mortadella (“bologna”) is similar These sausages have a very fine-textured, homogeneous, tender interior, and a relatively mild flavor They’re made by combining pork, beef, or poultry with fat, salt, nitrite, flavorings, and usually additional water, and shearing the ingredients together in a large blender until they form a smooth “batter,” which is similar to an emulsified sauce like mayonnaise (p 625): the fat is evenly dispersed in small droplets, which are surrounded and stabilized by fragments of the muscle cells and by salt-dissolved muscle proteins The temperature during blending is critical: if it rises above 60ºF/16ºC in a pork batter, 70ºF/21ºC in beef, the emulsion will be unstable and leak fat The batter is then extruded into a casing and cooked to about 160ºF/70ºC Heat coagulates the meat proteins and turns the batter into a cohesive, solid mass from which the casing can be removed Due to their relatively high water content, around 50–55%, emulsified sausages are perishable and must be refrigerated Sausage Ingredients: Fat and Casings The fat for sausage making is generally pork fat from under the skin of the animal’s back Pork fat has the advantage of being relatively neutral in flavor, and back fat in particular has just the right consistency: hard enough not to melt and separate as the meat is ground or stored at warm room temperatures, but soft enough that it’s not granular and pasty when eaten cool Belly fat is softer than ideal, kidney fat and beef and lamb fat harder; poultry fats are too soft In standard nonemulsified sausages, the 30%+ fat content helps separate the meat fragments and provides tenderness and moistness The coarser the meat fragments, the lower the surface area that fat must lubricate, and so the less fat required for an appealing texture (as little as 15%) ... granular and pasty when eaten cool Belly fat is softer than ideal, kidney fat and beef and lamb fat harder; poultry fats are too soft In standard nonemulsified sausages, the 30%+ fat content helps... nonemulsified sausages, the 30%+ fat content helps separate the meat fragments and provides tenderness and moistness The coarser the meat fragments, the lower the surface area that fat must lubricate, and so the less fat required... perishable and must be refrigerated Sausage Ingredients: Fat and Casings The fat for sausage making is generally pork fat from under the skin of the animal’s back Pork fat has the advantage of being