Adding fat to sausage....

raider2119

While I have found that I have not had to add additional fat to the butts I have been processing into sausage, I have found that trying to obtain pork fat locally will cost about $3.50/lb. +

We have a local butcher that will give you copious quantities of beef fat for free!

While this is great for making hamburger, I was wondering if it provides the same flavor for pork sausage, and is there any reason not to use beef fat in pork sausage?

Austin

raider2119
It would definitely be acceptable to use beef fat in place of pork fat, if that is your preference for either price, availability, or taste reasons. Beef fat will be different than pork though. It is partially a subjective topic though. In my opinion, pork fat will get you a better final product as it helps carry flavor better than beef fat, or other meats/fats. Using pork fat over beef fat is ultimately just an opinion though and using beef fat is not a wrong thing to do. There could even be many people who like the beef fat flavor better.

If it is easier for you to get and use beef fat, it wouldn’t hurt to try it out with a small batch and see what you think. Whether pork fat or beef fat is the best option for you will really just come down to your personal preference.

Jonathon

@Ohms-Law If you want Austin to see something you need to tag him with the @ sign before his username. He’s so crazy busy that he wont see things unless he is tagged. I try to browse everything but in general that is the best way to get either of our attention.

To answer your question yes you can use beef fat in place of pork fat BUT pork fat is superior. It has a creaminess that beef fat (and any other fat) cannot match, it also has very little discernable taste and it is nice and bright white.

processhead

I would agree with Austin and Jonathon’s comments about pork fat vs beef fat. I would also add that when making sausage where you want some beef flavor, beef fat is a good way to get that flavor when you also need to raise the overall fat content. I prefer to add beef fat to lean venison when making snack sticks.

processhead

Corned beef by itself would probably be too lean for a conventional sausage and making a sausage from a cured meat like corned beef might present some other challenges. What were you planning to use for seasonings?

processhead

The binder would probably be a good idea. If you are using a brisket with a lot of fat then you might be ok without adding more. Most sausage should have at least 20% fat.

Bruce 0

Austin
I have question on the pork fat. What is the best amount of time fresh pork fat can be stored when purchased fresh from my local slaughter house. Recently I bought some early in November right after elk season but didn’t get around to using the last of it , around 4 lbs and tasted it just last week before Christmas for some sticks I had in the works and it tasted a little weird so I didn’t use it and ended up tossing it out to be on the safe side due to a bad experience from fat I added to elk and ruined some awesome looking sticks, till I tasted the half finished product. The fat was not vacuumed packed just stored in a box wrapped in blue plastic wrapping
So any advice on storage time and how it will be stored will be awesome
Thanks Bruce

Austin

Bruce 0 Fat won’t necessarily go bad, but it will go rancid and give you an off-flavor. If it is going rancid, you will notice a change in smell, maybe a change in color, and it should be noticeably different than truly fresh meat. If it was not 100% fat, but still had a fair bit of protein on it, the lean/protein portion left will go bad before the fat does. My best suggestion is to treat it like other fresh meat and if you are not going to use it within a week or so, vac seal it or at least put in a more closed container and freeze it.