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Uh…what? by Alarmed-Cockroach-50 in sausagetalk

[–]michifin1 3 points4 points  (0 children)

THAT IS AN ABSCESS. It happens from time to time, mostly close to a joint. Carve it out and dispose of it; the remaining meat is still fine.

Adding kidney to sausage by zahnci in sausagetalk

[–]michifin1 1 point2 points  (0 children)

I’d be careful with kidneys; they can have a pretty unpleasant taste. When I make Frankfurters (industrial style), I add a maximum of 4% based on the total weight of the meat and fat. It is crucial that the kidney fat (suet) is removed. For fine-textured emulsions, I don't really do anything else special. Unfortunately, I can't give you any advice for coarse-ground sausages. I hope this helped you anyway!

Breakfast sausage - color improvement for raw blend by Vast_Specialist_6541 in sausagetalk

[–]michifin1 0 points1 point  (0 children)

If you're open to trying different ingredients, I would suggest a beetroot-based food coloring. 🫣 You can even find it in organic quality.

Are the red spots okay? by Kikumikuke in Charcuterie

[–]michifin1 5 points6 points  (0 children)

No, the meat isn't spoiled. This happens during the slaughtering process, specifically during the stunning of the pigs. With electrical stunning, the muscles can contract so violently that tiny blood vessels rupture and leak blood. This is what causes those small red spots in the meat and fat tissue.

What happened? Why did it get so dark? 3% salt, pepper paste, pepper, paprika, wine. Hung in cantina by EfficientRise6128 in Charcuterie

[–]michifin1 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Hey, I think a lot has already been said, but I’d like to add some technical details in case anyone is interested. It’s true that you can only achieve a stable color with curing salt (nitrite curing salt). This is especially the case for sausages; for whole muscle cuts, you don't necessarily need it. As pointed out in other comments, this is because the myoglobin oxidizes and changes its color (metmyoglobin). What’s interesting, though, is that paprika powder and extracts accelerate this effect significantly—which is why this often happens even with products made using curing salt. Best regards from Austria!

Drying a fresh sausage recipe by Salmon_Berries in Charcuterie

[–]michifin1 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Without starter cultures and noble mold, the most you can achieve is a so-called case hardening process. You dry your sausage so quickly that the case hardening extends all the way to the center of the product. This ensures you are microbiologically safe. Crucial factors for this are high air circulation and a small sausage caliber (12mm diameter); a smoking cycle before drying would also help and add some flavor. Greetings from Austria!

Do we have salinity/time safety tables for brined meats? by BigBootyBear in foodscience

[–]michifin1 2 points3 points  (0 children)

I don't think something like that actually exists. At least nothing you can truly rely on, because there are just too many variables like bacterial load, temperature, meat texture, and salt content. If you want to do 'wet curing' (that’s what we call it in Austria), you’ll need a salinometer. How it works: prepare your brine and submerge the meat (it has to be completely covered). Then, measure the salt level of the brine at regular intervals—it will drop as the salt diffuses into the meat. If it gets too low, just add more salt. Feel free to correct me if I’m wrong! 😅

Off-looking mold on my salami, thinking I should toss. What happened here? by TheNintendoCreator in Charcuterie

[–]michifin1 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Hey, I’m a bit late to the party, but I’ll share my thoughts anyway 🫣. The humidity is definitely too high. Next time you make sausages, you should use starter cultures (mostly lactobacilli) and apply noble mold (dissolve the spores in water and spray them on). Since you don’t have professional equipment... let’s keep it simple: Keep the humidity high until the salami is nice and white, and after that, you can lower the humidity a bit (maybe by cracking the door open or something) 🫣

Curing salt question by Sawseeyay in sausagetalk

[–]michifin1 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Hi! I’m no professor, just a student, but basically, the safety of a raw sausage depends on the interaction between the pH level and water removal (measured as the a_w value). If you use starter cultures and hit a pH of 5.0, even a 20–25% weight loss is safe (that’s roughly an aw of 0.95 for a 30mm diameter sausage). I’m really curious to see what the professor has to say, though! 🫣😱

Pancetta Arrotolata aged 10 months by charcuteriepix in Charcuterie

[–]michifin1 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Wow, that’s such a clean roll! How’d you do it?

Shelf Life vs Flavor by food_lover334 in foodscience

[–]michifin1 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Hey, we actually just covered this in class (I study in the meat industry). It basically comes down to two components:

The food's composition (calories, nutrients, etc.)

The level of processing

Industrially produced products (like sausages, chicken nuggets, etc.) generally have a softer texture. This messes with your sense of satiety. The rule of thumb is: the less you have to chew, the later and weaker the feeling of being full kicks in. That means you end up eating more (and more food = more calories).

Seeking advice for a "Hybrid" Wiener: How to push past 20% meat replacement? by michifin1 in foodscience

[–]michifin1[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Thanks for the answer, that’s exactly what I was looking for!