Grimpuppy said in My first attempt at hot dogs:

.4 oz smoked meat stabilizer
.2 oz hickory smoke powder
1.2 oz sure gel
4.8 oz Frank and Bologna unit

?? What kind of ingredients are these? Not sure I would even bother with this. Not being mean, but, what is the salt, pepper, mace, coriander, etc… content? I always like to know what spices (or perservatives) are in my food. Guessing the outcome is worse than having monosodiumwhatthehell in a store-bought hotdog.

Jonathon said in Old recipe VS new:

Hurricane0331 Yeah if you are lactose intolerant then carrot fiber (for fresh) super bind or soy protein blend (for cured sausage) are replacements for non-fat dry milk. Dont use sure gel, it has milk in it.

Good to know, but I’ve never had any kind of “bind” issue with my pork sausages, beef might be different (haven’t made any of those). Ice water and finely ground fat seem to do the trick for each of the 4 recipies that I currently make. The mix is always tightly bound and does not separate. I do want to try some hotdog recipes, so I will adhere to some of the advice here if I have any binding issues. “Powdered milk” just sounds wrong to me in all cases, but who knows - it’s definitely a sneak ingredient to those not expecting it that are lactose intolerant. I don’t have that problem, but many do and I wouldn’t expect a milk product in a sausage or hotdog unless it was a cheesy-recipe.

For mixing meat for sausages to be put into casings, I usually go for 1.3% or less per pound of meat. The casings seem to retain a lot of salt even if well rinsed, plus if you’re using spice “mixes” there is usually added salt in those as well, such as “chili powder”, etc. The salt content can really add up and become a killer. I’m all for low-sodium, but there is a minimum that needs to be in there for the overall flavor.