Sausage making
[1] Sausage making originally developed as a means to preserve and transport meat.
The bacterium responsible, Clostridium botulinum, is ubiquitous in the environment, grows in the anaerobic conditions created in the interior of the sausage, and thrives in the 4 °C (39 °F) to 60 °C (140 °F) temperature range common in the smoke house and subsequent ambient storage.
[2] The primary seasoning agents in fresh sausages are salt and sugar along with various savory herbs and spices, and often vegetables, including onion and garlic.
A British fresh sausage typically contains around 10% butcher's rusk, 10% water, 2.5% seasoning, and 77.5% meat.
At this point the sausage should be chilled in ice water, then cold smoked at a temperature of 46 to 49 °C (115 to 120 °F) for 2–3 hours.
Since these products are never heated to a temperature that can kill trichinella parasites, it is necessary to accomplish this by other methods.
Pork may be rendered acceptable for use in dry sausages by freezing it using the following guidelines: The specific regulations are quite complex.
[2] Equipment depends on scale, a small home grinder and some basic measuring tools may be all that is required.
In a larger scale commercial operation, more high volume equipment will be required.
Regarded as the three most important pieces of equipment, regardless of the amount of sausage being made are an accurate thermometer, a calibrated scale, and a meat grinder.
[5] A variety of fresh meats may be used for making sausage, the most common are from beef, pork, lamb, chicken, turkey, and game.
[2][6] Nitrite is commonly added to sausages to speed up the curing of meat and also impart an attractive colour while having no effect on the growth of the Clostridium botulinum bacteria which causes botulism.
Prague powder #2 should never be used on any product that will be fried at high temperature (e.g. bacon) because of the resulting formation of nitrosamines.
[2] When using cure, it is very important to never exceed the recommended amount of 2.5 grams of Prague powder #1 in 1 kilogram of meat (4 ounces/100 pounds).
Sodium and potassium nitrite are quite toxic to humans with the lethal dose being about 4 grams.
[2] Morton's Tenderquick is the brand name of another formulation of sodium nitrite, with salt and sugars added.
For any such substitutions, one must calculate the exact amount of nitrite required and make the proper adjustments.
This line of quotation stems from American poet John Godfrey Saxe, who said "Laws, like sausages, cease to inspire respect in proportion as we know how they are made" (1869).
