Objectives:
(1) To discuss the differences among the various styles of sausage.
(2) To show the chemistry involved in binding meat proteins and making meat emulsions.
(3) To demonstrate the equipment, raw materials and processes involved in sausage manufacturing.
Reading material: Principles of Meat Science (5th ed.), Chapter 8, pages 175 to 212.
Sausage — any meat that is chopped, seasoned and formed into a symmetrical shape.
Classification | Examples |
---|---|
Cooked-smoked emulsion type | Frankfurters Bologna |
Loaves; luncheon meats | Olive loaf Head cheese |
Fresh; fresh smoked | Fresh pork sausage Bratwurst |
Cooked, gel type | Braunschweiger Liver sausage |
Fermented, dry | Pepperoni Salami |
Fermented, semi-dry | Cervelet Thuringer |
Meat emulsion — a dispersion of fat particles in water held by the action of salt-soluble, heat-coagulable proteins (SSHCP)
- SSHCP —> actin, myosin, actomyosin
- Salt-soluble — can be extracted in a weak NaCl solution.
- Heat-coagulable — will coagulate upon heating.
Manufacture of frankfurters
“Batch” concept
- Grind
- Chop
- Stuff
- Link
- Cook
- Peel
“Continuous” concept
- Grind
- Pre-salt
- Mix-blend
- Emulsify
- Vacuumize
- Stuff
- Link
- Cook
- Brine-chill
- Peel
Constraints in frankfurter manufacture
USDA
- Maximum fat = 30%
- Added water = 10%
In the late 1980s, FSIS regulation allowed that the combination of fat and added water cannot exceed 40%. Thus, a frankfurter can have 20% fat and 20% added water, but still cannot exceed 30% fat.
To determine compliance for added water:
- Added water = Total water – (4 X P)
- Maximum added water = 40 – fat percent (not to exceed 30%)
- Maximum added water >= added water
Plant quality control
- Binding Index = 40 to 60
- Color Index = 40 to 50
Choosing animal tissues
Fat to lean ratio
e.g., extra lean pork = 95% lean; regular trim = 50%
Moisture to protein ratio
e.g., regular trim pork = 4.1 to 1 M:P; beef tripe = 4.9 to 1 M:P
Binding Index
- Relative amount of SSHCP in a meat
- Bull has index of 100; divide amount in bull into other meat to find BI
Color Index
- Relative amount of myoglobin in a meat
- Bull has an index of 100; divide amount in bull into other meat to find CI
Additives
- 3% NaCl
- 2% Dextrose
- 2% Corn syrup solids
- 1% Microground mustard
- 1/2% Seasonings (NO2, Ascorbate, GDL, Spices)
Cereal-added
10-1/2 to 12% (8-1/2% as above plus 3-1/2 or 2%)
USDA allows:
3-1/2% of:
- Cereal (wheat, rice, potato) flour
- Soy flour
- Soy concentrate
- Non-fat dry milk
2% of Soy protein isolate
Meat ingredients in frankfurters
Skeletal meats — beef, pork, lamb, mutton, goat. may contain up to 15% of poultry, lamb, mutton, etc., without losing standard of identity.
By-product or variety meats — tongues, lips, tripe, etc. May contain up to 15% without losing standard of identity.
Non-meat ingredients in frankfurters
Cereals, soy proteins, milk proteins
Labeling
- Traditional generic name (wieners)
- Species plus generic (beef franks)
- Meat by-products added (frankfurters with variety meats)
- Non-meat binders added (wieners with soy added)
- Meat by-products and non-meat binders (hot dogs with variety meats and non-fat dry milk added)
- Unspecified products (treats)
Smoking, cooking, thermal processing
Purposes:
- Coagulates protein matrix
- Fixes nitrosomyoglobin
- Adds smoke components
- Pasteurizes product
- Kills trichinella spiralis
Frankfurter defects
Defect | Cause(s) |
---|---|
Fatting out/fat capping | Excess fat, too little SSHCP, overchopping, too much rework |
Deformation | Too much cereal |
Curing | Too much connective tissue |
Gelling out | Too much connective tissue |
Crusting | Too low relative humidity, excess protein |
Greening | Excess nitrite, presence of Lactobacillus viredescens |
Sliming | Yeast or spoilage bacteria on product |
Taste, texture, flatus | Too much soy protein in product |
Barber-poling, speckling | Dull blades on chopper |
Poor color | Too little or too much myoglobin, failure to complete curing cycle |
Poor peelability | Failure to form outside skin surface, excess connective tissue, understuffing, inadequate relative humidity before peeling |
Fresh pork sausage
Seasoning (20, 8, 5, 2) per hundred pounds
- 20 oz salt
- 8 oz sugar
- 5 oz sage
- 2 oz black pepper
Sack sausage, bulk sausage, sausage patties, sausage links
Chilled pork —> trimmings or whole carcasses
Pre-rigor pork sausage
- Slaughter
- Bone
- Grind
- Mix-blend
- Grind
- Continuous stuffer
- Kartridg-Pak chub packaging machine
Saran barrier —> muscle respires, uses trapped, residual oxygen
Fermented sausage
- Dry < 35% moisture
- Semi-dry < 50% moisture
- Fermented —> lactic acid
Conversion of sugar —> lactic acid (characteristic acid, tangy flavor)
Old method of manufacturing (2 weeks)
- Grinding
- Season + cure, mixing
- Pan-curing (3 days @ 37°F)
- Stuffing
- Greening (10 days @ 73°F)
- Smoking (32 hr @ 100°F)
- Drying (10-90 days)
Pan-curing = NaNO3 + Micrococcus aurantiacus —> NaNO2
Greening = Sugar + lactic acid bacteria —> lactic acid
New method of manufacturing (2 days):
- Grinding
- Season + cure, mixing
- Add Lactocel®
- Stuffing
- Greening (16 hr @ 85°F)
- Smoking (32 hr @ 100°F)
- Drying (10-90 days)
Starter culture
- Micrococcus aurantiacus
- Lactobacillus plantarum
- Pediococcus cerevisiae
Micrococcus aurantiacus ————–> converts NO3 —> NO2
Lactobacillus plantarum and Pediococcus cerevisiae—————> converts sugar —> lactic acid
Review of Material — What the student should know:
(1) The different kinds of sausages manufactured.
(2) The purpose of SSHCP.
(3) How sausages are manufactured.
Links to related sites on the Internet
Hormel Foods. Home of hot dogs, Cure 81® hams, and SPAM®.
National Hot Dog and Sausage Council. Fun and interesting facts about hot dogs.
Oscar Mayer Foods. Home of great hot dogs and bologna.