note of both texture and flavor Results Even before beginning cooking, you’ll notice that the meat that was salted the night before is significantly stickier This is the dissolved myosin cross-linking and creating a tighter protein matrix Because salt also loosens muscle fibers and allows them to retain more moisture, you’ll find that the batch that was salted overnight will retain between 10 to 20 percent more moisture than the one salted just before cooking or the unsalted one When you taste the patties side by side you’ll see that the one that was salted overnight has a springy, juicy texture and is quite flavorful The one salted just before grinding will also be flavorful but will have a looser texture and have lost more juices as it cooked Finally, the one with no salt will be bland and have a loose mushy or crumbly texture, more like hamburger than sausage Not only does salt flavor meat, but in the case of sausage, it enhances its texture by dissolving muscle proteins, allowing them to cross-link and provide resilience and spring to the mix, as well as loosening muscle fibers to allow them to retain more moisture as they cook Moral of the story: Salt your sausage meat at least a night in advance BASIC HOMEMADE SAUSAGE There are four basic steps to making any type of sausage: Salt and season Add aromatic flavorings and salt to the chunks of meat and fat As discussed here, salt is absolutely essential and should be measured out to between and percent of the total weight of the ...BASIC HOMEMADE SAUSAGE There are four basic steps to making any type of sausage: Salt and season Add aromatic flavorings and salt to the chunks of meat and fat As discussed here,... discussed here, salt is absolutely essential and should be measured out to between and percent of the total weight of the