homesteader57 I’ve never made a pork sausage with pork shoulder that included a fat cap and had nothing render from the meat! I can’t imagine how that would have happened, especially since you cooked at lower temperatures. I’ve got nothing to explain why that would have happened, sorry! Im glad it came out well though, the Holly is an excellent breakfast sausage in my mind as well.

Adding pork fat is the way to go in my opinion. Adding Cold Phosphate and Carrot Fiber is a great option if you are concerned about fat content but neither of those offers the same creaminess that pork fat adds!

[homesteader57]

Jonathon Must have been that great cast iron skillet LOL, we’ll see if it duplicates in the next batch. As I mentioned about friends trying it, I gave a package after freezing it, and I mentioned no rendering and when he cooked it (I believe pan frying but I have no details) he too, had no rendering. Amazing. I love these type of adventures.