Ingredients

The days of making sausages from scraps are long gone. Industrial producers and artisan charcutiers who specialize in sausages purchase exactly the cuts of meat they need for their products. However, there is no reason not to cut food costs by reserving fresh, high-quality trimmings of meat and fat in the freezer and adding them to meats purchased specifically for sausage making.

The quality of the meat and fat used in the forcemeat determines the basic flavor of the finished sausage product. Do not, however, confuse “quality” with tenderness. Except for some internal garnishes, there is no need to use tender cuts for sausage making because the great majority of sausages are made from ground or puréed meat. The effect of grinding and puréeing is to break up the meat’s connective tissue and cut its firm protein chains. This makes tough meat tender.