Should I season sausage before or after grinding?

You may have all the requirements necessary to make your sausage at home. For instance, you may have fat, meat, a seasoning ingredient, and liquid. By having all the ingredients, people wonder when it is the best time to season sausage. Is it either before or after you grind? When it comes to such a question, the answer is that it depends on one’s preference. Some wish to season after grinding, while others consider seasoning after grinding.

If you choose to season the sausage before grinding, first, select the meat you wish to hone and cut it carefully. Ensure you cube the meat according to your preference. After cubing, bring the spices you want to use and mix them gently. Proceed to grind the meat. But if you’re going to season after grinding, first, grind the meat and then mix it with spices.

Luckily, the article shows how to season sausage in both directions, either before or after grinding. Also, it shows how to make sausage before seasoning. There are frequently asked questions concerning sausages. When trying to season sausage, read the article below carefully and choose the best direction to season, maybe after or before grinding.

Steps on how to prepare and grind sausage meat

Before starting the grinding process, choose the meat you wish to grind according to your taste and ensure you cut it incorrectly. Also, ensure that you have the best meat ratio when you compare it with the fat percentage. For example, the fat ratio to lean meat must be approximately 30% to 40%. The following steps will help you grind your meat successfully.

i. Cut the meat to pieces of your desired choice.

ii. Throw away all the pieces you don’t want to use and remain with only the necessary ones you will grind. Some of the parts you need to trim off include the following; sinew, any remaining skin, and tendons. Be careful when trimming the unwanted parts.

iii. Clean the meat pieces and the fat.  Ensure they are clean before you begin the grinding process since working with clean meat and fat is effective and gives positive results.

iv. Remove anything that may affect the performance of the blade. Ensure the meat is perfectly clean and clear and there are no unwanted pieces. Also, ensure you have enough meat pieces that you are going to make or grind your sausage.

v. Start slicing your meat to the correct shape. Ensure there are incorrect shapes that can fit in your grinder. Also, cutting the meat into smaller pieces is more effective because it enables you to season the meat quickly, and it is easy for each piece to absorb all the seasonings and flavors, such as salt.

 vi. Add salt to the met slices you are going to grind. Salt is effective in retaining the meat moisture while smoothing and also adds flavor to the sausage meat. The salt ratio must be about 1.5% to 2% by weight which is approximately 34 grams.

vii. Proceed to grind your meat.

Should I season sausage before or after grinding?

When seasoning sausage, there are two methods you must consider before choosing one of them. The two methods include;

i. Choose the meat you wish to grind and grind it gently. Mix all the seasoning, including salt and herbs, chill the seasoning cubes, and crush them.

ii. Smash the meat, then add the seasoning. The sausage makers usually combine the salt and spices with water or whatever liquid they’re using, squeeze it into the ground meat, and mix.

Seasoning the Meat After It’s Been Grinded

People prefer seasoning the meat after grinding and usually get the best results that satisfy them. Some say seasoning meat after grinding is better than seasoning before grinding. So, when grinding after seasoning, you need to increase the surface area so that the meat can absorb the flavors well and faster. Also, ensure it cures more quickly.

Disadvantages of seasoning meat after grinding

Several guys think that adding flavor after processing scrunches up the ground meat too much. Things end up with the consistency of a hot dog, which isn’t optimal for most people. The majority of consumers prefer a meaty sausage with lots of texture to chew.

However, not everyone experiences this, and, likely, the majority of people do not. It depends on several things, including how you mix the meat, whether by hand or with an electric mixer, the amount of liquid used, the amount of fat utilized, and so on.

Also, germs likely have more contact areas to infect because of the greater surface area created by crushing meaty goodness. However, it shouldn’t be a problem if you’re grinding the meat first, then filling the sausage and either frying it or allowing the filled sausage to sit in the fridge for some time. It’s a more significant issue if you leave ground meat to remain and be removed from the surface, which raises the potential of microbial contamination.

Seasoning the Meat before It’s Been Grinded

Many house sausage producers claim that salting the sliced meat before milling it and letting it remain in the fridge overnight or for a couple of hours, up to two days’ extracts more myosin from the meat. It is said to enhance complex formation. First, some sausage parts are essential and require an explanation. The central part is the myosin and let’s begin by explaining the meaning of the myosin part.

The primary bodybuilding part in the tendon is myosin, and muscle is the part of the animals that we turn into meat for food. The bodybuilding part serves as a connector for meat microemulsion, a combination of fat, meat, fat, and water that is equitably spread, and the sausage is a meat emulsion. It assists in stiffening up the beef by stabilizing these three main elements.

Salt the sausage meat and leave it to settle. Leaving it gives it time for the myosin to be released, functioning as a connector. The myosin in beef that hasn’t been salted remains firmly in the muscles, will not get freed, and so can’t bind.

According to several home sausage producers, once you have excellent adhesion, you get beefed sausage meat and a friendly, crisp mill without any spreading when you put it via a mincer or a grinding machine. Adhesives can also improve consistency, let sausage meat slice more seamlessly, add wetness to the meat sausage, and aid in water holding capacity to stop it from withering or drying out.

Many people believe that flavoring before processing improves flavor dispersion and allows flavors to combine easier during the grinding process. The next advantage is utilizing whole spices or peppers that enhance the taste but are unpleasant to consume, such as basil leaves, mustard seed, bay leaves, or pepper and peppercorns.

Bay leaves can be mixed with sliced sausage meat and left in the refrigerator to provide taste. When you’re set to crush, peel the leaves before grinding and stuffing the meat sausage as regular.

The disadvantage of seasoning before grinding

To begin with, flavoring before crushing can make your grinding machine dirtier. You must always clean your grinding machine between applications normally, but if you’re adding spice along with butter, oil, and other ingredients, you’ll have a lot more clean-up to do. Furthermore, notwithstanding all of the advantages of adhesion mentioned above, some people don’t detect a change in flavor or have textural issues.

Frequently asked questions

What are the precautions to take when grinding sausage meat?

There are some precautions you may wish to follow when grinding meat to obtain the best results. Follow the protection and the tips below;

1.     Using hot water and soap, wash the meat grinder carefully before beginning the grinding process. Cleaning protects the meat from contact with bacteria because the sausage meat is more likely to be exposed to the environment and can be hazardous to your health.

2.     Before grinding, ensure the area is clean; you will disclose it since you are exposing the meat. There are some sanitizing agents, predominantly liquid sanitizers, that you can find on Amazon or eBay websites.

3.     Also, ensure the meat grinder plates are in a good position, and you lubricate them frequently. The plates provide you with all other parts that require lubrication, such as the corkscrew and the grinder knives.

4.     To get the best and attractive appearance, repeat the grinding process. If you prefer the smoothest texture, repeat the grinding process.

5.     Choose the best time to season your sausage meat, either before or after grinding.

6.     Avoid over-flavoring the meat. For instance, use the recommended salt amount to prevent overdoing the salt.

Conclusion

If you wonder if it is best to season before or after grinding, read the article above. Compare the advantages and the disadvantages, then choose the best method or approach that suits you perfectly. The choice usually depends on one’s taste.

When grinding the sausage meat, it is essential to practice some essential aspects such as; first, know how to use the meat grinder to avoid getting adverse outcomes that don’t match your taste. If you cannot use the meat grinder, review the manufacturer’s instructions on how to use the tool. Also, seek help from a professional if there are any issues that you cannot troubleshoot.